Southern Hemisphere 2014 Ski Season is Go
Southern Hemisphere 2014 Ski Season is Go
Published : 04-Jun-2014 08:40
The southern hemisphere's 2014 ski season is due to kick off in the tiny African kingdom of Lesotho tomorrow when Afriski (afriski.com) says it will open.
The resort, which has just over a kilometre of runs, has been snowmaking and says its slopes are in good shape.
The other southern African ski area, Tiffindell in South Africa itself, opened for its winter season last Saturday June 1st, but did not have any natural snow and temperatures were too warm for snow making. The latter fact changed yesterday and the snow cannons have been working full blast, making their opening imminent too.
The first full scale ski area to open in the southern hemisphere looks set to be Queenstown's Coronet Peak in New Zealand which will open as scheduled on Saturday (June 7th) signalling the official start of the Australasian winter season. The picture above shows the resort team ready to go.
Mother Nature doubled with a world-class snowmaking system has produced an average 35cm of snow on-piste.
Ski area manager Ross Copland said he was "thrilled" to be open on time and with such great snow conditions.
"The May snowfalls and extremely cold temperatures we've had over the past two weeks or so mean we've got great coverage on-trail," he said, adding, "On opening day our Coronet Express quad chair will be up and running, providing access to the main M1, Million Dollar, Wall St, Pro Am and Mid Gully trails.
True to tradition, the first four on the Coronet Express lift will receive a 'First on the Chair' T-shirt with Central Otago winery Amisfield on board once again to welcome skiers and snowboarders with locally produced bubbles.
"First on the chair is very hotly contested with keen skiers getting up here extra early for bragging rights. It's a really fun, celebratory day and there's always a great atmosphere up the mountain," said Mr Copland.
It's less good news for Mt Hutt which had also planned to open this Saturday, but has decided to postpone opening due to warm temperatures and a poor weekend weather forecast.
Ski area manager James McKenzie said it was "hugely disappointing" to make the call not to open when all systems, lifts and staff were ready to go, but said it was a "good decision" to make.
Elsewhere in the southern hemisphere most Australian areas official open for their 2014 ski season on 7th June too, with Monday June 9th a bank holiday for the Queen's Birthday, but snow cover looks likely to be limited or non-existent after a warm May there.
Most South American ski areas will also open over the coming fortnight.
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