Ski-Snowboard Coronet Peak, NZ
Skiing-snowboarding in Queenstown, New Zealand is worth the trip.
The grand skiing and snowboarding vacation in Queenstown, New Zealand, last summer under the auspices of U.S.-based Holidaze Ski Tours and the guiding of Queenstown-based Ski Express, continued on Day Two at Coronet Peak.
Queenstown, of course, is an internationally renowned destination for skiing, snowboarding, bungy jumping, and adventure of all kinds.
Coronet Peak
The Weather Gods were smiling as we ascended yet another hairy, scary, winding, serpentine "unsealed" track (read: dirt road) to the base lodge. Indeed, snow was falling, just to make the access road more interesting (or, should we say challenging?), and the first run of the day echoed that challenge.
When you’re skiing above treeline, the last thing you want is flat light.
Well, actually, the last thing you want is fog or impaired visibility. But, flat light doesn’t help.
Nor, for that matter, does re-frozen snow that was soft yesterday, and chilled to a sturdy crust overnight.
Luckily those condition disappeared after the first run. The sun emerged, and the snow softened perfectly.
Coronet Peak might best be described as a natural terrain park. It’s a veritable funhouse; a treeless, ski-where-you-want place filled with innumerable hillocks, rollers, pipes, gullies, bowls and natural features that just invite you to get happy.
A pair of high-speed lifts (a four-seater and a six-pack) and a large snowmaking plant make this a modern resort. There’s night skiing, too. And, since this is the closest ski field to Queenstown, it can be crowded, especially on the main pistes.
Still, diverting off piste and leaving the crowds behind proved no problem. We followed our Ski Express guide almost anywhere we pleased, constantly reminding ourselves to look up, over, back and around for skier/rider traffic that could be merging from any direction.
The U.S. Ski Team was training here during our visit, and there was a major slalom race to be staged the next day. That is probably sufficient evidence that there’s enough steep at Coronet. While the advanced runs aren’t that numerous, some superior black diamond descents were to be found a short hike up from the quad, then off to skiers’ left, where the trail ducks down into a valley, with some sharp drops and rollers, sporting some excellent bump fields.
Since I had recently sworn off hiking for turns (yesterday’s trudge to the top at The Remarkables notwithstanding), I settled for bouncing off the topographic halfpipe and quarterpipe sidewalls.
A definite hoot.
And, as throughout the trip, friendliness prevailed. This ski station has been around since the late ‘40s, starting with a rope tow, and it carries on with a "we’re all in it for the good times" ambience.
Related Article: Ski-Snowboard The Remarkables, NZ
