Well here we are pretty much mid-season and as you will have noticed, what an absolutely epic one it’s been so far!
Many South Island ski areas are reporting some of the best conditions, maybe not ever, but in a very long time, with absolute wall to wall coverage.
The weather, well, understandably it’s been up and down. Warm, wet, windy, cold, snowy. Often in the same day! You could say it’s been characterised by the “atmospheric river” from the north, which has brought lots of warm more most air, which luckily for the south combined with cold air to bring snow. So we got big rainfalls, then big snowfalls. Interestingly, that rain has helped consolidate the snow base, so it saturated the snow, then froze, then new stuff fell on top. Fair to say, we’ve got a good solid base down south! Not so good up north currently, but was everyone has been saying, it is coming and will come, just a lot later than we’d all like.
I think it’s fair to say “anywhere south” has been truly epic. Right from the deep south and the likes of Remarkables, Cardrona etc, all through Canterbury, and even up to Rainbow. Everywhere is good.
I don’t think it would unfair to say that Canterbury, and more specifically the club fields and Craigieburn Range have probably had the standout season to date. They have had a tough few years but this year they are in the money. Conditions are literally all time, with (relatively) few people, and unreal snow conditions. If you’ve never skied Canterbury and the club fields, this is the season!
Well, right now is the absolutely peak of ski conditions, it’s hard to see it getting any better (North Island aside). But with the base most areas now have, we’re going to see very good skiing and riding right through Spring. In fact, Treble Cone just announced they will be extending their season for a week, closing now on October 2. But I reckon we might even see that extended further. TC’s sister mountain, Cardrona, is open until October 16.
Yup, we’re going to get more weather, that’s for sure! And it’s likely to be as up and down as we’ve seen to date. This week for example, super cold and PREFECT ski conditions. Next week the NW returns with warm temps starting to kick in over the South Island from Sunday. And think very warm, up to 3000m freezing level, rain and quite probably no snow except at very high elevations. Ouch! Sadly that’s the same story for Ruapehu. Freezing level above 2000m (up to over 3000m at times) from Sunday through Sunday, with very strong wind from the N or NW mid-week, and rain … Not ideal, but we will see snow return at the end of that. So really, just keep an eye on the reports!
Yes, it’s been a challenge, so thanks for bearing with us! We moved the site to a new server last week, in the course of doing so broke a few things, and we’re just about back to normal. All going well, weather forecasts will return in the next few days, better late than never? Same with the app, a few issues, mostly for Apple users. But we’ve got an update about to roll out, so look for some improvements here. And many thanks (seriously) for those people that have provided feedback. Makes us know it’s being used and enjoyed (when it’s working!).
OK, that’s all we have for now. Keep an eye on those reports, keep the feedback coming, and thanks again as I’ve said for bearing with us. Mostly, we hope that you’re getting out there and enjoying the best conditions in years!