The Biggest Differences about Skiing in New Zealand
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 ก.ย. 2024
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Disclaimer: All statements made within the video are personal opinions emanating from personal experiences. None are factually backed-up and are not intended to be interpreted as such.
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Excellent video. As a Kiwi yet to snowboard overseas, it's cool to see your takeaways on our fields! Biggest shock was your take on price. Paying $160NZD for a day pass at the big 3 (Hutt, Remarks, Coronet) is ridiculously expensive to us Kiwi skiers, considering it was $110 a day only 2 years ago. Season passes are the most economical way to do it if you plan on skiing more than 4 days at these fields, and it makes sense why it's much more pricier as they must be catering to the international market more...
Big aroha from NZ, thanks for visiting our beautiful country!
Thanks to y'all for making it such an awesome trip!
Hutt hasn't had regular day passes that cheap for closer to 10 years.
@@daycowhite6947 student pass prices were definitely that cheap in 2022. But they did away with those sadly...
NZ pricing is fucked. Cheaper to do an international trip most of the time.
@@hellowillJust get a Chill pass in November and you’re sorted
A few people have said it already, but the club fields are really what separates New Zealand skiing from elsewhere in the world. Extremely low key atmosphere, higher effort skiing using rope tows and nutcrackers (look it up if you haven't heard of them!) The redeeming feature of club fields is zero queues, and places such as Mt Olympus, Craigieburn and Temple Basin offer access to proper expert terrain including tight couloirs, cliff drops and generally rowdy lines, but may also require short bootpacks to get the best runs.
The commercial fields have their place, but most diehard kiwi ski bums will tell you that Treble Cone, Cardrona, Remarkables and the club fields are the places to be, provided it is a good snow year (not like this one!)
I feel Remarks and Coronet are very touristy because they are so close to Queenstown, but TC is the most expert of the big fields. However nothing beats the club fields. If you base yourself in Methven/Darfield you've got Porters, Cheeseman, Craigieburn, Olympus and Temple Basin as well as Hutt. Around Tekapo is really scenic and has great fields at Dobson, Ohau and Round Hill.
They are club fields around the world. You just don't know about them .
@@andreikardos1432 There are club fields around the world, but they don't outnumber the commerical fields in any other country AFAIK, and they are non-existant in a few countries (eg. Japan & South Korea).
I went to Queenstown in 2005. Oooff, from what I heard it was the worst season in over 100 years.
@@iatsd Japan has hundreds of small fields, with just 1 or two lifts, not sure if thats the same thing
One point you missed is that skifields in New Zealand can be icy unless you strike a rare powder day but beware on powder days despite working through the night the staff are rarely able to get all slopes/lifts open the next day on time. Having sharp edges on your skis will help handle icy patches a lot easier.
Yup that’s normal with high altitude skiing, Skiing on Mount Hood in Oregon is very similar conditions
@@ytzpilot well nz certainly not high altitude melt freeze is what causes it, mt hood is close to the coast right? never been there but mates have
@@zweed69 the ski field at Mount Hood is only open spring and summer, not open in winter because too much snow and risk of dying from exposure. Therefore the spring/summer conditions are identical to New Zealand’s winter. The lodge on Mount Hood is the one in the film The Shining used for exterior shots, in the winter that lodge is closed and buried in snow
@@ytzpilot thats odd bc the timberline website literally says they are open from mid november to may and boasts the longest season in north america 🤔
@@zweed69 that is the lower part of the mountain that operates in the winter, the Palmer Glacier is mostly closed during winter it’s 7000 feet so conditions are very dangerous mid winter on Palmer. The resort is skiable below the tree line to just above the tree line in winter, on the Palmer Glacier opens spring and summer. I used to ski on Palmer every June / July and we would spread road salt on the slopes early morning to soften the ice to ski on, not good for the environment they probably don’t do it anymore. Even in June their was a school group that died from exposure just above Palmer in June due to exposure so even in summer it can still be very dangerous at that altitude
Great review, very fair and very much on the mark. I've worked in ski fields in New Zealand and Colorado and have skied/boarded in Australia, NZ, USA and Canada, which is certainly not the wide range of some people, but enough perspective to believe that this is a great overall review that sums up the NZ snow scene pretty well. The only thing I'd add is that the experienced/advanced skiers do exist here in NZ but most of them are at the club fields. That was one big thing I noticed in North America was the overall higher standard of skiing, and it was really evident in my first week in Colorado when I saw a guy on teles without poles throw a massive backflip off a booter in a terrain park.
weird the clubbies are generally all students and a few die hard tele markers for elite level I would say Cardies park hands down
@@zweed69 oh yeah totally, at most of the decent parks actually but you don't see those guys round the mountain much which is what I was talking about. Lots of the good skiers just use the Craigieburn Range fields for access and spend the whole day skinning outside the ski area boundary where the better snow usually is.
@@leroythecoffeegeek4611 I always wanted to learn to ski just to get into the backcountry better but yea I would head to tasman saddle or the garden of edin thats always been on my to do list
Love the little source text in the bottom left - looks like you had a really good sampling of every mountain in Te Waiponamu! You're definitely right about how informal things can be, like the stuff about piste conditions or closing the backcountry. Hope you had a safe trip back to the US!
Thanks man, was one of the best trips of my life!
Woke af,. Just use Maori for the whole paragraph instead of throwing in a woke buzz 😂
You say that sentence again in Māori before coming at us
Is Waipounamu anywhere near the South Island, I live in the South of the South Island so hopefully it’s not too far away for me to visit.
@SRGSkiing he's referring to the fact that literally none of us bar a few have started referring to things in Maori, which in most cases Maori words that didn't exist until recently. It's actually pretty frustrating as a NZer
That was an excellent video! As a kiwi skier I found it super interesting to hear all the differences 😁
❤️❤️
Skiwi Kiwi💓
Great video. Looks like you had a good time in NZ.
I’ve never understood the North American resistance to putting down the bar. I learnt to ski in Europe and had skied extensively in New Zealand and Australia before going to the US and was flabbergasted that it wasn’t an automatic stop the lift until they put the bar down. It’s so dangerous.
It's part of U.S. obsession with "freedom" which is actually just another word for "You can't make me!" But I will say that 60 years of experience on chairs with no bar in the U.S. tells me it's not terribly dangerous unless the wind is high, you are prone to seizures or impulsive action, or you have little kids on the chair who are not in control of their bodies. 4 of 7 chairlifts at the ski area I have taught at for 20+ years have no bar. Do I put the bar down when I am on a chair that has one? Absolutely.
It’s the same kind of people who don’t wear seatbelts.
I know right, you'd think in litigation central it would super compulsory. I personally don't care if people want to leave it up, but not while I'm on the chair
Try Japan. I have sat on chair lifts no bigger than a big laptop which has a back and side bar (one side only) about 12 cm high and no safety bar.
@@rodneyblackwell7477 haha. The famous pizza box chairs as they are the same size as a pizza box.
I'm an American living in New Zealand. I'm an advanced/expert skier and have been skiing this winter mostly at Mount Hutt, but also Coronet, and some of the Clubbies (e.g. Porters).
I think this video was bang on and fully accurate to how I view skiing in NZ compared to the states.
Snow quality is not great, and the coverage early in the season was shockingly poor (I found myself skiing over mud on a couple occasions). The resorts are smaller, and the access is a lot more treacherous.
That said, the overall experience is very good. The groomed runs are great, and the off piste offers some interesting exploring. The best part by far is the views, as you mentioned. I've skied all over the place in North America (though I haven't skied in Europe) and nothing compares to the immense views you can get from he top of almost any of these resorts. It's an underrated part of skiing and one that really makes it worthwhile here.
The Clubbie fields are awesome in New Zealand. Big shoutout for Mt Olympus.
It's a whole experience compared to resort fields or back country!
Listen to thy ice! Once you’ve skiied northern hemisphere, NZ is kind of rough. Rocks and ice. Heavy wet snow with no power except on the day it snowed.
Strange how you classified everything across the Northern Hemisphere in a sentence! Clearly you aren’t aware of the infinite variety of skiing in that half of the world…Try New England if you like ice, we love it. Then there’s the Rockies and Sierra Nevada, the Canadian East and West coast, the Alps in winter and icy glaciers in summer, the insane back country in the Himalayas (Eg. Gulmarg) and Japan, and tons of variable options across Eastern Europe (Eg. Bansko Bulgaria)
And the day it snows the fields are closed! Next day you'll often have to wait for avi blasting before the decent terrain is open eg Saddle Basin at TC.
This is a very fair appraisal of Skiing in NZ in general. The conditions and infrastructure are not as good as the US, Europe or Japan, but it's available in your summer and it's a vibe, especially on the smaller club fields.
The reason why the rental offices, beginner areas and sledding are super busy is that, because our economy is heavily tourism based, a significant number of people attend ski areas as tourists rather than as genuine ski enthusiasts. Maybe some fields in the U.S. are like this (California maybe?), but not many. It's not uncommon to see international tourists busses drop off a bunch of people who are completely unequipped for alpine conditions, playing around at the base area and often getting in the way of the runs. Another reason is we also only really get snow at ground level in certain small pockets of the country. Most NZ towns and cities don't get any snow at all, ever. A lot of Kiwis will go to a ski field once per year just to give their kids the experience of snow.
You're definitely right - Tourism is such a major driver. Some days it feels like 30-50% of the people I meet are Aussies trying to hop over for the exchange-rate discount and because Hotham and Perisher are a right rort these days if you don't run an EPIC or Season pass! It has definitely made the slopes packed with beginners as both you and SRG noted.
As someone who has spent my entire life skiing at mainly Turoa and Whakapapa ski fields on Mt Ruapehu, and has skiied in North America, I am convicted that if you can ski the harder runs on Ruapehu, you can ski anywhere. It's so fast and so steep.
Haha, I might have to take a local trip next year and see if I can ride the Sky Waka while Ruapehu still gets proper snow seasons!
Do you have any tips on where you can stay around the area though? National Park Village seems like the natural option, but I think Ohakune is a bit bigger and there are slopeside lodges/chalets too.
One thing not mentioned is ACC. Accident Compensation means if you damage yourself (fairly easy to do while skiing) your medical bills are covered. (I am not sure about ambulance or helicopter evacuation from the skifield). Hospital, Dr fees and x-rays etc are covered.
You can buy that in NA too though
It’s FREE taxpayer funded for all injuries that occur in nz
Ahhh, gotcha
Ambulances and the various regional rescue helicopters are part funded by ACC, and part by donations as they're charity run. I believe the ambulances (not the helicopters) are also partially funded by the central govt.
@@SRGSkiing😂😂😂 buying it
I've boarded in new zealand touroa in ohakune with gd snow is hard to beat .great bowls natural half pipes and on a volcano well worth it it the snow is good
don't forget that some of the smaller ski fields are on active or dormant volcanoes
Loved the video. I'm just back from an Olympus, Cheeseman, Craigieburn road trip that luckily started with a storm, so deep snow conditions. The real vibe comes from staying on the hill and really experiencing the club atmosphere. Rope Tows are definitely ridable, but weren't designed for Snowboards so take a little more effort. I grew up in Christchurch so learnt to ski on rope tows and still use my 40 year old belt! Comparison is the thief of joy so just make the most of what is available. I moved to Queenstown 30+ years ago for the convenience of the skiing here, and quantity makes up for the infrequent quality in my opinion.
Great review. 👍 Looks like, sadly, you didn't get to experience/film one of those rare and magical Mt Hutt days when there is sunshine, clear blue skies, no wind, and you are looking down on a "sea" of white fluffy clouds below the car park. A truly sublime experience.
Made even better if you were driving up the access road in white out conditions thinking that you may as well have stayed home but you break through the clouds just as you are arriving at the car park. 🙂
Did get one of those inversion days at TC over Lake Wānaka though. As you said, absolutely magical
New skiers love the mountains you visited, advanced and expert skiers ski the club fields
As a world ski resort traveling NZ skier, I say that this is a very good summary of NZ skiing and unusually there was not one opinion that I disagreed with. Nice job👏
Loved the idea of the captioning the resort and run
As a Canterbury skier, yes our fields are small but we view the whole mountain as a run and use multiple runs connected with off piste between each to form a run. Some require traversing some just point and bomb. If you want ungroomed powder definitely go to a club field as they can't afford much grooming and most of field is off piste.
This is really solid advice from someone who has skied alot of continents. I think NZ is a terrible place for a bigginer or intermediate skier. For and advanced and above its a choose your own adventure playground when the conditions are rarely on. Spring skiing on the North Island can be a great time, but on the whole I miss the snow of North America/ Japan, and the Culture, lift infrastructure, and sense of travel of Europe.
However, I can drive to the snow, MTB in my town, and surf down the road so always something to do.
Yeah, as a beginner kid, my main option was lapping the Big Easy at Coronet, or maybe if I was lucky a trip across to Cardy in Wanaka for McDougall's (not to rule out Remarkables, but it's mostly aimed at Turquoise level progression runs). I didn't mind the repetition personally, but I imagine for some that would get pretty boring! Reading some of the international trail maps where in the best cases like Beaver Creek you would have up to 5 options or choices on the same resort, or Mt Buller and Whistler which both have at-altitude beginners areas, definitely makes me feel a bit jealous!
And as I try and push to do more black runs these days, I have definitely started to feel the thirst for novelty. I would love get an IKON pass and hit Alta UT or Snowmass CO some time, and that's not to forget the IKON French connection in Chamonix (looking at Brevent, Planard and Les Houches); or getting an EPIC pass for Hakuba (with Happo-O'ne and Tsugaike) and Whistler back in Canada! There are a mindblowing amount of choices out there!
@@krissp8712 We did a half season in Sun Peaks in Canada this year. They have a green from the top of the mountain all the way to the bottom called five mile. Half of it is as wide as the length of most bigginer slopes in NZ. I took my wife to Montgenèvre in France for her first mountain week, they have the same top to bottom green setup.
@@kiwifruit5603 I can definitely believe that!
Mt Hutt worker here! One thing I find living in NZ all my life, is that often our snow can be very icy since we have less snowfall than Japan, Canada, West USA etc.. we obviously do have Powder days, generally Mt Hutt, Porters, Cheeseman, and Ohau have the best- most consistant snowfall. Also Mt Hutt, Coronet, and The Remarkables are owned by the same company! So if you have a three day pass, you can actually hit up all 3 peaks if you want to! Another generalization.. Coronet tends to be better for Intermediate-Begginers, and with big groups it makes the night skiing, and atmosphere a total vibe! Where as Remarks tends to have better Off piste, better advanced terrain, and a better park... Mt Hutt is the outlier and is generally good for any Snow enthusiast no matter your ability or needs. Overall, I would stick to the club fields, like Mt Dobson, Ohau, and Porter Heights to avoid the ques, honestly on a busy weekend there might be a 10 person que for the chairlifts, totally incredible!! Love the video dude!!
whats the deal with becoming a member to ski at those club fields
I'm jealous - I might have to apply to become a liftie next season so I can get a 3 Peak Pass!
@@jpvisuals726by the way, I think you just pick up a Chill Pass - thats the literal name of the group. It gets you into a whole bunch of the Christchurch ones, plus like Tukino and Rainbow towards the north.
I enjoyed skiing so much in NZ.
I went to Coronet Peak and the Remarkables and did a few green runs. As a first time skiier, I am now hooked. I’m going to Slovenia in February, I can’t wait!
I really enjoyed this video, it was cleanly edited and the names of the ski runs in the corner was really helpful.
concrete peak
@@mognut1 You sir, have made me roll over😂
@@mognut1 What do you mean?
@@StanleyStainton its known for being so Icy & shit that its nickname is concrete peak
To add to your question on why Cardona is busy Tues and Wednesday is because there is a local kids program where they do school skiing, most kids are apart of this so this adds a huge influx to the mountain those days as parents go along too ☺️
I'd been wondering that, tysm!!
Fascinating, as a non-skiing New Zealander these differences are so interesting. I guess we have so many beginners because our fields arent that accessible. So not many people can develop to advanced
The Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) provides comprehensive, no-fault personal injury cover for all residents and visitors to Aotearoa New Zealand. This means if you are hurt in an accident, ACC can help no matter who caused the accident.
Yup - awesome, detailed and very accurate analysis - I ski Japan, Nth America/ Canada and Europe (altho less so) reasonably regularly and to be honest with you, even tho I live in NZ, the comparison doesnt even come close to those destinations - NZ just doesn't have the terrain, facilities or snow to compete - in surfing terms its a 'novelty wave', meaning that if you are after something different ( in this case country/ culture/ scenery/ vibe etc) its worth a visit, but if you are after a big fancy resort or balls-to-the-wall Kicking Horse chutes or steep n deep or 30- 40cm Japow, NZ isn't the place
"Ski resorts are open from mid october to early june" is hilarious to me as a mid-atlantic snowboarder. We get mid december to mid march if were lucky
Yeah, Mid Atlantic is a bit different 😂
In regards to busses at least at Mt Hutt the shuttles that take you from lower points on the access road due to limited parking spots are both free and very regular so you can get on one without booking every 10 mins or so at the start of the day. I'm not sure about the Queenstown fields but i would assume they run the same as they are all under one company. obviously shuttles from locations outside the ski area (surrounding towns/cities) will need to be booked and are not free but as you mentioned not bad value for money at all
great vid:)
Yeah I was generally referring to buses from Wānaka, Queenstown, Christchurch. In the US, in a lot (but not all) ski towns, you can just go to the bus stop, ride the bus from town to ski resort, and call it good.
@SRGSkiing yeah in that case it's exactly what you were saying:)
Cardrona has free shuttles at the bottom of the mountain as to Remarks. But they finish at around 11am and start up again around 2pm for the afternoon return trips.
Yeah, but the buses to Cardrona from Wānaka and Queenstown aren't free. Thus, if you don't want to spend money, you're still going to have to drive, at least to the base of the access roads.
You forgot to say, in the North Island you can hike up to an active volcano crater lake and ski down from it.
Though do use a lot of common sense if you do.
Also, i see my workplace being featured 😊. The furthest of the three that you mentioned the Ikon pass 😅
The sad reality is that Ruapehu's snow seasons keep getting shorter and shorter, plus there's no local airport either :( Not to say it's a bad option, but definitely a harder one to make workable.
PS: glad to see so many NZSKI people watching this channel, the algo worked a miracle :D
Thank you for showing off our country ❤ I hope you enjoyed your stay ❤
I did, had an absolute blast!!
Just so you know, for Cardrona and Treble Cone you can drive / hitch to the valley floor and then get a free bus up the access road if you don't want to drive the dirt roads/burn fuel. Tuesday and Wednesday are school and local club days at Cardies - that's why it's busy. If you want to Ski NZ, avoid July ( school holidays and poor snow) Later August/ Early Sept is best in my opinion, do a road trip from ChristChrich to Queenstown, stop at as many places as you can, a day at each it enough, the club fields are great, a really unique experience and a lot of fun!
We also have some epic heli skiing at Mt Cook if you want to try that and can afford it (around $1500NZD per person for the day), and don't mind the environment impact of Heli's!
I loved watching you ski our lovely runs…although I’ve mostly skied on the northern volcanic fields which have become sketchy in recent years. I was fortunate to be on Turoa on the last great 4metre base a long time ago!
Man I wish 😭😭
As a New Zealander I think the views from the top of Porters and everywhere from Roundhill are the best
The snowfall can depend on the season you go, for example this season was awful and we are praying for springtime snow, if you want big resorts go to Perisher (Australia) but a warning is in this time of the year there will be around 100cm of snow but it will rain and high temperatures. E.G 10 degrees.
Yeah, at least this year, it seems like it's been really warm following all the big storms, so instead of each storm building on the last, it's just in a cycle ov cover-bare-ground. That's def different from here.
Good summery and recent too with the new Shadow Basin lift. Couldn't fault any of your points.
It is slightly risky with distance travelled for the rewards, i.e snow quality and weather, but offset by the stronger currency benefits.
Choose mid August to mid September as best chance of snow and no holiday impacts. A week in Queenstown and another in Canterbury which has club fields too if you don't mind driving. Just rent an AWD with chains.
Ski choice I'd suggest 88s through to mid 90s unless you like walking offpiste., think East Coast conditions.
Good luck.
Temple basin is the only field in NZ that gets north West snow which is deep and light. It also has night sking
Great video! Just wish you would have discussed the club field in more depth. Especially as they tend to have better snow and more advanced terrain (broken river, mt olympus and others.) They may be small and not have great infrastructure, but the back country access from these fields is amazing and as they are deeper into the mountains than most commercia ski fields they tend to be a bit colder and hold powder longer. Other than that really appreciated ur perspective.
Didn't want to spread misinformation, cause I didn't make it to them this trip 😭😭. Snow conditions were dire
I skied in NZ’s south island for a week just this august. At both remarkables and coronet. We had 6 bluebird days and 1 day where it dumped 8cm.
8cm would not be dump in NA 😂😭
Mt Dobson deserves a mention. Great Learners area and then there is the T-Bar and chair to get to the gully jump. My wife spotted me.
Gotta agree, Kiwi's are pretty laid back.
NZ Skiing is a treat to us Aussies in most cases. Tells you how good our snow usually is 😮💨
Cracking video. Great memories of the South Face and Towers of Hutt while looking across the Pacific Ocean.
The roads are ‘interesting’ especially in high winds.
Roads get sketchy in that morning glare too, particularly at Remarks
I snowboarded at Ruapehu and Remarkables around late June many years ago. Ruapehu it was the first day of the season and it was awful. The rental line was so long we didn't get on the slopes until after lunch, the main groomers were so crowded you couldn't go faster than a brisk jog (which led to lots of snowboarders losing their balance by going too slowly). I found some blues, reds and blacks that weren't too bad but all in all we got very little mountain time for the effort (and the very long drive up and down).
Remarkables was marginally better, but my gripe there was a lot of the blacks were just reds with moguls, which basically meant they were a pointless slog on a board.
Ruapehu definitely has its moments. Remarks I personally wasn't a huge fan of, but the experience at any field is just so dependent on the day. Weather, snow conditions, day of the week, events, etc
The club fields often offer much better conditions for experienced skiers and less people, but you do have to work for it as most don't have chair lifts.
and nut crackers! F yea 😉
The old Shadow Basin fixed grip lift at Remarks was super hypnotising, as the ride took more than 10 minutes. I hope the new replacement lift has now been opened!
New replacement has been opened! Love the speed, only complaint is that Escalator is more skied-off now cause it's so accessible.
According to my footage, it looks like the lift has a ride time of 4 minutes and 1 second!
@@SRGSkiing Ah! Shadow Basin used to be the best kept secret of the pretty crowded Remarkables area. The skiers who consistently go up there are the local ski club members who receive off piste training there.
Elevator and Boulder Basin are still fine, just Escalator's gotten a tad busy
should have gone to the club fields
Wish I could've. Half weren't even open 😭
Ha ha.....I live there and going up tomorrow. The reason for most is that we have a small population with little financial backup to have flash skifields.And we are too far from anywhere to relay on tourists to pay for nicer facilities, ski and villages and night life spots
That was really interesting. I'm originally from Germany and used to ski in Austria with my dad as a teen. Now I live in Christchurch and ski with my son on Mt. Hutt. Really interesting to see your perspective. But yeah, NZ is a beautiful country with (mostly ;-) beautiful people.
To be honest, I've given up on Mt Hutt. The price they are charging is extortionate. I stick to club fields, even if the fields are smaller.
Yeah, you can definitely tell their prices are aimed at the international market to stay competitive. Those express chairlifts are million dollar equipment and aren't cheap! But you're definitely right that club fields would be amazing - I want to try Porters before the spring season is up.
Great video but honestly, if you want to experience real NZ skiing you got to ski the club fields, the major commercial fields are just a smaller, crappier version of big resort skiing overseas in my opinion. Club fields are super low-key, not crowded and the terrain is incredible, just have a look at how many NZ skiers are in FWT from a talent pool of 5 million people - those MOFOS are mostly trained on un-groomed club fields. I hope you'll come back soon and have a crack at it, you'll lose your mind!
I wish I could've done the club fields; the snow just wasn't good enpugh. And not tryna be a powder snob, it was just dangerous. Felt my time was better spent, but we will definitely be back, either next (North American) summer or the summer after to hit everything I missed!
@@SRGSkiing 💯 the clubbies are just not worth it unless its deep.. last time I went to broken river it was after a 3 day storm something like 80cm fresh no wind it was mental but my buddy took a few hours to suss out the nut cracker so that was a shame (for him 😂)
@@zweed69just got to learn the terrain. Where the wind blows etc etc. If the conditions are average just drink some beers and enjoy being in the mountains
@@kahutara818 😂💯
Wanaka in July , Canterbury club fields in mid August.
Ive been doing a while 😊
Fair 'nuff
Despite being Australian, I have to say just go to south America for June to September skiing
When European and NZ guests join me in Colorado for the first time, they’re half shocked and half terrified that Americans vastly do not use the lift safety bars. Thanks for the little insights about NZ. I’ll stick to the bike in the summer…!
lol if you want bluebird days there is a region called central Otago… we have 4 fields and almost everyday of the season is a bluebird day!! We are a desert 🤷♂️
Lots of bluebird days. Unfortunately that also means not much snow.
Great video, very informative. Subscribed...
The treeline is around 1,500 metres above sea level in the North Island, lowering to 900 metres at the bottom of the South Island.
TC and Turoa for me. Great report.
driving 1-3 hours a day from Queenstown on shitty rd sucks.
you missed out on Mt Ruapehu! Whakapapa skifield and the other side Turoa! Great tracks.
Wish I could've, but half the field was closed, so we decided against it 😭😭
NA: long snow season, have money.
NZ: short snow season, no money. (we got lotta sheeps tho).
Sheeps are cute lol
Disappointed there's no mention of Kea wrecking your shit if you leave your bags or cars unattended around the skifield. That was always my favourite part of skiing as a kid.
They are entertaining, albeit they're not at all of the skifields. A long time back a guy was rejecting the skifields offer of a net to cover his....soft top convertible, that would've been one hell of a mess.
@DoubleMonoLR Yes sadly I've also heard they're being seen less and less even at tge ones where they used to be common 🙁
(Also RIP to that guys convertible! 😂)
Great vid. And as a kiwi I agree with all of it. What's American/Canadian/European take on Grooming in NZ? I've had a German and Canadian friend both say that at home trails are groomed all day long and punters ski around them or a run is temporarily closed during the day for a touch up. Whereas in NZ we only groom in the morning and that's it. I didn't notice this difference in Japan and France, but I might have just missed it.
NA is more like NZ. Groom overnight, leave it be all day
Club fields can provide very little in what to aspect and very short season. Some only opened 2 weeks ago.
As a pow junkie in NZ, this video has made me really excited for future Canada trips 🤙
Always wild to me when I hear lift prices elsewhere. I'm from the US but didn't get into snowboarding until after I moved abroad, so I've never been to a US resort. $100 lift tickets being cheap for US travelers sounds crazy to me. It must be awful being a skiier in the US lol. Where I live I can pay ~$50-60 for a joint resort day ticket, or $40 for a single resort day ticket. And for night skiing maybe $10-30. Depends on the resort but I think I'd have to go out of my way to find a resort that even remotely approaches $100 for a ticket.
Woop, no idea what filter my comment hit, but looks like you had a great tour of the South Island!
Sick video. Good content.
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If $$ are not a problem, Heli-skiing is also good in NZ- and you don't need to book a year in advance either.
Be interesting to hear your experience with the smaller fields & back county skiing scene in NZ
For summer skiing I would choose Chile over ANZ
A very interesting interpretation re NZ Ski possibilities Skiprokiwi
You should visit Patagonia during July and August!
Going to try next year!
Craig’s burns and broken river have trees ü
Craigieburn 😊
barely, maybe like a hundred meters from the bottom tow to the cabins, or what to the carpark once every 10 years 😆
@@zweed69yeah i have had shoots in the cragieburns 300m+ vert under the trees. When its on its on.
@@kahutara818 chutes its spelt I know it sounds like shoot but yea and like I said no way you get any tree runs without a walk...and hmm when was the last time it was on? dont get me wrong I love the clubbies prob hands down when its on as you say but tree runs, na nothing like northern hemi tree runs bro
Pete’s treat is Treble Cone not Remarks - otherwise the locations were spot on
@SRG Skiing 3:20 I'm in the video when the whiteout happens at Coronet Peak - M1
Come to NZ to ski and try becoming a skiwi Kiwi.
Not a skiier, but your pronunciations of the names at 8:56 weren't bad. The only one you got wrong was Whakapapa. In Māori, the 'wh' combo makes an 'f' sound, so it sounds more like "fakapapa". Thanks for visiting New Zealand :)
Yeah, I had a moment of panic when I realized it had the Wh, instead of just the W. From what I understand, Lake Wakatipu also has that same sort of thing in its original Māori form?
Do think I could be able to ski at the Remarkables in late September this year? They close on the 13th of October
Been a low snow year for the Southern Lakes, so I wouldn't be super confident on the base holding up that long on non-arterial trails. In other words, you may only have the few main runs
@@SRGSkiingtrue but im going to hope there’s good snow, I checked the conditions today and they are actually pretty decent.
All in all, it seems like you'd be better off going to South America (Chile, Argentina, etc.) for opposite season skiing/snowboarding.
Probably, but to each his own
I feel like NZ skiing in terms of snow quality is better than Australia
I'd take NZ over Australia overall any day
Aussies good for surfing. Can't have it all
Apples and oranges …
Probably the least controversial comment of all time lol
Weird not having trees, probs some fun lines tho.
No mention of the kea?
I mean, we have birds that fly into windows here too 😂
@@SRGSkiing kea will pull your windows out, by removing all the rubber seals, and will also remove your windscreen wipers
I guess the biggest different is because NZ is in the southern hemisphere when you fall you spin anticlockwise down the slope due to the coreolis-effect.
😂
Not for me anymore definitely not getting a season pass anymore with massive Lines an worsening snow because of the planet heating up the years are numbered for there's ski fields not to mention they keep hiking the price too
Fair enough
Hello, thank you for the video
Thank you for watching!
That’s why you should come to Australia, lots of big ski resorts😂
Maybe next year
I loved Europe with the snow covered alpine villages and a ski lift at the end of the street from your hotel.
Currency exchange rates are variable. At the moment NZ is very good value for people arriving with US dollars or euros, NZ tourism sector should be doing well right now.
Would mid-july be a good time of the year for conditions in NZ? I may plan a trip for next summer but can't ski in August due to work.
Mid-July is typically alright for conditions, although it can be early season conditions in some years, like this year. The bigger impact you'll see is that mid-July is right when the AUS/NZ school holidays are, so the fields will be a bit more crowded.
@@SRGSkiing I ski in CA, so I'm no stranger to crowds lol. Thanks for the info!
August is the best time when there's more snowfall and less crowds! But as ShangRei said definitely check an Aussie school holiday calendar first (not NZ - the aussies are the ones who can most afford it!)
@@krissp8712 I'm a teacher and in America we start school so early now that basically I don't get August off work at all. So July would be my only option.
As late in July as you comfortably could would be my vote, then.
LOL, love to see you review Australia we are much worse. We go to NZ for the good snow and awesome lines at TC and Mt Hutt
Now do Australia. NZ is paradise in comparison.
what are your thoughts on the club fields like craigieburn, mt olympus etc
Doubt he would have gone to them the way the season has been going for them.
Unfortunately, I did not get to them. What I can tell you, however, is that those fields have a very particular vibe, and you have to have a VERY old-school mindset skier if you want to enjoy those.
@@SRGSkiing I wouldn't say an old school mindset, in general the hardcore freeriders and generational ski families tend to ski at clubbies (especially in Canterbury). They're really fun and super chill vibe (+cheap and powder lasts days), you just gotta learn nutcrackers
I guess not old-school, just trying to say it's a very different vibe in general tho
@@SRGSkiingold school is correct. Ive seen grown men crying while struggling to get on the lifts while young kids zoom past.
is it worth it? obviously, it's dependent on the individual, but why not provide us with your opinion as to whether it is worth it to you. when we watch videos like this, sure we want the facts, but we also somewhat value the opinions of those who have experienced it.
I am, admittedly, a ski bum, but I did find it worth it
If travel from NZ to US for skiing, what are the top three ski fields you can recommend?
I mean, really hard to say. If you want a (visually) similar experience to NZ, then Arapahoe Basin, Grand Targhee, or maybe Sun Valley. For lower-level skiers, Beaver Creek, Snowmass, or Deer Valley. For upper-level skiers, Jackson Hole, Snowbasin, or Big Sky.
As an expert NZ based skier, I no longer ski in NZ unless there has been a recent dump and it's convenient to take days of work. Forget about the weekend. Even then You'll get 2 runs of ok pow and then spend your day waiting in a que with a bunch of local goons. Think local skate park rather than destination resort. Maybe 2 or 3 days each year max.
Instead I save money and now head overseas for 3 or 4 weeks every Jan.
Skiing in NZ as a destination from overseas is a complete waste of money for anyone above intermediate. Your just as likely to encounter rain or ice as anything like fresh pow. And when snow conditions are poor, unlike big EU resorts, you just don't get anything close to the same level of piste runs. Very short vertical. Long lift lines.
And when it's sunny you get sunburnt thanks to Mr ozone layer hole.
I went to revelstoke last year. It was a lean snow year but still far better snow than the 3x heli skiing days I've done out of Queenstown.
I've skied la face at val d'sire on perfect conditions. La Serene at alpe d hueze. There's nothing even remotely close to these big super g runs in nz. The pistes coming down to the main village at La plagne super Bien!!
You can ski here. You can get great days. But it's not on the same level as EU, NA or JPN. For me it's like comparing test match cricket to 20/20.. sure technically it's the same sport. But in practice it's a completely different game and skill set
Yes come to NZ, but don't bother during the winter. so much more to see and do in summer.
Save your ski money for
Fair enough. It's definitely different, and not trying to say that NZ can in any way compete with NA, JP, or EU. I still thought it was underrated, but yeah, it's definitely not nearly as good overall
@@SRGSkiing 😂 yep I'm the same, burned out on nz from 20 seasons the last 12 with grommets in tow doing park laps just filming most of the time I was already over nz at that point... the bars and eateries every valley you drop into in europe the ability to literally ski into 3 different countries (portes du soleil) endless tree runs that nobody seems interested in, and gondolas oh yea and legal herb 😆 I could go on for hours but yes I agree, save up spend 6 weeks mid jan to end of Feb my next trip will be japan 👌
Try Argentina on the off northen season :)
As a self described expert I reckon you aren't any loss to the NZ ski scene.
Always roll my eyes when I hear NZers tell us about their overseas ski trips.
We have all done it .
Yet a great day skiing in NZ is as good as anywhere in the world.
It's different , but the views , the people and on the odd day , the snow , is as good as anywhere.
And how good is it to ski in the morning with your mates , then play golf or mountain bike in the afternoon
And if you don't get it , it's wasted on you.
5:26, that is treble cone, not remarkables
Yeah, with all those labels, we were bound to screw one up 😭😭
Seeing the ocean while skiing sounds like it might be worth doing at least once.
I found it worth it, but I'm also a diehard ski bum AND that counts on conditions being in your favor
Aleyeska Resort in Alaska has that (though it's technically more of an inlet).
I found the views better at Hutt but the skiing better at Alyeska, which I guess is kindof obvious, but still
@@SRGSkiing The food certainly was, had some fantastic battered halibut there!
One of the couple places?
Are you counting the andes range as one place then?
I mean, as a region, yeah
Those Coronet clips are suspiciously good. Can't help but feel you were paid off by NZSKI. ;)
Just got lucky 😂
great video
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