A wicked weekend of fresh powder

---

The stunningly flat Cantebury plains wouldnt be a stunning without the massive maintains that protrude from them. Quite a contrast to the surrounding pastoral land, to see rock ice and snow. We arrived, yet again, with luck on our side. The mountain had been closed all week, one meter of snow had fallen, fresh powder was waiting for us on Mount Hutt. A hefty price for the lift ticket has somewhat scarred my impression of a really nice, but small mountain (equivalent to Whistler's prices , for perhaps a tenth of the size of mountain). However it was still an awesome day, skiing down both sides of the mountain making fresh tracks in the morning and enjoying the afternoon sun. It was bluebird days both Sat and Sun, making our experience so much better. We stayed at a little studio apartment called the Ski Hut in Methven, which was a perfect size for a couple, very comfortable and affordable. The local takeaway was a relief with its homemade pizzas and fresh fish. I even picked up a pair of ski boots for $100. Much to my agony though, on Sunday wearing the boots made my feet ache which impaired my skiing a bit. Sunday's experience was so much better though- on one of the club ski fields called Cragieburn. Its a relaxed uncommercial feel there, and the snow was simply excellent. The only barrier was having to get used to the so called 'nutcracker'. This apparently has been the way people on Craigieburn have been skiing since the 1920's , so why change it now?? I hadnt the strength to ski a full day, the effort required on the nutcracker, and ungroomed slopes killed my legs. However, the view from the top of the mountain was like nothing I'd seen before. We were literally on top with the clouds and looked out to snow filled peaks. The view and quality of snow made it all worth while. On our way out, I decided to take a different way out, to the car park, and of course at the end of the day with not much energy reserve left, the last thing we needed was to get lost. So we did - get lost that is. Only for a wee while, and had to take our skis off because the snow was so chunky and impossible to ski on. Eventually we found the track and ended up skiing through some alpine bush and into the carpark. A spa bath that night healed all my aches, and of course a homemade pizza from the local. Great weekend.

---