Trip Report
The Remarkables is one of my favorite places to ski…why?
Remarkables, New Zealand – August 19th, 2016
Back in Mid-August of 2016, a father and son team (as well as our good pal Reese) descended upon a Southern Hemisphere gem…The Remarkables ski field near Queenstown, New Zealand. Located on the southern part of the South Island, the Remarkables is a mini mountain range by its own right. Running in a true North to South fashion and separated by the rest of the Southern Alps, not only does it have impeccable scenery but it also holds some absolutely radical terrain. To help us document the journey, the legendary Queenstown photographer, Miles Holden joined us up on his hometown slopes.
On this trip, after a day getting our ski legs acclimatized at their sister resort, Coronet Peak, we spent the majority of our time at The Remarks lapping up the Shadow Basin lift. You see, from this lift, the possibilities are almost as endless as the views. From intermediate groomers, wide open bowl of Homeward and Outward Bound to the steeps of the Alta Chutes, one can literally spend all day checking the boxes.
After a decent dusting of new snow and some favorable wind depositing, we were fortunate to find near ideal conditions for a ski holiday. The snow up in Southern facing Alta Chutes was crisp, cold and chalky in contrast to the perfect corn on the lower half of Homeward Bound. You could say that we weren’t too hot nor too cold…perfect weather for exploring and giving my 8 year old those much needed ‘steep techniques.’
Hop, skip and a jump from San Francisco…
We parked next to another AirNZ plane, so are we in NZ YET???
Here’s a photo of our plane…flying through the air
And just like that, we’ve made it to Winter!
Upon arrival in Queenstown, our good mate Seth Holden told security to send us back to America…
And then without blinking, we were on the slopes of Coronet Peak…
Reese takes no time adjusting to the time zone…
While the grom heads straight to Heidi’s Hut for a ski snack…
Coronet Peak has some tremendous rolling terrain with impeccable views…
The little guy makes a big turn above Lake Wakatipu…
The next morning, we headed up to The Remarks…
And luckily for us, we were greeted with fresh snow and blue skies…
The views of Sugar Bowl and Curvey Basin lifts from the Alta Chutes show the varied terrain…
Lake Hayes morning reflections are a bonus after hiking to the Alta Chutes…
Reese takes a far lap down Mid-Station Bowl…
The terrain behind Coronet Peak is breathtaking…
First run for this guy didn’t disappoint either…
Hmmmm…the second run down Diagonalator wasn’t exactly horrible…
This picture shows off the snow quality quite ‘remarkably’
Rolling out of Diagonalator above Alta Lake…
Reese makes a run for Alta Lake as well…
Miles Holden can also ski quite well…good on ya’
The Alta Chutes in all its glory…
Pipeline is a fun line and one my favorites…
While Miles took a few laps with the grom, Reece and I did another Alta Chutes lap…
Reese was born to exercise…with skis on his shoulder
Make sure you know where you are going in the Chutes…
The iconic Double Cone watches our every move…
Reese makes his way down The Nose…
Sometimes it would be nice if a son would wait for his dad…
Glen showed up, so we took an Outward lap…
Hey look, I can see Lake Hayes again…
Homeward Bound is fun for the whole family…
Glen airs over some tussock…
Ok guys, just warm up near the fire and we’ll see you in the morning…
Perfect ending to a classic NZ ski day…
But then again, maybe we should grab dinner…
After some sleep, I grabbed a coffee, stepped outside and said hello to the day…
First run, first hike to The Chutes…
The token shot of Lake Wakatipu from The Remarkables…
In case you wanted to see more snow…
When you have the snow sickness, the first run of the day can be just what the doctor ordered…
Oh boy, fun at the Remarks!
Slashing down a snowy ridge has its perks…
Here’s a shot of an old man making an off-piste turn…
The annual Telex descent is upon us…
This is one of those lines where you pre-plan every turn…
On the next lap, Reese laughs his way back to the Shadow Basin lift…
Time for the grom to hike his way to the Chutes, but I’ll carry his boards…
Dad, I made it…now what?
And he’s out of the gate down Elevator…
Reese attempts to catch the kid…
And he’s on his way to the traverse…
Ok, so I had to sneak in one more turn…
Or maybe he made a few more turns under the lights…
Goodbye downtown Queenstown, see you again soon…
Not a bad parting shot from the flight up to Auckland…
I meant grand couloir
You should do a photo with all the lines. There is none anywhere on Google. What about terminator, the don’t miss wrap around and the grand colour from single cone?
Maybe, but its also nice to have secrecy to those lines past Telex toward the Grand. I don’t know ALL the names but have skied the Grand Couloir many moons ago before I started bringing my kids in tow. I believe patrol had a map of the Chutes that showed Terminator, Exterminator, etc beyond Telex but I don’t remember the names of everything.