New Zealand Report: Windy, Wonderful Closing Laps To Winter '23

*Where there’s a snow skate, there is a way! Photo: P.M.Fadden*

Report from October 4, 2023

These opening weeks of October mark the final ‘bow’ for many of New Zealand’s ski areas.

Cardrona NZ closes operations on October 15, and the conclusion of the esteemed Remarkables Ski Area is only days away, while Treble Cone, as well as Ohau Snowfields, just shut shop during the recent week of dazzling, wind-whirled days in New Zealand’s southern High Country.

All around New Zealand, Winter ’23 has been a wild, awesome ride.

*Beautiful, yes, and beastly too. Photo: P.M.Fadden*

Tempest winds have brought what basically amounts to gale-force barn dances to the long sharp valleys of South Island, New Zealand. And these came only days after a major dollop of white stuff had pumped fresh life into the tail end of winter commercial ski operations in the Southern Alps. In short, the finale this season is nothing short of a salt shaker tumbling all of winter’s elements into a mighty compact time and space.

*At any stage of a season, mere days make all the difference when shredding NZ. Photo: P.M.Fadden*

Pushy fronts continue to buffet as well as sprinkle New Zealand’s southern range. They form a particular contrast, as the weather in between each new front has most certainly felt 100% summer-y.

There has undoubtedly been significant thinning of the snowpack as a result of this climatic see-saw, and this ’23 Winter has absolutely lost its ‘bite,’ but there is little doubt that there is adventure a’plenty yet to be enjoyed in or around the wilds of New Zealand.

Until the official onset of the antics of the next season, enjoy the below parting snaps from a topsy-turvy New Zealand winter.

And get set, the next few weeks are commonly a primo, savvy window for foot-powered missions around New Zealand’s many incredible–and largely free of cost–tramping huts.

Fingers crossed that amazing Mother Nature continues to deliver the goods (in all their varieties).