Snow Report 14 August 2014 - Australia & New Zealand

AUSTRALIA

G'day everyone. We are nice and deep into the peak ski season now and sliding and riding towards spring with almost two months of great snow behind us and hopefully more to come.

Falls Creek 09.08.14

It was a warm start to the weekend in Australia with high daytime temperatures and light winds, meaning pleasant conditions but a bit of melting snow in the Australian Alps.

Sunday saw a bit of snow fall in Victoria and New South Wales as a weather front just clipped the southeast of the continent. Temperatures then dropped considerably, making for good snowmaking conditions all this week.

Fine conditions have continued through the week, with cold temperatures keeping the snow in good nick. Some rain is forecast for the end of the weekend, and into next week this may turn to snow. Hopefully the temperatures stay cool so there's more snow than rain.

We were lucky to be up at the wonderful Falls Creek (160/121cms) on the weekend. After a couple of years since our last visit, I'd forgotten how incredibly beautiful it is up there on the Bogong High Plains of Victoria. It is, in my opinion, certainly the best setting of any Alpine resort in Australia or New Zealand. The views to the High Plains, across the lake, and up to Mt Bogong ... stunning.

Falls Creek 10.08.14

On Saturday morning there was a light fog which had settled a few metres above the herds of cows in the Kiewa Valley. It quickly dispersed as the temperatures weren't really that cold.

The long, winding drive up from Mount Beauty to Falls Creek was well worth it as we arrived as the sun came up across the village, lighting up the lines of well-groomed runs above the International lift.

A light freeze overnight was never going to last as the sun moved across the resort on Saturday. The Summit and International groomed runs were great first off. Fantastic cover. Through the day the off-piste softened up quickly making for some great fun skiing, mainly off the Summit and International lifts.

It was raining heavily at dawn on Sunday in Mount Beauty, which meant a surprise 5cm dusting of snow up at Falls Creek. It was brilliant timing as it meant a fresh coat on top of the already groomed runs first off. This time, the first runs of the day were on Lakeside, then the Summit runs, and then over to Ruined Castle which had improved considerably over Saturday.

Falls Creek 10.08.14

The freeze overnight wasn't that cold, so the new snow was binding to the surface, making it nice and dry and conditions were good across the back of Falls Creek (think about from Sundown to Quartz Ridge) all day as temperatures dropped compared to Saturday and the cloud came in.

All lifts and runs open at Perisher and Thredbo, as well as at the Victorian resorts of Mt Hotham (129/112cms) and Mt Buller (120/92cms) where the snowdepths have not changed significantly from last week, reflecting the cool air that is still around helping to maintain the snowdepth.


NEW ZEALAND

It is extremely pleasing to say that there has been heaps, and in some places absolutely masses, more snow in New Zealand! It is the perfect time to be skiing and riding on both islands, mid-winter at its best, although just lately it has been very windy.

Last weekend started off beautiful and sunny as predicted. Sun and some fresh snow from the week before was a great combination!

Sunday started off nice too, but the high cloud rolled in with the Northwesterly. That brought lots of snow in the Southern Lakes overnight into Monday, continuing and spreading north into the Mackenzie and Canterbury into Tuesday.

It became very cold on Wednesday with snow continuing. An increase in winds caused most lifts to go on hold across the South Island on Thursday.

The new snow in Canterbury has finally helped some of the club fields up there open, like Craigieburn which will be open before this weekend. However, conditions are still not that great in Canterbury which has certainly struggled though the early season this year.

Rainbow 13.08.14 [Source: Rainbow FB page]

The wind and weather should clear into the weekend for some amazing skiing and boarding, especially around Queenstown and Wanaka. Enjoy!

North Canterbury and Nelson

Hanmer Springs (15cms) is still yet to open and looks unlikely to have much of the season left to get going. Mt Lyford got 30cms this week, but was closed on Thursday due to strong winds. Pretty Rainbow (65/50cms) got the T-bar open all the way to the top this week and is looking great for the weekend.

Canterbury

Porters (80/40cms) got snow early in the week and a dusting Wednesday, but the good news is it is now open to the top albeit with limited off-piste due to rocks. Mt Hutt (85/70cms) got windy with the Northwesterly on Monday, then scored 15cms snow into Tuesday and another 5cms into
Wednesday. A total of 30cms this week and the best its been looking this year. The Triple Chair is not operating.

The Mackenzie

Mt Dobson got 35cms of new snow this week, and is closed today but due to open on the weekend. Roundhill (40/20cms) has been open, as has Ohau (120/70cms) which has fantastic conditions across the mountain.

Wanaka

Treble Cone 12.08.14 [Source. TC FB page]

Great snow around Wanaka. Cardrona (105/80cms) received 10cms of fresh into Monday, and 40cms total this week. Gale force winds Thursday caused Cardrona to close but it will reopen soon. Treble Cone (83/20cms) scored 20cms of fresh snow into Monday, then 10cms into Tuesday. Cover to the base now and fantastic snow across the Saddle Basin. The time to hit Treble Cone is now!

Queenstown

Coronet Peak (75/55cms) saw 10-15cms into Monday and then 15-20cms into Tuesday. Good skiing and riding now on and off-piste, but wind-affected at the end of the week. The Remarkables (155/85cms) is looking brilliant despite closing on Thursday. It has seen 75cms of snow fall in the last week and looks great for the weekend.