Travels with Skis

First day skiing

First day out on the mountain today. Skiing in New Zealand is just a wee bit different from anything I have ever done before. Yes they have snow, yes it is on a mountain, and yes they have a chair-lift (just the one!), which all sounds just like skiing anywhere else. Getting to the start of the lift is where it all starts to take an unusual turn. You drive to the bottom of the mountain, and then you drive up the mountain to the chair lift. When I say up the mountain, I really mean up the mountain. Imagine a the steepest road you have ever seen, then make it a bit steeper, remove the tarmac and replace it with a deadly mixture of mud, snow, and ice. Now you might be starting to get the picture. This is what Treble Cone is like.

So everyone has been telling me the mountain is busy - it is school holidays. Kids everywhere, families.... 2 weeks of busy slopes. Apparently. There are 3 people in the queue for the chair-lift. Did I mention there is only one chair lift? Half the mountain is closed. This is the only one lift open. It is school holidays. THERE ARE 3 PEOPLE IN THE QUEUE?! What is a quiet day going to be like? I can't wait to find out, especially after a fresh snowfall. BTW - it is snowing up there now :-) but raining down here at the van :-(

Near Wanaka there are 2 main resorts - Treble Cone and Cardrona. They both come with reputations. Cardrona is for the beginners and intermediate skiers, and is family friendly. Treble Cone is very challenging - or so the reputation goes, and people here really seem to buy into this. I am not going to poo poo these reputations because as a result, there is not a bad skier to be seen on Treble Cone. I don't think I have ever seen a mountain before where 9 out of 10 people ski with there skis less that 2 inches apart! Even the 8 year olds.

posted by snow_gibbon @ 5:28 pm