KiwiNewZ

Kiwi Snow Reports, New Zealand

May 17, 2000 - Free and Independent

Kia Ora

What a warm start to May as central Otago gets a brilliant late soak in the sun. A quick smack around the chops on the 7th of May saw the first good fall of the season. Some nice white deposits on the tops with 10 - 15cm reported at Coronet Peak and The Remarkables.

Queenstown seems to lift a notch with snow shops springing open, those familiar winter faces re appearing and snow fields cranking in to gear. The snow makers at Coronet have got most of the guns positioned ready to go and they have had a few practice sessions. Actually as I write this ( Tuesday morning about 10am ) I see that they have all the guns blazing on the M1! Now that's a milestone!

But you know its warm again. I'm still in my shorts and I dragged my surfboard down to Riverton last week. The skis are somewhere in the shed covered in dust and Lord knows where the long johns are. But hang on. Those big long isobars with a series of fronts stretching down in to Antarctica look kinda promising?

Nah I don't reckon. Just another flakey. It'll come. Just not quite yet.

Evan " I'm still in my shorts " Bloomfield

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>== This Issue

** We've updated
** La Nina Packs its Bags
** Early Season Passes
** Mt Ruapehu is on a Level 1

>== We've updated

Our Queenstown Winter Events Calendar has been updated with the major local snow events. Coronet Peak has made two big coups this year with the New Zealand Snowboarding Nationals from the 4th to the 7th of September and the Japan Ski Association FIS on 18 - 19 August.

You will find a table comparing vital statistics of the four downhill areas at our snow field page. Each area has its own page with a brief run down from me, a few nice pictures just to get you going and this years prices.

>== La Nina packs it's bags

US government space and ocean monitors indicate the end is near for La Nina, the weather pattern that has dominated the globe for the past two years and is blamed for increased hurricanes and drought in the United States.

La Nina has also been blamed for some shocker southern hemisphere snow seasons so let's hope they are right!

NASA commented that " La Nina, an area of cold water in the Pacific Ocean, appears to be on its last legs and will have a difficult time sustaining itself much longer ".

Hear, hear.

>== Win a free weekend in Queenstown

That's right, your chance to WIN two nights in a luxury lake front apartment less than a minute walk from Queenstown with SKY TV and a spa bath. Too much!

>== Early Bird Seasons Passes

You got yours? Seems to be all the rage doesn't it?

nzski.com ( ne Mt Cook ) have had a long time policy of rewarding early purchase of season passes offering some big discounts. Last year they sweetened the deal by offering a further 10 - 15% off for those that had season passes in previous seasons. Yippee.

So this year Whakapapa wades in to the action with a $199 season pass. Ooohhhh. Don't you like that. Turoa quickly followed suit ( or should that be the liquidators of Turoa ? ) and offered the same deal. Too much.

Hope you all bought one! Heck, why not get two! As my old mate Bruce use to say " The best way to learn how to ski is to buy a season pass ."

And sorry the bad news is that these deals are all over. The gossip is that Whakapapa are going to be pretty active with their pricing and promotions so check out their web site ..... oh come on .... do I really need to tell you ........ :-)
http://www.whakapapa.co.nz/

>== Mt Ruapehu is on Level 1 Alert

So the officials say. Scientists have our lovely live volcanoe of a snow field Mt Ruapehu on a Level 1 Alert. Don't worry. White Island is on a Level 2 Alert. Take a look at what happens when it erupts! Truth is I am sure no one really knows what is happening deep within the bowls of Mt Ruapehu and that scent of sulphur in the day just adds to the whole experience.

For more on New Zealand volcanoes see this great site from the Geological and Nuclear Sciences department of the Crown Research Institute;
http://www.gns.cri.nz/earthact/volcanoes/

And interesting to read recently, while we are on the volcanoe thing, that Auckland has over 50 volcanoes with a 5% chance of a major eruption in the next 50 years.

>== In the Last Issue

20 March 2000 - champagne powder in summer??

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