By Manuel Nadler On Wednesday, August 2nd, my friend Jamie Paterson and I set off into the Macaulay Valley to stay in the Macaulay Hut for a couple of nights. The weather forecast looked very promising and so did the snowpack. Our goal was to ski/snowboard some interesting looking lines
Joel O’Rourke New Zealand’s mountains have waived goodbye to the extended sunshine and has developed a serious melancholy; the doldrums of drizzle, cloud and humidity have set in. Whilst waiting for the inevitable return of consistent good weather the forecast came through with a Saturday of partly cloudy (and no rain!)
Once or twice a winter, a strong Easterly or South Easterly front pushes snow into the McKenzie Basin. Snow falls to low levels, often affecting SH8, and leaves Mt Cook Village and Tekapo township with 20cm of snow on the ground. When this event happens it is time to head
The Fingers trip report On Monday 3 July Jamie Paterson and I set off for an explore, with the intention of getting to Manuka Hut. Due to a number of factors, namely work and not having a 4 wheel drive we ended having to walk about 45 mins further and
This tour was recently described as the ‘King of ski tours from Mt Cook’ . A classic day ski trip in Mount Cook National Park. The views are spectacular and the skiing superb. Its a long tour with route finding needed and also some tramping, so superior fitness is required.
A superior ski tour from Black Peak back to Treble Cone Ski Field is via the Poolnoon Burn. This makes a good long day ski tour using Heli access from Cattle Flat, flying to the summit of Black Peak (Aspiring Helicopters -(03) 443- 7152. The cost should be around $100
This route is on private land so seek permission from the Scott family at Rees Valley Station (03 442 9908) and please treat the land with respect. The Ferguson basin and valley is also used for heli skiing, during which time access may not be granted. View Larger Topographic Map
Situated at the corner of the Tasman and Hooker valleys, Mt. Wakefield is visible from almost anywhere in the valley. After a good southerly dump, it can provide some pretty nice skiing, given the snow line is low – around the 700m mark or below. View Larger Topographic Map Just
Here is a five star ski tour in the Garvie Mountains, SE of Queenstown. The Blue Lake Huts makes a wonderful base from which to explore from. The terrain has something for everyone; steeps, rolling ridges, bluffs, lakes, chute, ice climbing. Note – this is on private land and permission
Early in the winter season there is often a wintry blast that comes in from the south west, drops a good layer of snow down low in the Mackenzie Basin, and into the Ahuriri Valley. In early July 2015 we managed to sneak a ski tour in, skinning up from
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