Two months ago I visited Mount Hutt, I said I would return...

Unfortunately here in the Canterbury region we have had some warm wet weather. Up on the mountain there is not a lot of snow, but what snow there is covers 90% of the runs and is well pisted. All the normal runs above the base lodge are open, the only ones closed are the off piste bowls. These whilst too rocky at the moment to be officially open they provide some entertaining skiing on a firm surface.

The extensive snowmaking will keep the main runs open for months to come and I'm told there is more snow on the way. Hopefully it arrives soon or it will start to like a giant gravel pit!

Over the back of Hutt there is a huge expanse of mountains, just waiting to be skied. These mountains are Heli skied and may one day have lifts on them. In the meantime the main bowl is what we have to ski.

In comparison to other NZ areas, Treble Cone has better lifts and better directly accessible terrain, Coronet peak has better snowmaking, but for the adventurous Hutt has the most possibilities for a commercial ski area. It also has the most lift served vertical on the South Island, enough to hold a world cup downhill!

Words and Pictures from Tom Greenall - Natives Resort Reporter

More First Impressions...

of Mt Cheeseman
of Mt Hutt
of Porter Heights
of Broken River
of Craigieburn Valley
of Mount Olympus
of NZ Nutcrackers
of Coronet Peak
of The Remarkables
of Treble Cone

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