New Zealand vs Tirol

Hi,

I will be in New Zealand over the southern winter and just want any
opinionson the ski resorts there. I have skiied extensively in Europe,
particularly in Austria. I just want to know how the ski resorts in New
Zealand compare to Pitztaler Gletscher, Hochzeiger or Krönplatz (in Italy)
in terms of cost, value for money, accomodation etc.

Thanks in advance

"Roman" wrote in message ...
Hi,

I will be in New Zealand over the southern winter and just want any
opinionson the ski resorts there. I have skiied extensively in Europe,
particularly in Austria. I just want to know how the ski resorts in New
Zealand compare to Pitztaler Gletscher, Hochzeiger or Krönplatz (in Italy)
in terms of cost, value for money, accomodation etc.

Thanks in advance


New Zealand is in a completely different league to North Hemisphere
(Canada/US/Europe/Japan) skiing.. in a MUCH lower league.. in my travels, I
have spoken to people (even skiers at big ski resorts) and told them I have
skied New Zealand and they have said "Oh, I've heard is really great
there".. I don't know who started this rumour, but they have done really
well in spreading it.. the resorts there are normally way, way over rated..
they get a lot less snow than in Europe, season is shorter, more chance of
rain, very limited vertical (mostly around 500m)..

The areas are small, very under-developed (usually one base building/cafe, a
few lifts going from there).. there are no tree's, and the mountains are
quite exposed (especially in the north island - Turoa etc), so depending on
the weather you may have a real tough time skiing, or may not be able to ski
at all.. however I guess this is true of a lot of French resorts too, but
usually you can at least ski lower down amoung the trees..

Lift tickets will be similarly priced to most resorts in Europe, maybe even
more expensive that say a small local hill in Europe (which would probably
be bigger than most NZ resorts)... when you're at the resort, beer/food is
cheaper than in Europe, but that goes with everything in NZ - you will find
the whole place cheaper than Europe..

Almost all accomodation for NZ slopes are not actually on the slopes. For
example, you could stay in Queenstown and ski Coronet Peak and the
Remarkables, or Wanaka and ski Treble Cone and Cardrona.. but you will have
to drive between 30 minutes and a hour to reach them.. accomodation in a
place like Queenstown is pretty varied, there are back packer places and
world class hotels.. even the top class hotels are pretty cheap - much
cheaper than you would pay in Europe..

If you are in New Zealand anyway, I would say certainly go ski it.. and
maybe even try skiing in Australia - which is better in a lot of ways, not
so in others and still certainly nothing like Europe but it is at least
pretty unique in the fact you're skiing amoungst gum tree's and wildlife
such as kangaroo's and wombats.. but I would never suggest anyone from the
Northern Hemisphere should travel to New Zealand just to ski..

New Zealand is in a completely different league to North Hemisphere
(Canada/US/Europe/Japan) skiing.. in a MUCH lower league.. in my travels,
I have spoken to people (even skiers at big ski resorts) and told them I
have skied New Zealand and they have said "Oh, I've heard is really great
there".. I don't know who started this rumour, but they have done really
well in spreading it.. the resorts there are normally way, way over
rated.. they get a lot less snow than in Europe, season is shorter, more
chance of rain, very limited vertical (mostly around 500m)..

The areas are small, very under-developed (usually one base building/cafe,
a few lifts going from there).. there are no tree's, and the mountains are
quite exposed (especially in the north island - Turoa etc), so depending
on the weather you may have a real tough time skiing, or may not be able
to ski at all.. however I guess this is true of a lot of French resorts
too, but usually you can at least ski lower down amoung the trees..

Lift tickets will be similarly priced to most resorts in Europe, maybe
even more expensive that say a small local hill in Europe (which would
probably be bigger than most NZ resorts)... when you're at the resort,
beer/food is cheaper than in Europe, but that goes with everything in NZ -
you will find the whole place cheaper than Europe..

Almost all accomodation for NZ slopes are not actually on the slopes. For
example, you could stay in Queenstown and ski Coronet Peak and the
Remarkables, or Wanaka and ski Treble Cone and Cardrona.. but you will
have to drive between 30 minutes and a hour to reach them.. accomodation
in a place like Queenstown is pretty varied, there are back packer places
and world class hotels.. even the top class hotels are pretty cheap - much
cheaper than you would pay in Europe..

If you are in New Zealand anyway, I would say certainly go ski it.. and
maybe even try skiing in Australia - which is better in a lot of ways, not
so in others and still certainly nothing like Europe but it is at least
pretty unique in the fact you're skiing amoungst gum tree's and wildlife
such as kangaroo's and wombats.. but I would never suggest anyone from the
Northern Hemisphere should travel to New Zealand just to ski..

Thanks for the detailed reply! I will also be in Australia but didn't
consider skiing there....but might change my mind. Are you able to
elaborate a bit more as to in what ways Australia is better than New Zealand
and vice versa.

"Roman" wrote in message ...

New Zealand is in a completely different league to North Hemisphere
(Canada/US/Europe/Japan) skiing.. in a MUCH lower league.. in my travels,
I have spoken to people (even skiers at big ski resorts) and told them I
have skied New Zealand and they have said "Oh, I've heard is really great
there".. I don't know who started this rumour, but they have done really
well in spreading it.. the resorts there are normally way, way over
rated.. they get a lot less snow than in Europe, season is shorter, more
chance of rain, very limited vertical (mostly around 500m)..

The areas are small, very under-developed (usually one base
building/cafe, a few lifts going from there).. there are no tree's, and
the mountains are quite exposed (especially in the north island - Turoa
etc), so depending on the weather you may have a real tough time skiing,
or may not be able to ski at all.. however I guess this is true of a lot
of French resorts too, but usually you can at least ski lower down amoung
the trees..

Lift tickets will be similarly priced to most resorts in Europe, maybe
even more expensive that say a small local hill in Europe (which would
probably be bigger than most NZ resorts)... when you're at the resort,
beer/food is cheaper than in Europe, but that goes with everything in
NZ - you will find the whole place cheaper than Europe..

Almost all accomodation for NZ slopes are not actually on the slopes.
For example, you could stay in Queenstown and ski Coronet Peak and the
Remarkables, or Wanaka and ski Treble Cone and Cardrona.. but you will
have to drive between 30 minutes and a hour to reach them.. accomodation
in a place like Queenstown is pretty varied, there are back packer places
and world class hotels.. even the top class hotels are pretty cheap -
much cheaper than you would pay in Europe..

If you are in New Zealand anyway, I would say certainly go ski it.. and
maybe even try skiing in Australia - which is better in a lot of ways,
not so in others and still certainly nothing like Europe but it is at
least pretty unique in the fact you're skiing amoungst gum tree's and
wildlife such as kangaroo's and wombats.. but I would never suggest
anyone from the Northern Hemisphere should travel to New Zealand just to
ski..

Thanks for the detailed reply! I will also be in Australia but didn't
consider skiing there....but might change my mind. Are you able to
elaborate a bit more as to in what ways Australia is better than New
Zealand and vice versa.


I have only skied one place in Australia, Perisher Blue, so I can only
comment on that resort. Australian "mountains" are more like hills, whereas
moutains in New Zealand really are mountains. I think if you are an
advanced skier and don't mind hiking, you would find some nicer, steeper
runs in New Zealand.

Perisher Blue only has 400m of vertical, however it is around 2500 acres
with over 50 lifts.. so it is pretty big, even when compared to North
Hemisphere resorts. Thredbo has the most vertical, near 700m I think, but
this resort and all the others in Australia are no where near the size of
Perisher Blue (which is really 4 resorts in one). Perisher Blue is much
more developed than the NZ resorts I had been to - more lifts, more
restaraunts that you can ski too, proper on the snow accomodation. I
believe Thredbo is even more geared up to staying on the snow with a really
close knit villiage up there - Perisher can be a little too spread out.

Also, there are tree's (Snow gums) in Australia whereas its pretty desolate
in NZ without anything at all..

Snow quality could be slightly better in New Zealand.. it is a bit colder
there, but not really that much.. some resorts in New Zealand really need a
lot of snow to be skiable (Turoa for example), whereas you can ski on about
10cm in Australia, because its pretty grassy underneath most of the time.
Both places can get rain, and both places are going to be pretty damn icey
unless you're lucky and get a good dumping of snow.

Australia will be more expensive than New Zealand on the slopes.

If you are going to go, early to mid August for Australia and maybe anytime
in August and a little into September for New Zealand resorts is the best
time to go.

A good site for Australian skiing is http://www.ski.com.au . There is a
good forum there too, where people with a lot more experience than me could
give you better comparisions.

If you are in Australia/NZ its certainly worth going to the slopes if you
can manage it. It will not compare to Europe in terms of pure skiing, but
both are still good fun.

AH wrote:

New Zealand is in a completely different league to North Hemisphere
(Canada/US/Europe/Japan) skiing.. in a MUCH lower league.. in my travels, I
have spoken to people (even skiers at big ski resorts) and told them I have
skied New Zealand and they have said "Oh, I've heard is really great
there".. I don't know who started this rumour, but they have done really
well in spreading it.. the resorts there are normally way, way over rated..
they get a lot less snow than in Europe, season is shorter, more chance of
rain, very limited vertical (mostly around 500m)..

The areas are small, very under-developed (usually one base building/cafe, a
few lifts going from there).. there are no tree's, and the mountains are
quite exposed (especially in the north island - Turoa etc), so depending on
the weather you may have a real tough time skiing, or may not be able to ski
at all.. however I guess this is true of a lot of French resorts too, but
usually you can at least ski lower down amoung the trees..

Hmm, I've seen all those Warren Miller movies where the ski big peaks
down there. I guess that was all heli? Must have been.

Dave

"Dave Stallard" wrote in message
...
AH wrote:

New Zealand is in a completely different league to North Hemisphere
(Canada/US/Europe/Japan) skiing.. in a MUCH lower league.. in my travels,
I have spoken to people (even skiers at big ski resorts) and told them I
have skied New Zealand and they have said "Oh, I've heard is really great
there".. I don't know who started this rumour, but they have done really
well in spreading it.. the resorts there are normally way, way over
rated.. they get a lot less snow than in Europe, season is shorter, more
chance of rain, very limited vertical (mostly around 500m)..

The areas are small, very under-developed (usually one base
building/cafe, a few lifts going from there).. there are no tree's, and
the mountains are quite exposed (especially in the north island - Turoa
etc), so depending on the weather you may have a real tough time skiing,
or may not be able to ski at all.. however I guess this is true of a lot
of French resorts too, but usually you can at least ski lower down amoung
the trees..

Hmm, I've seen all those Warren Miller movies where the ski big peaks down
there. I guess that was all heli? Must have been.

Dave


Yeh.. you know, that is the really strange thing.. New Zealand has mountains
that rival that of the Alps.. huge glaciers, and peaks up to almost 3800m!
However, the highest lifted point in New Zealand is just slightly over
2000m! (with the exception of the North Island - but this isn't where the
proper mountains are anyway).

I'm sure New Zealand would have a mountains suitable for skiing with over
1000m of vertical, but for some unknown reason they just haven't built ski
resorts there... maybe its some environmental restriction or something..

Anyway.. you can heli ski really cheap (well, cheap compared to other
places) in New Zealand, and it is meant to be pretty damn good.. I haven't
done it, but I'm sure you could find some really good skiing if you did..

Roman wrote:

Thanks for the detailed reply! I will also be in Australia but didn't
consider skiing there....but might change my mind. Are you able to
elaborate a bit more as to in what ways Australia is better than New
Zealand and vice versa.

when are you planning to be in Australia?

ant

Dear Roman

I will be in New Zealand over the southern winter and just want any
opinionson the ski resorts there.

For a bit of info on some of the southern nz snow areas check out;

http://www.nzsnow.com

And here are a few ideas on heli skiing / boarding this winter;



DKD Heli-lifting Program for Winter 2005

We are proud to invite you to join us for heaps of vertical and
celebration of good times in the most amazing places. Expect the usual
DKD Method :

* we seek out mindblowing mountains and set them up for you to spend
the day carving up
* you do the runs the way you want without having to follow a guide
* there are load and unload pads and you can do as little or as many
runs as you like
* no mucking round = six seater B2 machines with grunty sound systems
* each time you load your runs are recorded and you are billed at
day's end

With the dates indicated, we aim to fly the first fine day and the
rest are roll over dates for if the weather is dodgy. Booking is
essential - $ 50 deposit required. Please book through Darryl and the
gang at Small Planet Sports, Shotover St. Queenstown, ph 03 4426393
email or Dan & Christine ph 03 4427939 email
dankelly@queenstown .co.nz




DKD Turret Head Unlimited Runday Glenorchy
First fine day July 2nd/3rd or 9th/10

Turret Head is that giant blocky peak adjacent to the imposing icefall
of the south face of Mt Earnslaw. All the action will be on the hidden
northeast face which runs from Turret Head's summit shoulders at 2300
m down a generous long shelf into Earnslawburn with load pad at 1600
to 1400 m, aiming for 2500 vertical foot runs. The terrain is moderate
and suitable for all levels of riders and skiers - with wide open
pregnant constant straight fall lines off a generous north ridge wall
that will aim to provide 2 unload pads. The scene surrounding the
heli-lifting area is mega-vertical and dramatic.
The staging area is in Dan's Paddock, 20 minutes up the Dart River
track after Paradise. You wont require a high grade 4WD to get there,
cars will be ok.

Get There Fee $ 375 per person includes helicopter ferry, flight up
and off the hill, landing fees, snow safety, guides and insurance
Heli-lift Fee $50 per run per person
20 pax min 40 pax max

DKD Fiordland Unlimited Run Mission weekend - boating to head of Lake
Te Anau, heli-lifting, overnighting at Clinton Hut, boating back .
Either July 23/24 or 30/31st

We are proud to be helilifting in Fiordland on this giant fan shaped
face tilting down to the Milford Track. The unload pads will be at1900
m with long constant moderate to steep fall line runs all the way down
to a single load pad at 800 m = over 3000 foot runs. The run area is
surrounded by mega vertical, dramatic features and this location is
not for the faint hearted. Words cannot describe how special this big
face is.
The plan is to drive from the Wakatipu accross to Lake Te Anau,
meeting the boats at Te Anau Downs first thing on the big day and
then boat up to the head of the lake and meet your B2 by mid morning.
Leave the gear there for over-nighting and then ferry on up the
mountain for the rarest heli-lift session of them all. At the end of
the day returning to the valley floor, kick back and enjoy good sounds
and pot luck dinner, staying the night at Clinton hut, sleep in on the
Sunday and boating back down the lake.

Get There Fee $ 525 per person includes 2 way boat trip ( 7m hardtop
alloys ) hut fee, helicopter ferry flight up to mountain and return,
snow safety, landing fees, guides and insurance
Heli -lift Fee$ 50 per run
20 pax min 40 pax max
Take all food and refreshments and overnight gear in one alpine pack
per person.


DKD Mt Larkins Unlimited Run + NZ Freeski Association competition
helilifting weekend 20/21 Aug or 27/28Aug.

The usual Unlimited Run mission to the generous flanks of Mt Larkins
but also hosting the NZ Free Ski Association Big Mountain competition
with 2005 series contestants doing 2 radical lines for the judges.
Planning to use the steeply stacked east face down to the Pot Holes
and possibly the vertical shutes off the east face of Stone Pyramid
for the Freeski contestants. DKD Heli-lifting will be on the southface
and northface as well as west face of Stoneburn. There will be plenty
of opportunity to watch Freeski runs. Day visitors ok and then
weather permitting, for those that want, stay on the mountain with
overnight camping /tents on snow, bonfire, music and more runs the
next day then flight off the mountain.

Get There Fee $ 395 includes helicopter (s) ferry, flight up and off
the hill, guides, snow safety, landing fees insurance and fire wood.
Heli-lift Fee $ 50 per run main runs
$ 25 per run off Stoneburn saddle west face
20 pax min 70 pax max


DKD Mt Olympus/Craigieburns Unlimited Run heli-lifting
Sept 3rd/ 4th

Well - we all know how good the action is up on the Craigieburns so
we thought we'd take the DKD formula northward, staging from out of
the valley floor at the head of the Ryton River with unload pads on Mt
Olympus through to Mt Cheeseman and right around to Mt Enys giving a
huge area for constant big face carving runs. The plan is for lucky
groovers to 4WD drive to Mt Olympus and take the rope tow to the top
and then hike/ tour to the summit of Olympus or around the Sphynx for
their first run to the valley floor load pad with heli-lifting
radiating out after that and being able to ski/ride back to their
vehicles either at the top or bottom carparks at day's end. Music
cranking and more than one load pad at the valley floor gives lots of
possibilities of touring/picnicing as well as those teams cranking up
record numbers of runs.

Registration Fee $125 per person includes guides, snow safety, landing
fees, insurance, ferrying in helicopter (s)
Heli-lift Fee $ 45 per person per run
25 pax min 70 pax max




Tuatapere Hump Ridge Track

Get off your bottom and do the Hump!

http://www.humpridgetrack.co.nz

I think most people would agree that this is pretty damn cheap for heli
skiing. That is only 25 or so euro per lift, plus between 100 to 200 euros
to start.. and even though it probably wouldn't rival heliskiing in Canada
or similar places, it would still be very good..


"evski" wrote in message
...
Dear Roman

I will be in New Zealand over the southern winter and just want any
opinionson the ski resorts there.

For a bit of info on some of the southern nz snow areas check out;

http://www.nzsnow.com

And here are a few ideas on heli skiing / boarding this winter;



DKD Heli-lifting Program for Winter 2005

We are proud to invite you to join us for heaps of vertical and
celebration of good times in the most amazing places. Expect the usual
DKD Method :

* we seek out mindblowing mountains and set them up for you to spend
the day carving up
* you do the runs the way you want without having to follow a guide
* there are load and unload pads and you can do as little or as many
runs as you like
* no mucking round = six seater B2 machines with grunty sound systems
* each time you load your runs are recorded and you are billed at
day's end

With the dates indicated, we aim to fly the first fine day and the
rest are roll over dates for if the weather is dodgy. Booking is
essential - $ 50 deposit required. Please book through Darryl and the
gang at Small Planet Sports, Shotover St. Queenstown, ph 03 4426393
email or Dan & Christine ph 03 4427939 email
dankelly@queenstown .co.nz




DKD Turret Head Unlimited Runday Glenorchy
First fine day July 2nd/3rd or 9th/10

Turret Head is that giant blocky peak adjacent to the imposing icefall
of the south face of Mt Earnslaw. All the action will be on the hidden
northeast face which runs from Turret Head's summit shoulders at 2300
m down a generous long shelf into Earnslawburn with load pad at 1600
to 1400 m, aiming for 2500 vertical foot runs. The terrain is moderate
and suitable for all levels of riders and skiers - with wide open
pregnant constant straight fall lines off a generous north ridge wall
that will aim to provide 2 unload pads. The scene surrounding the
heli-lifting area is mega-vertical and dramatic.
The staging area is in Dan's Paddock, 20 minutes up the Dart River
track after Paradise. You wont require a high grade 4WD to get there,
cars will be ok.

Get There Fee $ 375 per person includes helicopter ferry, flight up
and off the hill, landing fees, snow safety, guides and insurance
Heli-lift Fee $50 per run per person
20 pax min 40 pax max

DKD Fiordland Unlimited Run Mission weekend - boating to head of Lake
Te Anau, heli-lifting, overnighting at Clinton Hut, boating back .
Either July 23/24 or 30/31st

We are proud to be helilifting in Fiordland on this giant fan shaped
face tilting down to the Milford Track. The unload pads will be at1900
m with long constant moderate to steep fall line runs all the way down
to a single load pad at 800 m = over 3000 foot runs. The run area is
surrounded by mega vertical, dramatic features and this location is
not for the faint hearted. Words cannot describe how special this big
face is.
The plan is to drive from the Wakatipu accross to Lake Te Anau,
meeting the boats at Te Anau Downs first thing on the big day and
then boat up to the head of the lake and meet your B2 by mid morning.
Leave the gear there for over-nighting and then ferry on up the
mountain for the rarest heli-lift session of them all. At the end of
the day returning to the valley floor, kick back and enjoy good sounds
and pot luck dinner, staying the night at Clinton hut, sleep in on the
Sunday and boating back down the lake.

Get There Fee $ 525 per person includes 2 way boat trip ( 7m hardtop
alloys ) hut fee, helicopter ferry flight up to mountain and return,
snow safety, landing fees, guides and insurance
Heli -lift Fee$ 50 per run
20 pax min 40 pax max
Take all food and refreshments and overnight gear in one alpine pack
per person.


DKD Mt Larkins Unlimited Run + NZ Freeski Association competition
helilifting weekend 20/21 Aug or 27/28Aug.

The usual Unlimited Run mission to the generous flanks of Mt Larkins
but also hosting the NZ Free Ski Association Big Mountain competition
with 2005 series contestants doing 2 radical lines for the judges.
Planning to use the steeply stacked east face down to the Pot Holes
and possibly the vertical shutes off the east face of Stone Pyramid
for the Freeski contestants. DKD Heli-lifting will be on the southface
and northface as well as west face of Stoneburn. There will be plenty
of opportunity to watch Freeski runs. Day visitors ok and then
weather permitting, for those that want, stay on the mountain with
overnight camping /tents on snow, bonfire, music and more runs the
next day then flight off the mountain.

Get There Fee $ 395 includes helicopter (s) ferry, flight up and off
the hill, guides, snow safety, landing fees insurance and fire wood.
Heli-lift Fee $ 50 per run main runs
$ 25 per run off Stoneburn saddle west face
20 pax min 70 pax max


DKD Mt Olympus/Craigieburns Unlimited Run heli-lifting
Sept 3rd/ 4th

Well - we all know how good the action is up on the Craigieburns so
we thought we'd take the DKD formula northward, staging from out of
the valley floor at the head of the Ryton River with unload pads on Mt
Olympus through to Mt Cheeseman and right around to Mt Enys giving a
huge area for constant big face carving runs. The plan is for lucky
groovers to 4WD drive to Mt Olympus and take the rope tow to the top
and then hike/ tour to the summit of Olympus or around the Sphynx for
their first run to the valley floor load pad with heli-lifting
radiating out after that and being able to ski/ride back to their
vehicles either at the top or bottom carparks at day's end. Music
cranking and more than one load pad at the valley floor gives lots of
possibilities of touring/picnicing as well as those teams cranking up
record numbers of runs.

Registration Fee $125 per person includes guides, snow safety, landing
fees, insurance, ferrying in helicopter (s)
Heli-lift Fee $ 45 per person per run
25 pax min 70 pax max




Tuatapere Hump Ridge Track

Get off your bottom and do the Hump!

http://www.humpridgetrack.co.nz