Mt Hutt continues to invest in snowmaking, chairlifts and other developments

Skiers and snowboarders heading for Canterbury’s Mt Hutt this winter are in for a treat as developments have continued throughout summer at the high country ski resort.

Mt Hutt is adding its first automated snowmaking line with the addition of 16 guns on the International trail, which finishes at the bottom of the Towers Triple Chair. This means for the first time it will be able to make snow on all its main trails in the build up to and throughout the season.

More work has continued in this area with the electrification of the Towers Chair providing a more reliable and quieter service, and improved trail access from the bottom of the International Trail to the chairlift base, with new trailmaking it easier to negotiate for skiers and boarders.

A new 600 winch groomer will be added to what is already one of the most modern snow grooming fleets in the country, along with two new winch towers providing more reliable anchors for winch grooming through the season.

Stage 1 of development of the Mt Hutt access road is also underway with the installation of four new road barriers at various places along the road.

Mt Hutt has also been working with Metservice to install a new weather station directly linked to weather forecasters in Wellington to help provide more accurate and reliable forecasting for the season.

“All in all, we’re really excited about what will be on offer this year,” said Mt Hutt Ski Area Manager Dave Wilson.

“Our goal is to have all lifts operating on day one. In the past we could only rely on natural snow to get to the bottom of the Towers Chair and this usually means we open it late June or even mid July, but with the investment we have made into snowmaking this will give us a much better chance of getting this chair open with the rest of the mountain.

“Then we’ll be able to maintain the snow cover at a high standard throughout the season and especially into spring, where Mt Hutt has traditionally been the best place to be.”

Mt Hutt notched up a first for New Zealand last year with the fully enclosed Magic Carpet which improves ease of access and shelter from any weather when people are taking their first step in learning to ski or snowboard.

“Our enclosed Magic Carpet was a ‘first’ in New Zealand, and now it’s just fantastic to operate a fully modernised fleet where not a single lift operates on diesel,” said Mr Wilson.

“Even the lifties get to benefit from the fact that we’ve got power all over the mountain – we’re installing new operator huts at the top of the triple and quad lifts where they can enjoy the luxury of heaters!”

Mt Hutt is one of the largest and highest ski areas in the South Island with the most complete terrain mix, one of the longest snow seasons in New Zealand and an exceptional 10-year snow record.

It is scheduled to open for the 2011 season on Saturday June 11.