Over the last 3 days we have seen about 30cm fall over Cardrona! Yesterday was a great powder day, with the sun coming out in full force in the afternoon. Its crazy to think we're closing on Sunday with all this snow. More snow is forecasted so we may have a powder day on closing. 

After a few flakes fell on Friday afternoon, La Tania awoke to a white Winter Wonderland once again on Saturday morning.

Only a covering and bound to melt low down once the sun gets out but a welcome reminder that Winter is on its way.

The first snow flakes of Winter are falling down to resort level with a bit more to come tomorrow. It won't last of course but everyone's gone a bit giddy.....

First snow of the season fell at Cairngorm today, with more forecast to be on the way and down to as low as 700m over the next few days

Cardrona was covered in wind affected snow today. The slopes underneath Whitestar were very icy and the park was too icy to hit. Captain's basin faired a lot better, with some powdery pockets.

 The Junior Nationals were underway today with Big mountain for the skiers and boardercross for the snowboarders. However many complained about the hardened conditions. Lets hope they have better conditions for the half pipe tomorrow!

Well Sunday saw an unprecedented spring powder day here at mt hutt. A light approx 15cm dusting  softend  up the off piste for the first time in a while the whole field was pleasurably to ride. The big parks monster kicks where reshaped for the surf snow comp a competition consisting of a mix of pro snowboarders and surfers one surf day of competition and one slopestlye. some impressive tricks where pulled and some very kicker addicted locals pumped themselves full of adrenaline on some new poppyier shapes. Rock on spring no crowds and soft landings!!

The mountain was put on hold today and then opened. However an hour later it closed. This was due to heavy rain/snow and strong winds. Hopefully the mountain will have got a bit more of snow. The mountain is expected to get very busy as it is school holidays.

Its dumping! This morning Queenstown woke up to heavy snow all the way down to town.  The Remarkables is closed for the day due to strong southerly winds and snow on the access road. The forecast is for more wind and snow on Monday - Let's hope they can open tomorrow for the Spring Fling and the Splash for Cash competition!

 

The lifts high up on the glacier in Tignes open for Winter tomorrow - and it's already snowing down to resort level in Le Lavachet. Bring it on....

Yesterday saw Cardrona at its worst; freezing temperatures and extreme icy conditions. The park was a 'no-go' and everywhere was hard and icy with no crust to the snow. However today the sun came out and the conditions softened. It has definitely been the best day this week.

Massive storms yesterday meant TC didn't open, but today brought perfect bluebird conditions to enjoy the late season dump of 25cm of powder.  Things still softened up a lot in the main basin by late morning but conditions in the saddle were excellent all day.  Unfortunately the forecast for the next few days isn't looking so good, but hopefully there will be a bit more snow falling.

The weather closed in today; strong winds and heavy snowfall prevailed. The whitestar lift was closed for most of the day and all the other lifts were running slow. The snow was quite nice to ski on BUT the flat light and gale force winds made it a bit of a challenge. Hopefully the weather will improve for the school holidays.

Today is Coronet Peak's last day of the season.  The Remarkables hope to stay open for a few more weeks and cover the school holidays.  We had some wet  wind affected snow today with more heavy rain forcaste for Tuesday. It's still really fun up there with soft snow all over the mountain and a new step up and hip in the park - bring on the sunshine and the splash for cash next Sunday!

TC...Tropical Climate?  Terrible Conditions?  Time to Close?  Huge amounts of snow are disappearing now and it's 7c in the home basin today so sunbathing conditions are better than skiing conditions at the moment.  All fingers and toes crossed for some cold weather and a little more snow to finish off what has overall been an awesome season.

The last two days could be described as very 'spring like.' Yesterday morning was very warm with low clouds. This made the snow terribly slushy. Unbelievably it started snowing yesterday afternoon which was a bit of a surprise!

  However today was extremely pleasant, although a little bit slushy. Lets hope for some more bluebird days like today!

Another 15cm in the saddle earlier this week but the home basin is still looking a bit bare.  Awesome conditions in the saddle in the morning, but the cloud has been lingering in the home basin all day and gathering in the saddle in the afternoon.  Things are getting a bit slushy by afternoon too.

Well 3 metres of snow heralded the 3 metre staff party yesterday which saw everyone at the local bar for a free drink but then off to our favourite alcholics in residence for an after party/ real party. Shout outs to the forest drive girls. Unfortunately the mountain only opened 3 days this week which has left methven skint however Saturday was open and a bumper powder day. The pipe is nearly ready but without many open days needs more work. Ok so now there is enough snow we just need the weather to ride it. The park has been awesomely reset with the takeoffs to the mini park jibs looking wider and the ends higher off the ground creating more room for the drop off spins.

Winter has returned!  20cm of freshies in the saddle today and perfect  bluebird conditions to enjoy it with.

A bit of a bad week so far for TC:  high winds on Monday meant only the platter opened; Tuesday's bluebird conditions were marred by the six seater breaking down in the morning and the Saddle being closed all day for avalanche control; today is the first fully closed day of the season.  More snow is forecast over the next few days, so hopefully things will start looking up again soon!

Wet snow added 30 cm to the base early last week. Wind has since dried those conditions making a good hard snowpack for racers and parkies alike. A little icy on the upper advanced slopes has meant closures to some of the more advanced trails on the mountain. Also in the last week a bit of heavy fog making for minimum visibility. Overall the feeling of spring is here. Warm temperatures should clear the weather and we look forward to more bluebird days with some nice spring riding.... Or will it suddenly turn cold and dump down for the last month of the season as it did in Europe this year?

Parkwise it looks they have got as far as they will this year with the little park consisting of a dual line of 4 rail features each and 2 rollers at the bottom with an upright box off to the side at the top. In the big park there is a 4 jump line  with 4 rail features to the side of each kicker. The first jump is usually a mild roller with a bit of pop off the top of the transition this then leads into 3 step down kickers measuring  25-30ft, 30-35ft, 40+ft Depending on when it snowed last. PIPE well well the poor guys haven't had much luck with the pipe with the pipe arm breaking twice in the last 2 weeks so we are hoping and praying that its built before closing day.

The recent slopestyle competition at other local field Roundhill went down well although one the local favourites to win the event didn't turn up due to car trouble and surprisingly a japanese pro only managing 3rd place. Wind has meant closure the last two days making the skatepark and drinking a popular option.

It was the last Day of Summer Skiing in Tignes on Sunday so Winter really is on the way now!

The top 500m or so was lovely spring snow. But the bottom section of the glacier was "interesting" - with rivers, rocks and crevasses to dodge - a thin track of snow at the edge of the piste got you back to the cable car (just like following the line of a snow fence in Scotland - great memories).

The park was still in pretty good nick, just the runs down to the bottom of the T-Bars became icy, wet or rocky (or all 3), definitely time for Winter (of course it dumped at the top last night now the lifts are shut). At least 50 times better than any dry slope or indoor snow place though and certainly gives you the fix you need until the Ski Shows....

The snow at Remarks has held up pretty well considering the warm temperatures over the last few days.  The Cadbury Moro Slopstyle on Saturday had bluebird condititions and was an awesome event. However the forecast is for bad weather over the next few days with gale force winds and snow above 1600m - let's hope we get some freshies out of it!

The past few days have been very sunny and this has resulted in some very slushy afternoon skiing! The mornings have been bullet proof, but usually by 11 am the snow is quite soft. The superpipe has been very popular as it has been well cut and the spring conditions make for great pipe riding.

 The uni games which were held last week, resulted in the resort being very busy. However this weekend the resort is remarkably quiet! 

The spring conditions continue and the snow is disappearing rather too rapidly, but fortunately the sun has returned and the Saddle Basin has reopened, so the crowds have dispersed over the mountain a bit. 

Our last snowfall was 22nd Aug.  Conditions are Spring like with ice in the mornings and slush in the afternoons.  Despite this the Volkl NZ Open Big mountain still ran at Remarks and Treble Cone over the last few days and was an awesome event.  The high pressure is forecaste to stick around for the rest of the week with precipitation at the start of next week.

TC has been uncharacteristically busy the last couple of days - the hordes don't seem to have been deterred by the choppy and slushy spring conditions.  The lift queues are as big as they've been all season, partly due to the Saddle Quad having been closed the last two days due to extremely poor visibility.  There are still some decent pockets of snow to be found though, if you can spot then through the fog!

Late but great is the only way to describe the season in Patagonia. After three huge seasons we had to expect a slower one. It kicked in slowly with just a few small dumps and limited skiing available until late July when all of a sudden we had some regular 30 - 40cm falls. Top-to-bottom skiing and some sensational powder opportunities became the order of the day, with everything opening up, including my favourite, the lenga forest - the mossy beards on the trees give the place a Lord of the Rings Old Forest feel, and the snow collects deep and dry beneath them. Snowfalls have continued every week since late July with more forecast next week to set up what looks like a typically good spring season. If you are looking for some September snow come and check out South America's biggest single mountain ski area.

we have the best snow doh dah do dah conditions are great unfortunatly closed today due to high wind. But  some good dumps over the past week has seen 2 powder days and some amazing riding at the club fields with loads of freshies avaliable through out Canterbury.Rock on cliff drops! At Mt Hutt we are hanging out for a pipe which will hopefully be built soon. In the mean time the free riding continues.

Warm weather today meant spring-like conditions in the afternoon - hopefully it's not the beginning of the end yet though.

Masses of snow over the last week but unfortunately coupled with some strong wind which has left some places a bit scraped off.  Plenty of sunshine today and forecast for tomorrow to enjoy what hasn't been blown away though.

Craigieburn- K2 Big mountain Chill Series postponed for a later date.

 

  The first event in the K2 Chill series calender has been postponed to a later date. The comp which was already put back a day to the Sunday (17th) was laid off due to heavy snow. A reported meter and a half of snow fell in just two days which made Craigieburn prone to avalanches.

 Most competitors headed to Broken river to get their fix of powder. Roads up to Broken River were slow and 4WD vehicles needed chains.

 

Ohau Ski resort 

 

Ohau had their busiest day ever this Saturday (the 16th). They had a record 550 people skiing their mountain. A combination of fresh tracks and sunny weather was experienced by all. The 17th was also an enjoyable day with 5cm of fresh pow.

 

Cardrona

 

Cardrona has been having their fair share of powder. However today there was strong winds, low cloud and snow showers. It was also bitterly cold and was probably the coldest day of the season!!!!

 

Snow snow snow has been the order of the last 2 weeks. Mt Hutt now has a 2m+ base. The parks are fully setup and the halfpipe should be finally open sometime next week. Wind has been the enemy for the past few days closing the field yesterday and making the jumps in the big park unhittable for most of today. However there has been some amazing windblown pow pockets so cant complain in general.

Freshies! 8cms at Coronet Peak and 15cms at the Remarkables overnight made for awesome skiing and riding today. The fresh snow added to the recent powder giving the best conditions of the season so far! Up Shadow basin at Remarks today there was around 30cms fresh all down 'Homeward Bound'. Snow has fallen right down to lake level making driving in town tricky and creating carnage on the access roads. They should be all good for tomorrow and more snow is forecast! Woo hooo!