Cardrona's new chairlift blessed
Soho Basin is ready to rock and will open to the public once another 10-15cms of snow falls.
The new chairlift at Cardrona Alpine Resort, between Queenstown and Wānaka, was blessed by representatives from Kāi Tahu, including Komene Cassidy, on Sunday, in a ceremony attended by Tourism Minister Louise Upston.
The six-seater Soho Express, installed by Doppelmayer, will be able to transport 3000 passengers per hour out of the 150 hectare basin. It's 1.2km, with a vertical rise of 379m.
The expansion project has increased Cardrona's ski area from 465ha to 615ha – making it the biggest commercial ski area in New Zealand.
Cardrona and Treble Cone Chief Mountains Officer, Laura Hedley, says it was a stunning day to officially bless the new chairlift, with around 100 guests treated to sightseeing laps into the basin.
"It was incredible to celebrate with all the generations of Cardrona and RealNZ, including both the Lee and Hutchins families," she says.
RealNZ CEO Dave Beeche says the new chairlift and facilities at Cardrona, including the new Noodle Bar and retail spaces, will give the ski field the potential to increase its capacity from 4500 skiers and snowboarders to more than 7000.
"We hope that is going to drive another 150,000 skier days into the economy of the region," Beeche says.
Minister Upston, in her speech, says it's clear the passion Hedley and the RealNZ / Cardrona team has for the mountain, and thanked Ngāi Tahu for being involved as kaitiaki of the land.
"I think this partnership is what makes our ability to give visitors to New Zealand such world leading experiences, it's what makes them unique," she says.
Upston also paid tribute to the "Kiwi family pioneering spirit" of the Lee family, who developed Cardrona, and the Hutchins family, who created RealNZ, and thanked the RealNZ board for its investment in the infrastructure.
"Thank you very much for having the foresight and the guts, basically, to invest to this degree."
The Minister says the Government is clearly going for growth. "We want more visitors here, particularly more Australians. So we have been out there campaigning and promoting New Zealand being open for business," she says.
"And I can't think of a better example to demonstrate than what we're doing here today, with Soho Basin, literally opening a new part of New Zealand that has not been open for visitors before."
RealNZ's other ski field, Treble Cone, also opened for the 2025 winter season on Sunday, with 25cm of new snow at the top of the Home Basin, while NZSki's The Remarkables and Coronet Peak also enjoyed bluebird conditions after a decent dump of snow on Saturday. The majority of runs are now open.
