Treble Cone

By Mike Manara

I believe our theory worked (see post on snow reporting in NZ)....The resort called for chains at the base..... the photo says it all.... Andrei Kostka getting what he came for in Saddle Basin

Snow reporting

By Mike Mullet Manara

We have come up with our own system of snow reporting in New Zealand. You need to look at 2 things. The first is the snow the resort has forecasted. For example "we have received 25 cm of fresh snow!". This can cause some initial excitement, however You then need to look at whether or not the resort is requiring chains. If they require chains at the base that is a good sign as it means the freezing level is below the base of the resort and it is most likely snowing. If not it probably means that it is raining at the base and there "was" snow at the top so bring your rain gear......it is 8:3o am and Treble cone has reported 20 cms of snow and THEY ARE requiring chains.....I will report back later to see if this theory is true or not....

PS. New Zealand has done wonders for my hair as you can see by the photo......Mark has not been so lucky.......

Canadian Ski Quest New Zealand Mystery Tour

So far the group is four days skiing out of a possible four. We are doing very well considering the weather conditions. This morning did not look promising, Lake Ohau and every other area north was closed today due to winds of up to 195 kmh. We made the call to drive south to Wanaka and Treble Cone, we had a late start but were rewarded with 25 cms of fresh at Treble Cone. If you are skiing in New Zealand, I think flexibility is a must, it definitely has been paying off this week.

Cheers,
Mark

Lake Ohau

By Mike Manara

As you could tell from Marks post we a precipitation enhanced second day in Lake Ohau.....that being said our first day on the mountain was fantastic. There was 15 cm of fresh snow and the upper hiking area had just opened which lead to some fantastic turns in the Upper mountain. Lake Ohau is situated near (possibly in) Mt Cook national park and is truely a unique and beautiful place.

Ohau I love to ski- In Rain

Ohau, pronounced O-How, is another New Zealand classic. We have been here for two days now. It turns out it was the place to be as Ohau was the only Ski Field in the area (everywhere north of Queenstown) that was open. Gale force winds have kept the other mountains from turning their lifts. Mick said it best today in his ever present optimistic outlook "the ski conditions here are far better than the conditions in my office"! Thanks for putting it into perspective Mick! Yes, it did rain today, but the tour could still ski. Mike did his best to keep keep the vibe high with his outstanding instructional capabilities.

Porter Ski Resort

Our acsess to internet has been limited so we will try to catch up today.

Day One at Porters Ski Resort was a nice warm up. Only three T bars here but with a bit of traversing effort great pitch and vertical can be had.

No Skiing for Mark

Well I guess this photo shows what my role in New Zealand this year will be. I tried skiing yesterday at Porters Ski Field. Not much luck. Although I felt no pain leading up to my skiing attempt, I definitely did on my first turn. I only skied one run, on the beginner slop. The first turn put me in my place, my knee is no where near ready to ski. Oh well, I am just happy to be back in NZ anyway. Since 2004, being here has become part of my annual routine.

Everything is going well, the people on tour are just excellent people to spend time with. Mike is skiing with everyone, so they do have somewhat of an inspiration on the slopes.

We should be able to post some photos tonight.

cheers,
Mark

Rope Tow

From Mike Manara

I also had my first experience with a Nut Cracker rope tow.....you will see from Mark's commentary in the video below that I am quite the rookie.......Mark is considering recommending that the opreation of a Nut Craker be added to the Level 4 standard!

Great Skiing in New Zealand

From: Mike Manara

We arrived in Christchurch, New Zealand on the 19th of August and rented a car. From There we headed to Broken River Ski club for our first turns of 2009! The conditions were great. We spent the night in Broken river and caught up with some friends from Red Mt. Yesterday we skied Porters....Here Is Jason of the NONSTOP in NZ.

Mark and I have just arrived in NZ. It is 5 am in Auckland and we have just landed from a great flight from San Francisco.....First class was alright, considering we are just a couple of ski instructors! The flight was amazing and the service even better......I never new airlines could actually serve tasty food! We will board a flight to Christchurch for the final leg of our journey, and Jason Collins for a day or two who runs one of the Non Stop programs in NZ. Looking forward to the first turns of 2009-10 or the last turns of 2008-09.....it all depends on whether your a class half full or class half empty type of person! Stay tuned for further posts
mike

Eccentric dressing in Richmond

Sorry, no photo of this one:

Going from summer to winter is tricky in terms of packing, I try to go as lightly as possible. This means one pair of shoes, good for everything, a shoe that goes with everything-except athletic apparel!

I decided to go for a walk this morning, it was too hot to wear jeans so i used my running shorts, which I brought along for hot tub opportunities. Great short for hot tubs, but they do not go so fashionably with dress shoes, especially with black socks. I know this thanks to passersby. I had a great walk and I think provided some entertainment to Richmond residents.

Canadian Ski Quest New Zealand 2009

Well finally something to write about. Mike Manara and I are off to New Zealand for the annual Canadian Ski Quest tour. I am in Richmond now, staying here overnight en route to Christchurch. I am at the moment in no mans land. I am staying at one of those airport hotels in an area that is totally designed around the car. There is a heap of traffic and thousands of people around, but there is literally nothing here. Unless you count bland hotel restaurants. Life in this placed must be bland bland bland. I am actually looking forward to spending time at the Vancouver airport tomorrow.

I am pretty happy to be going to New Zealand even if I will not be able to ski, I love the country. Mike and I meet tomorrow and we fly through San Francisco to Auckland and then on to Christchurch. I am hoping our stopover in San Fran is long enough to give us a chance to experience it.

Some Mid Summer Inspiration

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B95Eq-5xCC8