Australia and New Zealand 2026

ChrisC

ChrisC

Well-known member
Interesting development for The Remarkables and New Zealand skiing:


Remarkables Expands into Doolans

The proposed Doolans expansion at The Remarkables will add 262 hectares of skiable terrain, bringing the ski area to 711 hectares and making The Remarkables the largest ski area in New Zealand by skiable terrain. It includes a 2.7-kilometre gondola connecting Rastus Burn to Doolans Basin.
www.theremarkables.co.nz www.theremarkables.co.nz

snowbrains.com

The Remarkables Could Become New Zealand’s Largest Ski Area if Expansion is Approved

NZSki's NZD 150M proposal would expand The Remarkables from 449 to 711 hectares, making it New Zealand's largest ski area.
snowbrains.com snowbrains.com

 
The road to the Remarkables approaches from the north so much of the current area has bad exposure. Doolans will improve that. A Google Earth measurement shows that the expansion is about 1,200 vertical feet at an overall intermediate 4-1 length to vert ratio. This compares to 3-1 at Cardrona's recent Soho expansion. Cardona is much bigger than when I was there in 1997 in low tide conditions, and thus the area I would prioritize if/when I ever get back to Queenstown/Southern Lakes. If that happens it will be after the July 2028 eclipse, and I doubt Doolans will be open by then.
 
Sbooker said:
I'm playing it by ear and will book last minute if conditions become favourable. I'm eying Mt Ruapehu in September.
Click to expand...
I know Ruapehu had a terrible year last season. I’ll also play it by ear like i did last year.
 
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Yes, I would like to ski in New Zealand once, but I do not want to ski on rocks. Of course, there are many other activities to do in NZ... but done most of them on another trip. Except for Milford Sound.

Again, I'll start really paying attention late July/August 1st to see if anywhere is approaching a 100-150+ cm snow base. One cannot time surface conditions, but you can ensure a proper base for coverage. Of course, with skiing, the best plans can quickly go awry.
 
I just look in sometimes: https://www.snow.nz/area/nz/

If this were a few days before the Christmas/New Year's Holidays in the USA/Canada, skiers would be devastated. For the Southern Hemisphere, just another subpar year...Maybe things will be decent by August 1st?! :oops::rolleyes:;)

New Zealand is a great country, but if I go there in its winter, I would want to ski. And not on rocks, as in most years.



Mt. Hutt: https://www.mthutt.co.nz/weather-report

MOUNTAIN Closed​
Open Jun 26​
Your mountain is calling​
As expected, yesterday's Nor'wester was pretty damaging for our thin snowpack (peak recorded wind speed was 248km/h - just 8km/h off our all-time record!) The only areas that were spared were those where we had previously made snow - and even those areas took a bit of a hiding. On a more positive note, colder/snowier weather remains on track to reach us late Wednesday and run through to Friday morning. Whilst snowfall predictions have yet to align - this next wave of weather is starting to show potential to get us up past the 30cm snow base that we need to open - through a combination of natural and human-made snow. Saturday 27th remains a real prospect at this stage. If you have a snow dance, now would be a good time...​


Treble Cone

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Cadrona

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I saw some footage of Mt Cook Heliski from yesterday. They've had a bit of snow up high.
But yeah, it's a depressing situation for the Oz and NZ ski resorts.
 
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