Something new for everyone at The Remarkables and Coronet Peak ski areas

Diggers and earthmovers have been flat out ensuring snow lovers have plenty of new terrain to enjoy this winter at Queenstown’s premier ski areas The Remarkables and Coronet Peak.

After staff have had a busy summer redefining the landscape at The Remarkables, mountain fans can expect to find new runs, wider terrain, reconfigured slopes and increased snowmaking when they head up the hill.

And over at Coronet Peak, novice and advanced snow lovers alike will also benefit from improvements that have concentrated on improving terrain at the world class ski area, including widening of some existing trails and creating a spacious new trail for novices.

The Remarkables Ski Area Manager Ross Lawrence said more earth had been moved in the last six months than in the previous 25 years at the popular ski field.

“Throughout summer we’ve been working closely with DOC and getting stuck in to some quite significant changes that will benefit novices, intermediates and advanced skiers and boarders,” said Mr Lawrence.

“We’ve blasted about 15,000 cubic metres of rock in both Sugar Bowl and Shadow Basin, and a total of twelve new snow guns are being installed on selected trails to help deliver earlier and more consistent snow coverage.

“Areas around all three chairlifts now have better access for snow groomers, and more groomed trails means more accessible terrain for all levels of skier and boarder.”

The early intermediate Turquoise Trail has doubled in width, and for novices heading up Alta Chair, turning onto Alta Blue is now an option for all levels with a wider run featuring a gentler gradient and consistent snow coverage thanks to new snow guns.


“This will make a big difference for our novices and we’ll be able to groom slopes beautifully so they’ll feel comfortable heading up the chair after spending just a day or two on the learners conveyors,” said Mr Lawrence.

A notorious ‘flat spot’ at the top of the novice Casterway trail in Sugar Bowl is history too -- fill from other areas of the mountain has been used to create a better downhill gradient.

“Casterway is a great location for natural snow loading but we’ve shifted all the snowmaking guns around to ensure they hit the right places,” said Mr Lawrence. “It will also be the new home of the beginners’ park area with fun jumps and berms for kids and early intermediates.

“A huge amount of planning goes into our terrain alterations and its all designed to create and enhance the ultimate experience for visitors.”

For more advanced snow lovers, Shadow Basin at The Remarkables is also getting a facelift.

“The earthmovers have widened the intermediate trails below Sunrise Face, and the advanced Waterfalls run has had some significant earthmoving along with four snow making guns installed, and will be groomed for the first time this year,” said Mr Lawrence.

Over at Coronet Peak, Ski Area Manager Hamish McCrostie said staff had monitored customer feedback after the 2010 season to help determine improvements made during the off-season.

“This year we’ve focused on completing the trails associated with the Meadows Express quad chairlift installed last year and have improved certain areas known to get congested during peak times.”

A new novice trail from the top of the Meadows Chairlift now takes skiers and boarders away from the busy lower M1, providing additional terrain on which they can progress confidently. Running parallel to this new trail is an area designated specially as a ‘Kids’ Fun Zone’, complete with flags, berms and heaps of cool features.

Other big news for families heading up the mountain with little ones is the installation of a 102-metre carpet conveyor lift, starting from below the base of Meadows Express chairlift and travelling to the learners area.

“Anyone who has kids on a ski field knows you’ve got to make it as easy as possible so all members of the family have a great day,” said Mr McCrostie. “This makes the ride up to the learners area loads easier and its great fun for the kids.

“We’ve also widened the trail on the Lower Big Easy to create a more consistent gradient and split the trail close to the base of the Meadows Express chair to make loading easier and help ease congestion at busy times.”

Five new snow guns have been installed on the modified and new trails to provide consistent early snow cover.

Fans of NZSki’s mypass cards, introduced last year to the ski areas, will be delighted to know that RF gates are being fitted to the Rocky Gully tow rope at Coronet Peak and Sugar Bowl chair at The Remarkables, to ensure more accurate readings of vertical metres.