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Published: August 12th 2008
it seemed to me while travelling in australia that i had some bad luck. well, let's forget about it - because i got plenty of luck recently where i needed it most. with skiing!!!
i flew to christchurch, same afternoon i hired a car and skiing equipment (fat skis, poles and boots). before my arrival, there was a three day storm over new zealand which left behind some 50-100cm of fresh snow.
next day, due to plenty of new snow, only Mt. cheeseman was open on the 1st August, when i decided to test my equipment. second day it cleared up and i had a beautiful day in Porters.
And then the following week in Craigieburn, the biggest NZ's off-piste skiresort!!! 3 days of OK skiing (good snow, average visibility), 3 days of perfect skiing (fresh powder, pure sun!!!) and only one day was so windy and foggy that i only did two runs.
and there was almost nobody on the mountain since the school holidays were over and there was a low season. in fact, beside 10 employees, at some nights we were only 3 tourists in the hut. to be honest, i wish there were some more people to
the avalanche blocked the road
50m uphill and our cars would have been gonetalk to. the hut was basic but there was all comfort that a skier needs: the drying room and hot showers. you don't need more.
the resort is very isolated place, the electricity in the hut is provided by genertors and the lifts are powered by... tractors!!!
once i saw the club-skiresort like this i realised how spoilt we are in europe. we are used to come to resort on highway, sit on chairlifts or cable car and be on the top in a few minutes. we ski the artificial snow and we are getting very nervous while waiting in queues. new zealand has some resorts like this, but i didn't see them. and they are very expensive.
to reach the craigieburn in good snow conditions, you definitely need snowchains for your car. often, the 2wd is not enough.
skilifts in many NZ club resorts including craigieburn are rope tows. to use them, you need to wear a kind of harness on your hips with a so-called nut-cracker attached to it. you grab the rope by nut-cracker and follow the rope. they can be dangerous (you can break your fingers if you put it between the rope an the wheels).
but once you get used to them, you have the mountain all to yourself.
no crowds, just pure fun!!!
ps. i'm leaving to Solomons!!! i ll be very little on internet in next weeks. have fun guys!
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