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.
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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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Some Aussies making the most of less than optimal conditions.
I was given the advice some time ago never to pre book early season. This message should be amplified if referring to booking in Australia.
 
Sbooker said:
Some Aussies making the most of less than optimal conditions.
I was given the advice some time ago never to pre book early season. This message should be amplified if referring to booking in Australia.
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I assume this is why you asked a question: "Who already commits to skiing a specific North American resort in June for the following winter?"

With Vail/Alterra's accelerated cut-off dates, many skiers already know and just have to buy early. Even pre-Vail/Alterra, you knew by September/October, often due to seasonal rental dates, or family/friends/proximity/where you live/etc (factors not changing). However, you are mostly guaranteed a decent product from mid-December through April 1st (100 days).

This does not seem to be the case for New Zealand, and especially Australia.

However, if you live in Melbourne, assume you will ski locally a couple of times per year. Even if Mt Buller looks like the photo above. Skiing in Australia needs to be expensive since the season is so compressed.
 
ChrisC said:
I assume this is why you asked a question: "Who already commits to skiing a specific North American resort in June for the following winter?"

With Vail/Alterra's accelerated cut-off dates, many skiers already know and just have to buy early. Even pre-Vail/Alterra, you knew by September/October, often due to seasonal rental dates, or family/friends/proximity/where you live/etc (factors not changing). However, you are mostly guaranteed a decent product from mid-December through April 1st (100 days).

This does not seem to be the case for New Zealand, and especially Australia.

However, if you live in Melbourne, assume you will ski locally a couple of times per year. Even if Mt Buller looks like the photo above. Skiing in Australia needs to be expensive since the season is so compressed.
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I understand pre committing to a trip but not early season and not a specific resort.
I have gone to the SLC armed with a Mountain Collective pass at Christmas time but I’ve known Alta is pretty bankable and Grand Targhee is just up the road. And of course there are the national parks are a short drive away just in case the unthinkable happens.
 
ChrisC said:
With Vail/Alterra's accelerated cut-off dates, many skiers already know and just have to buy early.
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You have to buy your pass early. One of the advantages of a multiarea pass is that you can choose which destination one based on conditions. That's what we did on Dec. 22 in 2013-14 with Mountain Collective to ski Aspen Jan. 1-7. Ikon has plenty of regional flexibility and Epic has Whistler as an alternative to the CA/UT/CO areas that are often correlated.
ChrisC said:
I assume this is why you asked a question: "Who already commits to skiing a specific North American resort in June for the following winter?"
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Yes, committing ahead to late June anywhere in the Southern Hemisphere looks highly speculative. But in the Northern Hemisphere Christmas Week is such an important holiday for families and potential revenue that the ski resorts are highly motivated to make it work.
ChrisC said:
you are mostly guaranteed a decent product from mid-December through April 1st (100 days).
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That of course varies by resort and in mid-December the list is a short one. For expert terrain I'd modify the above statement to mid-January. For Christmas Week the track record for intermediate terrain in most western North America destinations that the casual holiday skiers prefer is fairly good. But widespread bad holiday seasons like the past one occur at least once a decade with some localized regional poor starts being perhaps twice as frequent. Lean natural snow Christmas holidays are much more frequent in the Alps (I think Fraser mentioned 3 consecutive once). That is offset by much more comprehensive snowmaking. Sbooker once reported favorably on the Dolomites with very little natural snow in late December/early January.
ChrisC said:
Skiing in Australia needs to be expensive since the season is so compressed.
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I don't think so. It's mainly supply and demand. The Aussies are avid in most outdoor sports and the limited snow Australia has is within weekend commute distance from the two largest metro areas. But they are more like L.A - Mammoth, not easily daytrippable, so lodging cost gets into the picture too.
 
jamesdeluxe said:
I thought it was a joke! Aldi doesn't sell clothes here, only bargain-basement food.
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We find some of their product lines are just alternative branded big name food. It’s really good. Their fresh produce is definitely comparable to the other chain supermarkets. My better half shops at Aldi first and then goes to another supermarket for anything she couldn’t or didn’t want to get. Aldi have a slogan - “we know you see other supermarkets”.

And Aldi have a yearly sale in late May. Their Crane brand ski gear is very very good for the price. I’m not a brand slut so I’m happy to wear some of their stuff. I don’t wear an Aldi jacket but would do so.
Some of the ski set wankers here in Oz poke fun at people wearing Aldi gear. It’s quite funny though to see half the kids on the hill wearing the same Aldi patterns and colours. My kids were part of that half. The Thredbo posh people would have privately scoffed at them but probably didn’t know my kids would have been rocking the same clothing at Whistler the winter before and Alta the winter after.
Did I ever mention I have a particular dislike of elitist behaviour?

Snow joke, ALDI Announces 2026 Snow Gear Special Buys is back with an avalanche of winter gear from just $4.99 - Aldi Unpacked

ALDI announces its iconic Snow Gear Special Buys range will hit the middle aisles on Saturday 23rd May, unveiling the range via a Good Different partnership with Sydney Bears Ice Hockey Club
www.aldiunpacked.com.au www.aldiunpacked.com.au
 
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Sbooker said:
some of their product lines are just alternative branded big name food.
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Trader Joe's and Costco do that here with third-party corporate suppliers. It's a bit of a parlour game to figure out where, for example, their Kirkland brand coffee or laundry detergent originate. Super discounters like Aldi and Lidl source their private-label products in a similar way but the suppliers aren't the "major" U.S. players.
 
Aldi owns Trader Joe's and purchased the company in 1979 from founder Joe Coulombe, who lived next door to my parents in the 1970's. Joe remained CEO until retiring in 1988. As I may have mentioned before, Trader Joe's in the 1970's was responsible for my acquiring a taste for premium wine at a young age. Trader Joe's has a much bigger profile in the US than Aldi, though perhaps that's most extreme here in TJ's founding region.
 
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