Steezy outfits? Check. Mountain side restaurants? Chalet lined slopes? Ummmmm miles upon miles of terrain? Not quite, unbeatable chair lift systems? This isn’t going well.
OK, so there might not be as many comparisons between skiing in the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere. In fact, on paper, it looks almost incomprehensible. But trust me, travel to New Zealand for a touch of skiing and you won’t be disappointed. The only similarity between the French Alps and the Kiwi’s version seems to be the amount of tall tees and ray ban sunglasses donned on the mountain, and that’s no bad thing.
Wanaka, in the South Island is a hub for devoted skiers from all around the world. From the moment you arrive on the snowy roads of the South Island, you are greeted with a town dedicated to the season.
Sat in the middle between two of the most popular mountains in the South Island, Cardrona and Treble Cone, Wanaka is at the heart of New Zealand’s ski and snowboard scene. Unlike your family chalet holiday to Courchevel in your pre-teens, where most chalets and hotels are ski in-ski out, close to chair lifts or even a comfortable walking distance away to the slopes, New Zealand’s mountains are dedicated to just that – purely the mountain.
A drive up the pebbly, steep, treacherous lanes to the top of Cardrona in a rickety old car kicks off your day. No warm bubble lifts to take you to the top here. You usually get half way up before deciding that snow chains would have been a good idea, and then spend the next half an hour at the side of the mountain track frantically trying to attach them. This is if you’re lucky. Without a car you are demoted to the hitching point. The usual hang out for people either too poor to afford a car, or too lazy to have gone up in said car with friends at 9am. Spotted from a far from the line-up of all year round seasonnaires sat on the picket fence in illuminant ski wear. Get there early on and you are guaranteed a lift within minutes. From half 10 onwards you’re looking at up to an hour. Most people will stop and squeeze you and your skis into their 3 door car which already has 4 people, 4 sets of skis and 4 ski boots piled into it.
Once you’ve made it up the mountain, you aren’t greeted with a cramped, busy town centre with people scrabbling to hire skis, and over-packed slopes. There are no traditional wooden, paneled chalets so often seen in the likes of Verbier or Val D’Isere. There are no bubble lifts that occupy the Courchevel slopes. Instead, you have the chilled out, relaxed feel of a ski resort, that can only reflect the general New Zealand atmosphere. There are a total of 3 chair lifts, 1 of which you shouldn’t even use, due to its sheer sluggishness in the bitter New Zealand winter air. All runs can be completed within a day on the mountain, but this isn’t to say it becomes boring. You soon start to think you’re as good as the pros that frequent these slopes when Europe and Japan are closed. Unfortunately the huge park is located right underneath the main chair lift of Whitestar Express, so any mishaps are in complete view i.e. you can’t get away with face planting after attempting a rail and skidding down the slopes on your chin without a row of jeers and applause from the cool kids up on the lift. The lack of miles and miles of terrain means you are forced to attempt things you wouldn’t otherwise. This is definitely a good thing.
A short hitch back down the mountain and you land in one of Wanaka’s lakeside bars. Kai Waka Pai is the lakeside equivalent of Meribel’s mountain side après bar ‘Rond Point’. Local DJ’s and acoustic sets dominate this coffee house come apres hangout in this skiers meeting point. Sat on the lake-side, with views over Treble Cone mountain range, you would find it extremely hard to find something as picturesque as this in your Courchevel’s.
No, you don’t stay in a lodge like chalet, nor can you stumble out of bed into your skis and onto the slopes, or spend the whole week without touching the same piece of piste, but the atmosphere is second to none. You are spoilt here as soon as you wake up gazing at the crystal blue, mountain mirrored lake, only to head up to the top of Cardona and see yourself looking down across Wanaka on one side and Queenstown on the other. It’s unlike your typical ski package holiday, to the slopes of Meribel or Val D’Isere but a completely new experience as soon as you set foot on the 26 hour flight.
Ski Resort is the perfect place for families who prefer more leisurely skiing. Spend a great ski vacation at our Chalet in Verbier
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Mike_Lasche/466672
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5485217