Building Boom

The Sunday Age

Sunday June 8, 2008

Jim Darby

Coronet Peak's base redevelopment is big but Cardrona Valley is making even bigger plans for a new resort, Jim Darby reports.

Coronet Peak has had a massive facelift worth $NZ30 million ($A24 million) that its owners describe as "the most significant development at the ski area since its inception in 1947".

An extended base area and building has three times more deck space and an improved orientation; the old deck faced back towards the mountain, the extended area embraces the stunning views in the opposite direction, across the Wakatipu Basin to The Remarkables Range.

The building's new west wing includes a brasserie, and there's a new function room, cafe, bar and coffee service area.

On the lower level, expanded service areas include new ticketing, rental, snow-sports school, storage and staff rooms.

"After two consecutive record years at Coronet Peak, the board decided to embark upon an ambitious program of development," Coronet Peak chief executive James Coddington says.

"Every single service we offer at Coronet Peak will be enhanced. It is a huge and exciting project, which is going to deliver a spectacular new base building that will provide for winter and summer use and an automated snowmaking system that will provide 'Armani' snow across all main trails during the winter months.

"This redevelopment is designed to better cater for the needs of our growing customer base. We're not only thinking about skiers and snowboarders, but families, spectators and summer visitors too," Coddington says.

It's just as well Coronet made some investments; the competition is heating up around the corner in the Cardrona Valley.

At the Cardrona ski field, a new $NZ5.9 million chairlift in the popular Captain's Basin area will cut the uphill time from nine minutes to three. Assuming there are no queues, a skier can have 11 runs an hour in Captain's Basin, and it's a run of reasonable length.

The resort's height and aspect has always been a big advantage - Cardrona's car park is the same height as Coronet Peak's summit - but even with that on its side, it is expanding its snowmaking.

That includes the Captain's Basin area, where a $NZ1.4 million system has been installed. Still in Captain's, the pizzeria has been redeveloped, doubling the number of seats and toilet facilities. The building extends out to the north and east, providing spectacular views over the Cardrona Valley.

On the other side of that valley from the Cardrona ski field, Snow Park, a terrain park for skiers and boarders with a dedicated lift, snowmaking and accommodation may soon get a sister resort.

The Lee family, which founded Cardrona ski field, has approval for a 3.8-kilometre gondola to run from the Cardrona Valley up to land holdings in the Pisa range to access Snow Park, the Waiorau cross-country ski area and the proposed Roaring Meg resort.

Roaring Meg would be a 300-hectare ski field (that's about the size of Mount Buller) with five chairlifts and a longest run of 1.8 kilometres. Sam Lee says there are plans to first develop some lifts at the ski area and then bring the gondola into action.

"We need a major investor - it's bigger than us - we're looking at a three to five-year time frame for this," Lee says.

One thing that might encourage investors is the population growth on the valley floor. A project in the planning stages will transform what was until recently a tiny

hamlet with a rustic pub (the Cardrona Hotel) and a few shacks into a town with 400 new dwellings.

Elsewhere on the South Island, Mount Potts, about 100 kilo-metres from Methven and an area that started as part of the remote station called Erehwon (spell that backwards and you'll get the joke), has changed shape again.

For the past few seasons it has been a cat-skiing operation; now it is exclusively a heli-skiing venue with skiers and boarders departing from the nearby Mount Potts Lodge to ski the big-mountain terrain of the Two Thumb and Cloudy Peak ranges.

CORONET PEAK

WHAT'S NEW

A newly developed base area and expanded snowmaking.

DAILY LIFT TICKET $NZ93.

LIFTS 7.

GREEN CREDENTIALS

Rubbish recycling, capture and reuse of water for snowmaking.

MOBILE

(COVERAGE ON MOUNTAIN)

Full coverage for Vodafone and Telecom at base (the only two NZ carriers), some blackspots for each.

CLOSEST TOWN

Queenstown, 18km.

INTERNET ACCESS

Wireless hotspots around the base.

WEBSITE nzski.com

MOUNT HUTT

WHAT'S NEW

Enhanced mini terrain park and new snowmaking facilities.

DAILY LIFT TICKET $NZ87.

LIFTS 4.

GREEN CREDENTIALS

Rubbish recycling, capture and reuse of water for snowmaking.

MOBILE COVERAGE

Full coverage for both carriers at base, some blackspots.

CLOSEST TOWN

Methven, 26km.

INTERNET ACCESS

Pay per use kiosk computers at base building cafes.

WEBSITE nzski.com

THE REMARKABLES

WHAT'S NEW

The Stash is a kilometre-long freestyle run, only the third of its kind in the world and the first in the southern hemisphere. Created by Jake Burton, it is aimed at intermediate and advanced riders and includes rock-wall rides, log jibs, cliff drops, a stone hut and other obstacles.

DAILY LIFT TICKET $NZ87.

LIFTS 7.

GREEN CREDENTIALS

Capture and reuse of water used for snowmaking and rubbish recycling.

MOBILE COVERAGE

Full coverage at base, some blackspots on the mountain.

CLOSEST TOWN

Queenstown, 28km.

INTERNET ACCESS

Pay-per-use at base building cafes.

WEBSITE nzski.com

SNOW PARK

WHAT'S NEW

New jumps and jibs and redeveloped Half Pint Park for beginners. (Snow Park is a dedicated freestyle terrain park for boarders and skiers).

DAILY LIFT TICKET $NZ75

(July 5 to September 5).

LIFTS 1.

GREEN CREDENTIALS

Priority parking for cars with more than three people, promotion of recycling, on-site rubbish compaction to reduce landfill.

MOBILE COVERAGE

Full coverage for both carriers.

CLOSEST TOWNS

Wanaka 35km, Queenstown. 55km.

INTERNET ACCESS

Wireless available.

WEBSITE snowparknz.com

CARDRONA

WHAT'S NEW

Captain's Express chairlift now a three-minute ride, and new jumps in the terrain park.

DAILY LIFT TICKET $NZ81.

LIFTS 7.

GREEN CREDENTIALS

Recycling on mountain, electric rather than diesel power.

MOBILE COVERAGE

Coverage in all three bowls. A few blackspots.

CLOSEST TOWN

Wanaka, 34km.

INTERNET ACCESS

Pay-per-use in the Cardrona Cafe.

WEBSITE cardrona.com

TREBLE CONE

WHAT'S NEW

Enhanced groomed intermediate trails in the Saddle Basin.

DAILY LIFT TICKET $NZ99.

LIFTS 4.

GREEN CREDENTIALS

New eco-friendly sewerage system, recycling bins, promotion of car pooling and reduced energy consumption, working with Sustainable Wanaka.

MOBILE COVERAGE

Coverage for both carriers, bottom half of the Saddle Basin a blackspot.

CLOSEST TOWN

Wanaka, 26km.

INTERNET ACCESS

Two pay-per-use terminals and wireless in the cafe area.

WEBSITE treblecone.com

© 2008 The Sunday Age

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