Countdown to winter 2025 begins
Queenstowners will hit the slopes in less than one month, if the snow gods deliver.
NZSki is gearing up for a strong start to the 2025 winter ski season across its three skifields - The Remarkables, Coronet Peak and Mt Hutt - with staff arriving in town and groomers at the ready.
The Remarks and Coronet Peak are due to open on 14 June, while Canterbury's Mt Hutt is on track to open for weekend skiing from 31 May, thanks to the major storm system that swept through Southern Alps earlier this month.
“We had 120cms of snow in that one storm,” NZSki boss Paul Anderson says. “It took 15 hours with two groomers working flat out to clear the access road at Mt Hutt. Once we packed it down, we knew it would hold.
"There’s still a month to go for Queenstown, so lots of time and cold weather on the way. We're usually doing the snow dance right up until opening, but Coronet especially only needs a little to get going, and once we have those cold temperatures, we'll have the snow-making systems ready to go."
At Coronet Peak, the focus over summer has been a major snowmaking upgrade. NZSki has installed five new snow guns and also replaced ageing steel piping with long-life ductile iron pipes in cast concrete, used in large-scale water infrastructure.
"There's been a good million dollars' worth of snow-making equipment going in there,” Anderson says. “We’re targeting areas where we know coverage can be improved and where new equipment will produce significantly more snow.”
The new-generation snow guns produce four to five times the output of the older models.
Meanwhile, The Remarks has received a fleet upgrade, with two new groomers - each worth around $800,000. There's also $750,000 of new ski and snowboard rental equipment.
“That’s about a third of the rental equipment refreshed,” Anderson says.
Sustainability is also a focus this year, with the company continuing to transition from diesel vehicles to hybrids. Six new hybrid utes and SUVs have been added to the fleet, along with two four-wheel-drive buses, at $600k a pop.
"The hybrids reduce emissions by around 10%, and they save fuel too, so it's the right thing to do." Anderson says. The new buses bring the total fleet to 36, helping reduce the pressure on carparks.
Gondola favoured for Doolans expansion
While winter 2025 is nearly here, much of the work over the summer months has been preparing the Fast-Track paperwork for the future expansion into the Doolans, the next basin over at The Remarks.
The project would almost triple the skiable area, expanding from 385 hectares to over 900ha, and increasing the ski field's economic impact from $150m per year to more than $400m, according to one study.
Early plans were for a ski tunnel through the mountain just below The Saddle, near the top of Curvey Basin chairlift.
But Anderson says the company now favours a major new 10-seat gondola over Helicopter Ridge, midway between Curvey and Sugar Bowl.
"It'll be a 2.7km gondola that you can ride in either direction. You can either get off at the base station at the other end, or up on the top, so three stations," Anderson says.
The plans will see a significant expansion of the current base building, rather than a separate major building in the Doolans.
The 80s are back in fashion at The Remarks this year, as the skifield celebrates its 40th anniversary
Celebrating 40 years on the snow
This year also marks the 40th anniversary of The Remarks, with a spring carnival in late September to celebrate. “We’re going full 80s,” Anderson says. “We’ve decked out the snow centre, and there’ll be events up the mountain and possibly a rail jam in town.”
With early snow on the ground, strong season pass sales, and Australian bookings on the rise, Anderson says all signs point to a big winter ahead.
“We’re ready - and we think it’s going to be a great season.”
