[ad_1]
Skiers in the south are urged to carpool after thousands of people were caught in long lines to get to the ski slopes after the season’s biggest snow dump.
A 5-kilometer “end-to-end” queue was reported on Wednesday morning at Coronet Peak, with some skiers attempting to hike 10 miles up the access road to the Mt Hutt ski area instead of waiting with about 100 cars.
NZSki CEO Paul Anderson said the queues were due to capacity restrictions under Covid-19 level 2 combined with a bluebird day and fresh snow.
He hoped there would be less pressure in both fields on Thursday.
Joe Johnson / Stuff
Some desperate skiers decided to hike to the Mt Hutt ski field instead of waiting in a long line of cars.
READ MORE:
* Coronavirus: Ski fields plan to reopen Thursday after preparing for Covid alert level 2
* Southern skifields underestimate large school holiday crowds looking for snow
* Thousands enjoy an ‘epic’ day as the southern ski slopes gear up for capacity weekend
The Remarkables would also be open in Queenstown, doubling capacity in the area, but people should consider driving to the ski areas earlier and carpooling, he said.
“As I was driving past the queue today, at least half of the cars were single-occupant vehicles. If people ride shared, we can get more cars there.”
NZSki was not considering introducing a parking reservation system like the one used at Mt Ruapehu, he said.
Supplied
Bumper-to-bumper traffic heading to Coronet Peak Wednesday morning. The parking lot was full at 8.30am.
Ruapehu Alpine Lifts CEO Jono Dean said the free reservation system had solved car parking problems on the Whakapapa and Tūroa ski slopes.
“People are certain that they will get a slot, so there is no need for the race like the one you are seeing.”
Cardrona and Treble Cone CEO Bridget Legnavasky did not believe a similar system was necessary in Otago.
“We took everyone to the mountain [on Wednesday]. Some just had to wait a bit in line, “he said.
Supplied / Stuff
The fresh powder on Mt Hutt has attracted thousands of skiers and snowboarders.
Coronet Peak Ski Area Manager Nigel Kerr said parking lots on the mountain reached capacity before 9 a.m. Wednesday.
“I haven’t seen a first morning of tracks like this in a few years.”
Coronet Peak skier Simon Small said he left his Queenstown home around 7 a.m. to avoid the lines.
Supplied
The Coronet Peak ski area was the busiest in memory for early morning skiers and snowboarders.
“I was surprised that so many parking lots were taken,” he said.
The lines for the chairlift were the longest he’d seen in about five years, but the trip was worth it for some inconvenience, he said.
“It is an exquisite day in the mountains.”
About 100 cars queued along the access road to Mt Hutt Wednesday morning, but the line had cleared by lunchtime, said Mt Hutt operations manager James Urquhart.
Jen houltham
Queues of skiers and snowboarders in social distance lines on a near-perfect day at Treble Cone.
He was impressed that people found out about the new rules allowing more capacity on the chairlifts for those wearing a mask or face covering.
Cromwell’s Greg Millane made his way to Coronet Peak early Wednesday, but reached the middle of the access road before being pulled over.
“It was bumper to bumper. I sat there for about 20 minutes and we never moved. I checked the snow report and they said the parking lot was full, that was at 8:30 am.”
He was surprised by the number of people heading up the mountain and how early the parking lot filled up.
The queue was 4.5 km long around 10 a.m.
Legnavsky said Wednesday was “probably the best day of the season by far.”
“We have a foot of new snow that was not really tracked [on Tuesday].
Remarkables ski area manager Ross Lawrence said Thursday was expected to be a great day after about 10 inches of fresh snow fell.
Joe Johnson / Stuff
A long queue of vehicles waiting to reach the Mt Hutt skifield.
The elevator closures and avalanche work in progress did not stop dozens of people who visited Wednesday.
Many hiked to the top of the Alta chairlift to ski down or into the country, Lawrence said.
Canterbury Porters Alpine Resort General Manager Darren Cavill said everyone had a great day on the field after a slightly delayed opening for avalanche control work.
The snow dump was appreciated after a “horrible” season with little natural snow.
Alix the Palmier / Supplied
Early morning calm with fresh snow at Porters Alpine Resort on Wednesday.
“Snow has been a bigger problem for us than any Covid,” he said.
The Canterbury club field, Broken River, opened on Wednesday for the first time in a month thanks to snowfall, but the Temple Basin ski area in Arthur’s Pass National Park remained closed and was waiting for snow, according to its site. Web.
Mt Cheeseman was closed but would open on Saturday, having received about 12 inches of new snow.
The Craigieburn Valley ski area was open with 42cm of fresh snow.
