Queenstown Prepares For the 2009 Ski Season
by Jeff The Kiwi - March 24th, 2009. Filed under: Events and Activities, Latest News, South Island.While Queenstown may currently still be basking in the extended summer sunshine, staff at NZSki have been busy preparing for the 2009 ski season.
Ski season in Queenstown won’t be kicking off for another three months, however improvements to Coronet Peak and The Remarkables ski fields have been keeping the mountain staff busy as they prepare for another hectic season.
In February, NZSki announced that the largest single order of snow groomers in New Zealand history was to make its way to the slopes of the country’s premier ski areas ahead of the 2009 snow season.
Then in March, it was revealed that even greater improvements were being made to the new $30 million base facility and world class snowmaking system at Coronet Peak, following its grand opening in 2008.
Improvements include upgrading children’s facilities and programmes to cater for babies as young as three months old right through to teenagers of 17, and investing in two new state-of-the-art snow groomers to improve on-trail conditions. The dedicated kids’ slope attached to the crèche area will be doubled in size and feature a 24-metre Sun Kid surface conveyor lift designed especially for very young beginners.
Coronet Peak is also completing a new snowmaking reservoir with a capacity of 89 million liters in Sarah Sue, which will improve water stocks to enable better use of the fully automated snowmaking system across the entire mountain.
People heading to Coronet Peak for the 2009 season will also enjoy affordable transport to the mountain. Return transport from the Queenstown Snow Centre and selected Queenstown accommodation providers to the base building will be available for only $10.
Over at the Remarkables, riders and skiers will find the ground level of the base building fully renovated, with bigger and better children’s facilities and a more efficient, easier to access guest services department. Two new snow groomers have also been included within the existing fleet to provide the best possible surfaces for riders and skiers.
A free transport service to The Remarkables will now be included with full day passes, multi-day passes and combo packs for the 2009 season. This free return transport will run from the Snow Centre in Queenstown to the base facilities of The Remarkables and is sure to be a huge hit with skiers and snowboarders.
For all the latest news on the forthcoming ski and snowboarding season in New Zealand, visit www.brownbear.co.nz
