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Kiwi Snow Reports, New Zealand

June 22, 2001 - Free and Independent

Kia Ora

Well then. Been a while since we have been in touch and my what a lots been going on. Two fields opened for Queens Birthday in Aotearoa with another 4 or 5 coming on line this weekend.

Yippeee! ........ Not.

See I broke my collar bone. I am now a one armed touch typist fervently glancing up the peak watching the snow line decline, happily. Picture that.

The snow explosion felt spectacular. High speed and stable instantaneously converted in to an outrageous impact snow packed sliding across the M1 trying to figure. Bang. Owch.

Spiral mid shaft fracture of the left clavicle .... so they say. A wounded gull.

As I write dawn breaks with a short intense rain shower clearing to see a nice bit of fresh on the ranges. Hmmm. Maybe my shoulder is feeling a bit better.

Evan " Doh " Bloomfield

>== This Issue

** short takes
** fresh snow
** Queens Birthday bash
** win with snow forecasts
** snow field reports
** we have a winner
** make a snowflake
** last issue
** Subscribe and unsubscribe information

>== Short Takes

<Trampers watchout> So much snow in late May the Department of Conservation put out a warning for trampers with snow up to 1m deep on some of the alpine passes. Hmmm now there's an idea.

<Crater Lake fills> Ruapehu is fuming again.... or perhaps I should say filling. The big eruption of 5 years ago blocked the drain for The Crater Lake which is now 56% full and expected to reach 100% by 2003 odd. This has got a few people worried with a lahar flow almost certain some stage before or after. A proposed $370 000 alarm will give 1 hour warning for motorists on the Desert Road or 2 hours for the trains at Tangiwai 44km away. Wow. The temperature of the lake varies from 32 to 39 deg C for those thinking about a dip.

<Cold enuf for a Brass Monkey> Now while sensible people were sliding safely down Coronet Peak on opening day 1700 motorbike enthusiasts endured a 5 degree frost at the 21st Brass Monkey Rally in Oturehua. Just down the road is Ophir which has recorded both the highest and the lowest temperatures in New Zealand. Strange place central Otago. Strange crew those bikers.

<Matariki> Shortest night so what's one to do but stay up all night and celebrate. Heaps of crazies in mid winter swims dotted around New Zealand and the start of the Maori New Year or Matariki, which refers to the Pleiades, a cluster of stars situated in the constellation of Taurus the Bull. Its first appearance on the Eastern horizon just before the “blinding light of day” signifies the beginning of the Maori new year. Kupe used Matariki to navigate throughout the South Pacific including the discovery of Aotearoa ...... bless his soul.

<Alpine Auster> Those of you flying in to Queenstown for your snow fix this year will enjoy the fab new airport terminal. About time many would say. Take the chance to peer upwards and check out Harry Wigleys Auster aircraft suspended in the ceiling. ZK BOX was the world's first retractable ski plane and the beginning of flights on to the Tasman Glacier and Mount Cook Airlines ..... which funnily enough now owns nzski.com ...... how the world goes round .... and the Wigley family motto? "he who lives well, lives twice." Nice.

<NZ's newest snow area>Tekapo is a small lakeside town in the heart of the McKenzie country. During the 1970's and 1980's NZ skiing legend Karl Burtscher operated Round Hill ski area just out of Tekapo. After a few bad snow seasons it closed in 1990 selling the chairlift to Rainbow. This year Christian Burtscher, Karl's son is opening Round Hill again with a brand new TBar and learners lift. Cool. Check it out if you are in the area or online;
http://www.roundhill.co.nz/

>== Fresh Snow

So its official. The snow falls in late May were the biggest for Southland in 13 years .... "after the 18th pressures became low to the south east of New Zealand and a cold south-westerly flow prevailed with thunderstorms, frequent showers of rain and hail and snowfall to most areas" said Andy Fraser from 45 Degrees South Weather.

Euwbudi.

Here's a nice little table showing reported new snow falls from four of the local fields. A few gaps coz getting some of this information is like trying to find snow in the Sahara .... but you get the picture.

2001	Remarkables	Coronet Peak	Cardrona	Treble Cone
May
20	15			15
21	10	8	5
22	trace
23	10		10	15
24	35	20	15	20
June
07	trace		4
08	trace	trace
10	15
22	10	3	10	10

Up to the contents

>== Queens Birthday

Coronet Peak joined its big sister Mount Hutt for a Queens birthday opening to the 2001 winter season on Saturday the 2nd of June.

With an average base on the main M1 trail of 70cm, the Big Easy novice trail of 40-50cm and off-piste snow depths between 40-60cm this was a pretty tidy opening.

3 out of the 4 main lifts and all the beginners lifts were open. Heck I even had a few runs down exchange and the pipe was open and looked sweet. Onya Coronet.

Yep I'd be dancing too.
Coronet Peak 25 May 2001

And big it was with the traditional early morning line up for the first chair and one of the most stunning covers of pure white snow for an early opening that this snow fiend had seen at Coronet. They even threw in a surprise 8.30am opening just to stun us all. Now wouldn't it be great if they did that every so often through the season!

Up to the contents

>== snow forecasts

During the winter of 1999 Rob Davies, a Welshman doing some post graduate studies at Victoria University set up a cunningly simple little web site to help him find some of the best snow in New Zealand. Being a keen snow boarder that was a kind of sensible thing to do.

Now this after hours hobby has turned in to a global website Snow-Forecast.com, predicting snow falls from Iran to Invercargill. And that's not a misprint. They get heaps of snow in Iran:-)

Rob and I have kept in touch over the years which has led to the recent launch of a southern hemisphere version. Well the New Zealand part anyway. An Australia site is scheduled to go live 1 July with Japan following in September.

With over a million visitors a month to the global website it became clear that a southern hemisphere website hosted locally would provide a more targeted faster service for the users. It also provides a good opportunity to test new forecasting and presentation techniques before introducing them to the masses!

So here is an open invitation to be an official beta tester. It's free and fun:-) All ya godda do is go to the site, have an explore then send me an email with your comments. Easy aye. On 1 July I will draw one person to win a free weekend at a luxury lodge in Queenstown. Too much.

http://www.snow-forecastnz.com/

email: myfeedback@snow-forecastnz.com

Up to the contents

>== snow fields reports

Cardrona will open this Saturday 23rd June weather permitting. "It will be a very limited opening with 3 runs serviced by Mac Dougalls quad chair and the 3 Magic Learner lifts" goes the official version, but that was before they had 10cm on the 22nd ....

Things are looking somewhat more peachy at The Remarkables with Alta and Sugar bowl chair opening and the snow making setting up the trails nicely. No tubing sorry.

Treble Cone needs another good storm with 20 odd cm or 4 or 5 cool clear nights for their snowmaking before they can open and Round Hill is scheduled for its grand opening .... now that will be a party.

Up north Turoa and Whakapapa are opening today 22 June, 2001 although as we went to print the upper mountain was on hold. Both snow areas have an upper mountain base of 40 - 50cm. Turoa will open with some upper mountain facilities for intermediate and advanced skiing and boarding. Whakapapa will be beginner only with the upper mountain requiring another 20cm - 30cm.

Up to the contents

>== we have a winner

Some of you may have entered our competition to win a free weekend in Queenstown.

Well we have had a winner, out of 1 556 entries, to guess when snow would next fall around our home.

Here is a photo to give you the general idea.

The correct date was the 23rd of May and it was Paul Blakely from the Catlins with the correct guess made way back on the 13th of March 2001. Here is what Paul had to say;

"Where do I ski most? not me, - well a little. has been at Wanaka last few years but many times at Queenstown previous. Mainly an annual event with my family. Queenstown has always been a favourite/most desirable destination."

"I live on the South East Coast Otago at Kaka Point at the top of the
beautiful Catlins. I am self employed in the building industry. My kids, as are most, are very keen on skiing/boarding one of them just back from 5 months in Steamboat in Colorado."

Paul and family are coming to Queenstown in early September, so Paul we hope you enjoy staying in the newly refurbished luxury apartment and the family have some quality snow.

If you want the chance to win two free nights in Queenstown put in your guess now - click here.

Up to the contents

>== Make a snow flake

<> Snowflake v1.0 [42k] W9x/NT/2k FREE
From the lockergnome file.

http://www.am-soft.ru/snowflake.zip
http://www.am-soft.ru/snowflake.html
http://screenshot.lockergnome.com/snowflake.png

{Make a flake of snow} They say that no two snowflakes are alike, but how do they know? Is someone keeping track of these things? Does NASA have a satellite orbiting the planet which tracks every flake that has fallen since the beginning of time? Well, now I know where all my tax money is going. Maybe no two flakes are alike when it comes to real snow, but with this wintery program, you can create hundreds of snowflakes that look exactly alike .... or hundreds that look nothing alike. You control the parameters (depth, size, angle, colour, etc.). They won't melt on your computer screen even after you copy them, thank goodness. Now when people tell you that no two flakes are alike you can prove them wrong... or right.

Up to the contents

>++ Outside Sports - Proud to sponsor Kiwi Snow Reports

Outside Sports, Snowboards, carving skis, telemark equipment.

Where the adventure begins. Top of the Mall, Queenstown.

>== In the Last Issue

20 April 2001 - The Season of the Pass. The low down on early season passes for the winter of 2001.

>== Do you like our SnowReports?

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