Posts Tagged ‘Cardrona’

All 4 fields at Lake Wanaka are now open and it’s not only Kiwis who are taking advantage of the fantastic snow the area has received:

Gabrielle Vance from Alaska, Lisa Christensen from Prince Edward Island, Canada, Lexis Sion from Mt Manganui amongst many others were there to christen the new season, the new snow.

Snow Farm, New Zealand’s only Nordic ski area, was the first field to open at the beginning of June offering first rate conditions on the many kilometres of world class cross country trails. Treble Cone opened last week with perfect conditions, great snow and no queues. Skiers and boarders enjoyed outstanding conditions with spectacular powder and all lifts operating.

The opening day at Treble Cone also featured New Zealand’s on-snow launch of The AirBag, a supersized, air-filled stunt cushion that provides a soft landing for aerial skiers and snowboarders.

This is New Zealand, whatever you want to try out on snow you can try it out here…

The ideal weather conditions and excellent snow base produced plenty of smiles at Cardrona Alpine Resort’s opening. A new 40 metre tunnel, providing a unique access route across the ski area proved popular with skiers and boarders. Cardrona now boasts the largest number of chair lifts in the South Island with the installation of the Valley View Quad, opening up even more terrain. Thank you to Salomon Freeski TV ep6 for this opening day video:

The roll-out of Lake Wanaka’s ski areas continued as the freestyle action got undweray at Snow Park NZ on Saturday. New for the terrain park is a learner tow rope and designated area for beginners as well as a new transport service to take passengers to and from the mountain every day with extra frequency for night riding sessions Tuesday, Friday and Saturday nights. This season Snow Park NZ will launch its 22ft halpipe and quarter pipe as well as many new rails and boxes.

James Helmore, general manager of Lake Wanaka Tourism (LakeWanakaNZ) said it was great to get the snow sports action underway for the season, “We are thrilled to welcome skiers and boarders from around the globe to enjoy the world class facilities and unique alpine town. We are looking forward to another fantastic season,” he said.

More snow is forecasted tonight…

Once again Lake Wanaka’s resorts will stage many national and international events this winter.

The FIS Snowboard and Freestyle Junior World Championships (19-31 August), Burton New Zealand Open (10-14 August) and The World Heli Challenge (30 July-9 August) will attract world class athletes and provide stunning action for spectators.

And to end on a lighter note, have you heard this one?

Two Skiers were on their way out on piste, one said, “Where did you get your new skis?”
The second skier replied, “Well, I was skiing along yesterday minding my own business when a beautiful woman came up on these skis. She unclipped them from her bindings and threw them to the ground, took off all her clothes and said, “Take what you want.”
The second skier nodded approvingly, “Good choice; the clothes probably wouldn’t have fit…”

The FIS Junior World Champs Snowboard and Freestyle competition is to be held in New Zealand in August,2010.

All three of Wanaka’s ski areas, Cardrona, Snow Park and Treble Cone, will share the spotlight for this August’s 2010 FIS Snowboard & Freestyle Junior World Championships.

High mountains and extensive terrain, reliable snow and powder days, Lake Wanaka Winter Resort has it all and is the most preferred skiing and snowboarding resort in the Southern Hemisphere.

Typically, FIS World Championships are staged during the Northern Hemisphere winter, but with New Zealand’s growing reputation as a world-class snow sports destination, organisers are confident they’ll be able to attract full fields for the event, which is expected to include a range of off-snow events and attractions in Wanaka. After all, last year’s World Heli Challenge in Wanaka  was a huge success attracting more than 40 top snowboarders and skiers from around the world.

This event, scheduled for 19-31 August, marks the first time a FIS World Championship will be staged in New Zealand, and also marks the first time that snowboarding and freestyle skiing will share the same stage in a World Championship.

“For two weeks in August, Wanaka will be centre stage for a major international ski and snowboard competition,” said Snow Sports New Zealand CEO Ross Palmer. “It’s a great opportunity for the local ski resorts and for elite junior freestyle and snowboard athletes to showcase our sports and the region.”

Snow Park will host the slopestyle competitions for both skiers and snowboarders; Treble Cone is set to host the snowboard parallel giant slalom and snowboard parallel slalom; Cardrona will stage the ski and snowboard halfpipe, ski- and snowboard-cross and snowboard big air competitions. All three resorts are just 30 minutes drive from downtown Wanaka.

The inclusion of slopestyle competitions in both skiing and snowboarding is one of the major breakthroughs for the event. FIS has never staged a slopestyle competition for skiers and only this year staged their first snowboard slopestyle competition at the World Cup level.

“Securing the FIS Junior World Champs is a coup for our reputation as a snow sports destination, with Wanaka offering arguably the best skiing and snowboarding in New Zealand across 4 ski areas and extensive heli-ski terrain,” said Lake Wanaka Tourism General Manager James Hellmore. “Hosting these up-and-coming athletes and future stars is a great opportunity to showcase the Wanaka region, with interest from worldwide media likely to be huge. While skiing and snowboarding are key reasons for people to visit Wanaka, the whole of the Wanaka region will benefit hugely from this event.”

A finalised schedule will be announced in the next week, and posted on the Snow Sports New Zealand website (www.snowsports.co.nz).

Thanks to Aussiemystic for this great video showing the resorts of Treble Cone and Cardrona…

The Japanese national team have set up a BAGJUMP in Cardrona, New Zealand which is allowing valuable training for themselves, the German, Canadian, American and Kiwi snowboarders in the run-up to the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games in 2010.

“It’s a good opportunity to get the feeling on the take-off, get control in the air and being confident to land on my feet every time!“ Stefan Gimpl, pro-snowboarder.

This 15m x 15m multi-chambered airbag is giving riders the opportunity to practice new freestyle moves and double tricks. It is a revolutionary way to push the limits of extreme sports.

The BAGJUMP is the most cool invention ever and is not restricted to snowboarders. It can be used for  snowboard, ski, freeclimb, mountainbike, BMX, freefall, slackline, parcour, skateboard BigAir, SMX and pretty well anything else you can think of.

Imagine – instead of anticipating every bone in your body being smashed or at least bruised when trying to master a new trick – with the BAGJUMP you can practice ever more impossible tricks because you know that your landing will be on a soft absorbing cloud!

It allows jumps up to 50 meters (164ft) and off-center landings and it even has an adjustable landing softness. It looks such fun!

The material is strong and very resiliant – witness this video with BMXs using the BAGJUMP

“… being able to try new tricks for big air contests with the assurance of the BAGJUMP I’m more concentrated on my take off and airtime” Georg Engel, pro-biker

Thank you to Bagjump for the videos.

Because of the high-tech design, developed by pro-snowboarders and stuntmen, there is no way you can break through the bag onto the ground or bounce  off it like on a trampoline.

As well as being a training aid it is also a fun-device for all freestyle orientated athletes of ANY skill level and for this reason resorts, sports centres and campus’ around the world are beginning to invest in them.

Air bag training is the wave of the future for high level action sports athletes attempting to raise the standard in a controlled environment and national teams from around the world are lining up to get training on air bags in an effort to prepare for the Olympics.

Cardrona, on New Zealand’s South Island and an hour’s drive from Queenstown, has one of the very few halfpipe’s open at this time of year… and the world’s best snowboarders and skiers are taking advantage of it as they train in the lead up to Vancouver 2010.

It has had the most epic season with record amounts of snow, record number of visitors and Olympic Medalist Shaun White (USA) making history in the pipe and establishng its position as one of the top favourite resorts for winter extreme sports.

Cardrona was coming to the end of its season when they were approached by national teams from all over the world looking for a training facility during October.  They were happy to oblige and retained the services of John Melville, Cardrona’s Parks & Pipes manager. The pipe camp began on the 5^th October and will continue through to the 24^th October.

Shaun White (USA) flew back to New Zealand specifically for the first week of the private Pre-Olympic Pipe Camp and was grateful for the training opportunity. “I had a great time, it’s awesome to be able to rely on a mountain to have great terrain during the summer time when there’s no snow in the U.S,” he said.

The Japanese national team is bringing in a 900kg inflatable stunt bag this week (the Bag Jump) and with the support of the park crew will build this into the snow to practice double cork and spin combinations that are the emerging standard in competitions.

Although there is still 135cm on the upper slopes and 65cm on the lower ones, this resort is now officially closed for the season.

Enjoy this  video (caryv1) from the 5 Star Burton New Zealand Open at Cardrona Alpine Resort, New Zealand in August 2009… the video ends with some bold and adventurous spirits pushing the boundaries of what one can do with a snowboard…

Desperate to go ski-ing? Wondering where to go? Look no further – Cardrona in New Zealand has had its best pre-season snow base levels in over a decade, 120 cm on the upper mountain and 80 cm in the base area.

“We’ve had some pretty extreme weather in May bringing heavy snow falls, the mountain is looking amazing, from top to bottom. It’s been great to get such a solid snow base but I know our operations team is grateful this week has brought some settled weather to continue with pre-season preparations,” said Nadia Ellis, sales and marketing manager.

“If these pre-season conditions are anything to go by then winter 2009 is going to be one for the record books. It certainly looks like we’re in for some great skiing and snowboarding from the outset, so long as the cold conditions hold,” said Ellis.

Cardrona is scheduled to open Friday 26 June. For further information, visit the newly relaunched web site at www.cardrona.com.

This picture was taken 3 days ago, 26th May 2009, by Tommy Pyatt.

Not looking too bad is it?!

Falls Creek, on Mt. McKay, Australia, on the other hand, is making snow in preparation for their opening in one week’s time – the Queen’s Birthday Weekend. Conditions are perfect for snow making with the mercury well below zero and the temperature, taking into account the wind chill component, a cool minus 7.6C. It has the country’s blackest runs over 450 hectares of snow covered fields.

But it is Mount Buller which has beaten everyone else to the opening day. 248kms north east of Melbourne (about 3 hours), Mt Buller is the most accessible snow resort in Australia and the closest resort to any international airport.

In a special ‘this-weekend-only’ celebration, Mt Buller is throwing open the resort to the public this Saturday and Sunday to share the amazing 35cm of early snow blanketing the resort.

“This is the earliest we’ve opened a lift and ski run in the history of Mt Buller resort. The closest was 45 years ago when we opened on the 16 May in 1964,” said Laurie Blampied General Manager of Buller Ski Lifts.

However, it looks like it’s be New Zealand stealing the show for the moment.

More fresh snow on Queenstown’s premier ski areas of The Remarkables and Coronet Peak on New Zealand’s South Island is delivering spectacular pre-season conditions, comparable with usual conditions in peak season.

Coronet Peak ski area, scheduled to open on Saturday 6 June, has received 50 – 100 cm of snow in the last four days resulting in an 80 cm base at the top of the mountain and a 50 cm base at the bottom.

Across the valley at The Remarkables, the ski area has received 45 cm of fresh snow in the last 48 hours and has received 150 cm over the last two weeks, resulting in a solid 120 cm base across the mountain.

More snow showers are forecast for Queenstown in the coming days…

Soon now, you, too, in the Southern Hemisphere can get up to these tricks (XTremeVideo):

There was double joy for Japanese snowboarders on the final day of the halfpipe World Cup event at the Cardrona ski field near Wanaka today.

Kohhei Kudoh won a spectacular men’s final, the 18-year-old drawing gasps of amazement with his final run which scored 48.9 points, among the highest in World Cup history.

He sometimes cleared 4m above the lip of the pipe to claim his first World Cup win, having twice finished second behind compatriot Ryoh Aono.

The order was reversed today, with yesterday’s top qualifier Aono still leading after the first run today before being passed by his brilliant compatroit.

However, Aono holds onto his position atop the World Cup rankings.

The highest-placed New Zealander in a respectable sixth place was Aucklander James Hamilton, with Ben Stewart 13th.

Shiho Nakashima took out her second women’s World Cup win with a technical and well-executed first run that put her clear in the final.

Nakashima headed Sina Candrian of Switzerland and Linn Haug of Norway third to climb to the top of the women’s world rankings.

New Zealand’s Juliane Bray was ninth in the women’s competition.

The next stop on the snowboard halfpipe World Cup tour is at Saas Fee, Switzerland next month.

The video below shows you where these guys learnt their skills – sure looks like fun and do you notice the slopes are almost empty – not sure whetehr that has something to do with the distance you will have to travel or whether people are put off by the Japanese attempt at yoddling! Thanks japantravel for the video and to the Otago Daily Times for the report.