Innholdsfortegnelse for 2019 i Ski and Snow

The mountains around Queenstown and Wanaka have been calling people from around the world for years to experience some of the Southern Hemisphere’s finest skiing. With a number of modern and high quality ski fields easily accessible from either resort town, there are plenty of choices for locals and visitors alike. But they say where the ski boundaries end, lies the holy grail for both intrepid explorers and weekend warriors alike. This smooth powder of the backcountry is home to heliskiers. Some of the big questions for potential first timers is are they good enough. Don’t you need to be a mountain goat or a professional skier to go heliskiing? Surely it is too steep and gnarly for the average skier? According to James Hamilton, General Manager of Southern Lakes…

Fifteen year old Cameron Marshall from The Remarkables, has been skiing since he was 5 years old. Sponsored by Elan, we caught up with Cam (as he likes to be called) for a quick chat… WHY CHOOSE SKIING OVER SNOWBOARDING? My Mum and Dad encouraged me to ski when I first started at age 5. I wanted to snowboard because I thought it was cooler, but I was hooked on skiing and haven’t looked back. I love the feeling of carving the ski on ground runs and floating through ‘pow’. WHEN DID YOU START COMPETING? I started competing in ski racing in 2012 which gave me the foundations I have now. I raced up until 2016, then found my love for Freeride skiing. I did my first Freeride comp in…

The Ruapehu region is located in the middle of the North Island, south of the beautiful Lake Taupo. The region is known for its famous three mountains, Mt Ruapehu, Mt Tongariro and Mt Ngaruhoe. The mountains which had a starring role in the popular Lord of the Rings franchise do not disappoint when off the big screen. The surrounding landscape varies from untouched bushland and mesmerising waterfalls to the abundance of volcanic rock, and desert. This area is filled with exciting outdoor adventure and the surrounding small unique towns offer opportunity to explore. Taupo, Turangi, National Park Village, and Whakapapa Village are located closest to Whakapapa Ski Field. Taupo, the biggest town in the Ruapehu region, is the heart of adventure. Travelling around the lake you can see the variation…

At Panorama every day is a ski day, that’s why the resort on British Columbia’s famed Powder Highway has quickly become a favourite for New Zealanders who head north between December and April. Surrounded by the endless mountain peaks of the Canadian Rockies, Panorama offers 1,300 metres of vertical with terrain for those seeking something a little out of the ordinary. Lift lines are almost nonexistent; on many days runs like View of 1000 Peaks, Rollercoaster and Top of the World feel like a private ski resort. Join the Mountain Friends for a free tour of the mountain, likely with other Kiwis seeking secret stashes. Ride in Monster X, a snowcat accessing new lines in the alpine. Meet up with new friends when it’s time for après. The ski-in /…

The questions collect like the snow underski. Is it stable? Will footing hold? Is fatal error a footstep away? Rubber legs and heaving chest encourage the crashing waves of self doubt. It’s only fatigue playing tricks, but after a climb of 1500 meters it is the final push that feels impossible. Every ounce of experience and training is required. Deep, dragging inhalation quiets the roaring inside each ear. The route is sound, the summit near. Plant, and step. “They don’t call it a frontier for nothing guys.” Jared is studying a regional topo-map, pointing out the possible routes of ascent. He’s an AK local who doesn’t muck about when it comes to mountains. His words air aloud what the group had been silently thinking. Boasting seventeen of the highest peaks…

My dream from a young age once I discovered and fell in love with the snow was to somehow carve out a career by being in mountains full time, I was lucky enough to do this as a professional snow boarder, travelling the world to explore and enjoy culture and then every winter returning back to where I love most and call home - Wanaka! I look around now in a town that I’ve lived in for 30 years and gone are the old rust bucket car's that were once a stable in the ski field carpark and in their place now is a fleet of Range Rover's, Audi's and Hilux's. The growth has been huge here, it went from a sleepy ski town to one of New Zealand’s top…

“These are the events on Mount Aspiring from 18th Sept 2016 to 20th Sept 2016 as I recall them.” My tensed trembling limbs, a reaction to my genuine fear of death, was ironically going to be the cause of that fear to be realised. I didn’t know how high the cliff was below the slick, steep ice I was scaling up but I was quite sure it was not a survivable fall. My crampons were pointed into the solid blue ice. My lack of experience rocked my confidence in the grip of my crampon spikes, adding to the perpetuating tremble of my limbs. My awkwardly empty left hand pawed at the ice feebly and futilely trying to fashion a grip. My right arm clung to my basic, touring ice axe,…

The Alpine Centre owners Robbie and Shona Forbes are really excited for this winter, with the new Gondola developments happening at Whakapapa Ski Area, and now being well set up in The Alpine Centre building one year on from its massive extension. Robbie and Shona have been working in the ski and alpine industry for more than 20 years, have a wealth of knowledge in this field and have continually invested in their business and the National Park community. The merger last season brought the Ski Biz and Snowzone stores into this one modern and fresh, purpose-built snow store offering rental, retail and workshop tuning. Last season we were scrambling to get into the building, but could see from the start that we had better flow through the rental and…

JAPAN – THE POWDER Japan is a crowd favourite, and it's no surprise with all that this incredible country has to offer! With a seemingly never-ending supply of deep, light powder and fascinating cultural, architectural and culinary experiences, Japan is an all-around destination. Offering a choice of over 500 ski resorts in a variety of sizes, you'll find perfectly groomed cruisers and long meandering trails for beginners, plenty of powder bowls for high alpine riding and powder laden forests for the more advanced. There's plenty to do off the mountain too! Visit the famous Japanese snow monkeys, try out an authentic cooking class or discover the natural onsen springs, with thousands dotted around the country, they're perfect for relaxing after a day on the slopes. CHILE – THE CULTURE With…

We’re driving down the snow covered road leaving Gulmarg after three fantastic weeks ski and snowboard touring. As we come around a corner there’s a big bus jack-knifed across the narrow road, its front wheels wedged into a 2m high snow drift. We stop behind a couple of other jeeps, then a few more back up behind us, then they come down the wrong side of the road next to us and back up, the same’s happened on the other side of the bus. Gridlock, Indian style…… We laugh, it’s another reminder that we’re in the Himalayas, skiing and experiencing Indian, or more accurately, Kashmiri culture……. I’m a climbing and ski guide, a ski bum who’s forgotten to grow up, with around 30 winters experience skiing around the world, from…

Snow has been falling in the Southern alps for hundreds of thousands of years, yet its only in the last handful that we have been accessing it for our pleasure…In fact snowboarding was invented for big mountains like ours and literally millions of hectares of terrain await exploration…providing you have the means to access it! Of course, we must thank skiing for breaking the early ground for the snowboarding pioneers of the 70’s, who were driven to ‘surf’ powder snow standing sideways. Resorts had already been established to cater for the growing ski demand, allowing our forefathers somewhere to test their early prototypes and start the ball rolling… and the rest is history as they say. But participating in something that invokes total freedom of expression could never be contained…

The Southern Lakes district is located in the lower South Island spreading from Wanaka in the North to Queenstown in the South. The landscape varies from beautiful soaring mountains, to mesmerising blue lakes, to golden hill country. With an abundance of activities to take part in, you will never be bored. There are also galleries, boutiques, and a great choice of cafes, wineries and restaurants throughout the region. Whether you enjoy your holidays action-packed or you just enjoy relaxing in breathtaking natural surroundings, the Southern Lakes never fails to charm. Located on the shores of Lake Wakatipu, with the beautiful back drop of the southern alps, lies Queenstown. With a population of over 28,000, Queenstown is the largest area in the region, also known as the adventure capital of the…

Christchurch is the gateway to skiing in the Canterbury region, an area extending from Kaikoura in the North to Glenavy in the South and all the way to the snow-capped mountains and NZ highest mountain, Mt Cook to the west. It is along the western borders of the Canterbury region that you will find the most ski fields within the country. The region itself is one of stark contrast, from the famous Canterbury plains with clear lakes and beautiful river ways, through the soaring mountains of the Southern Alps. One of the unique aspects of skiing in the Canterbury region are the club fields. What makes these so different it that it’s a little like going back in time. The vibe is unique and a world away from that of…

HOW DID YOU START BOARDING? I started snowboarding when I was 4 years old, my dad took me and my sister up the mountain for a slide around in the rubbish bag and put us on a borrowed snowboard. At first, I didn't like it because I kept crashing and it was very tiring on my legs. I think it's safe to say I like snowboarding now. WHY CHOOSE SNOWBOARDING OVER SKIING? I didn't really get a choice growing up to ski, I just ended up on a snowboard and stayed on one. At the time with school skiing we weren't allowed to snowboard because the ski school didn't offer snowboarding for kids under 8 years old. I was already riding around so I guess we went our own way…

Note to self, never ski a run with the word “bluff” in it. It wasn’t a bluff, despite its name, rather a never-ending run of moguls that got progressively steeper after each ridge line. By New Zealand terms I’m a pretty good skier, but as I’ve got a little older, I’ve learnt that my legs don’t turn quite as quickly as they used to and moguls and me are not ‘friends’. Everyone else in our group had checked the trail status board at the top of each lift line and noticed that “Bluff”, a black run, had not been groomed and therefore chose to ski a different line down. I, on the other hand, blindly followed my wife who didn’t care what she skied and instantly regretted the decision. As…

The North Face launches FUTURELIGHT™, the world’s most advanced breathable-waterproof outerwear technology. The process used to create FUTURELIGHT™ fabric, has allowed the designers to add unprecedented air permeability into the membrane of the fabric for the first time. The process creates Nano-level holes, allowing for incredible porosity while still maintaining total waterproofness, letting air move through the material and provide more venting than ever before. Additionally, Nanospinning gives designers the ability to adjust weight, stretch, breathability, durability, construction (knit or woven), and texture to match athletes’ and consumers’ activity or environment. Designers can customize the fabric for specific usage, for example, by increasing breathability in garments for aerobic pursuits or increasing protection for harsh, wet climates. The ability to adjust these factors in fabric construction is unprecedented in apparel, equipment…