Industry News
A little known ski-club near Canterbury, New Zealand, has beaten the big boys to be the first resort open after a huge storm dumped almost two feet of fresh snow on the area. At short notice, Hanmer Springs opened today, June 3rd.
It is the first time in the resort’s history that they have been opened for the Queen’s Birthday, a national holiday Down Under. In New Zealand, the Queen’s Birthday holiday occurs on the first Monday in June.
Only on Tuesday, Perisher in Australia announced that they would be kicking off the southern hemisphere ski season by opening a week early, on June 4th. Looks like they’ve been beaten by a nose…
Hanmer Springs Ski Area, located on Mount Saint Patrick, South Island, New Zealand, is a club skifield 11-miles (about 35 minutes’ drive) from Hanmer Springs. It has New Zealand’s longest Poma lift at over 2,625-feet (800m), a nutcracker rope tow, and a new beginner’s fixed grip rope tow, giving access to trails rated as 10% beginner, 60% intermediate, and 30% advanced. The elevation is 5,804-feet (1,769m) at the top of the field with 128-acres (52ha) of ski terrain (1,017ft/310m vertical elevation).
The facilities are run by the Amuri Ski Club Inc, a volunteer non-profit sports club for locals and visitors, with all proceeds from receipts being put back into upgrading facilities each year. A groomer is used throughout the season, which usually runs from the end of June until about mid-September each year. There is a natural terrain park used by both skiers and snowboarders.
