NZsnowboard.com

12th August 2008

By: Hannah Tatton

 Variation, as they say, is the spice of life. And certainly with snowboarding, variety comes in all shapes and forms, from which board you choose to ride, to which mountain you choose to slide. We may be small geographically, but with around 25 ski fields and plenty of heli-skiing terrain to choose from we are not at all deprived here in what seems to be the land of the long white trail of snow. 

Photo Credit : Broken River

Club fields make up a high proportion of New Zealand's ski fields on offer, yet perhaps these are the most overlooked. Ran through a membership base, Club fields are generally not for profit organizations with a much smaller ski area. Or, they are comparative to a family owned business such as Cardrona, but in a much smaller capacity. The point of difference between the smaller club fields and larger commercial fields is the base of members who support the club through activities and assisting and bringing the operations together. A mixture of volunteer work and employment sees these fields satisfy stoked shredders throughout the winters.

View from Hanmer Springs Ski Area Photo Credit: Amuri Ski (Club)

The Canterbury and the McKenzie regions of the South Island are home to a majority of these fields. To cater for these areas is the License to Chill Multi Mountain Pass which grants access to 11 fields and some of the best internationally renowned ski area accessed back country riding in the world.

The pass offers access to Mt Lyford, Hanmer Springs, Porters, Cheeseman, Broken River, Craigieburn Valley, Temple Basin, Mt Olympus, Fox Peak, Mt Dobson and Roundhill. While most of these are Club fields, some are small family owned and operated and others by a team of stakeholders such as Porters.

Photo Credit: Geoff Brown / Temple Basin

Passes range from 3, 5, 7, and 10 day anytime passes, with the flexibility to hand these on to a buddy if remaining days go unused. In season passes range from $695 for a junior to $1195 for an adult.

For those who are not Christchurch locals, the thought of a scattering of mountains at your doorstep seems like heaven, with some already haven come away this year avidly exclaiming the club fields are totally underrated.

Photo Credit : Porters

Perhaps easily overlooked in the mad rush to get to the more larger commercial ski fields, a bit of enquiring and discussion will no doubt lead you to the revelation that these little gems promise more untouched pow and good times than previously imagined.

Chill Multi Mountain Pass owner and director Stuart Waddell pinpoints the sweet fact that such club fields contain benefits in abundance.

 "With the combination of fields on the Chill pass, it means that the experience is relatively unique in terms of the small number of people on the mountain. This means that on any giving powder day there is a reasonable amount of terrain to access and a lot more opportunities to stoke out some more snowboarder runs in powder conditions," he said. 

Photo Credit : Roundhill

Most fields also have accommodation at either the bottom or the top of the mountain which welcome non-members for anywhere between $25 to $80 a night. Night riding is also a big bonus with many fields. If none of that, plenty of socializing and a bit of partying is said to not go astray.

"Staying up on the mountain is one of the great and unique experiences offered by the club fields and there are opportunities to meet people that have been part of the ski areas for a long time. The atmosphere is a little bit more unique in terms of a community feel to the club ski areas," said Waddell. 

Reflection at Creigeburn    Photo Credit : Sam Thomas

As for the terrain, there are runs for riders of all capabilities, from beginners to professional off-pisters. Craigieburn boasts access to 2,220 acres of off-piste, inbound terrain with limitless backcountry opportunities.  

With so much in the backyard, backcountry adventurers are warned to put their safety first when sliding under the red rope.

"It's really the responsibility of the individual in terms of safety. The fields all offer access to some great back country terrain because the lifts do go to the top of the ridgeline or mountain peak so it does mean that you can traverse and certainly go outside those boundaries. Inside the ski area boundaries all the ski areas have professional, qualified staff and they take every aspect that they possibly can in terms of ensuring safety for skiers and boarders. Outside of that, it really comes down to the responsibility of the individual to access it and it is important to take into consideration those safety aspects first," he said.

The advice Waddell gives is to talk to the Mountain Advisory Board and the snow patrol about the snow conditions on the given day. Equipping yourself with a partner, transceiver, shovel and probe and knowing how to use them is vital. Both Chill and the club fields offer snow safety courses.

Other aspects that set smaller fields aside from the bigger ones are the facilities and accessibility. While most have at least one pommer or a t-bar, majority feature rope tows or nut-crackers and as Waddell states "there are only so many people that can ride a rope tow or nutcracker and actually want to." However, there has been some turnaround in assisting people to use these facilities. Some lodges require hiking in but roads are well maintained. Waddell also points out that over the last few seasons there has been notable turn around in carpooling.

"People are now traveling together in cars so there is also a support in terms of people and a bit of camaraderie. Its great, cars are filling up and people are going to where they want to go," he said.

An anticipated up and coming event is the K2 Big Mountain Chill Series at Cragieburn and Mt Olympus which is an all comers event, where snowboarders and skiers race against each other. Prizes up for grabs include money and also some heli time with Sourthern Alps Heli. Weather depending, the finals are set to run over 2 days at the Remarkables for a selected number of riders.

And if not now, then when is a better time to get out there, with plenty of snow and fresh tracks to be had for all, as is the current snow conditions at the moment. Mt Lyford has the most snow coverage in the country with 330cms after a fresh dump of 35cm last week.

"Its brilliant at the moment. We've had all sorts of epic big long open runs, with terrain that has never been boarded or accessible before. The mountain has been splattered, caked on with snow and a lot of the rock faces that normally sheer out are now covered with snow. Theres another southerly coming through which means that it is going to stay around for longer," he said.

Tucking up at a lodge on the mountain after a hard day riding pow with the clubbies and getting that small field experience seems like a pretty inviting adventure. After all, getting that sense of adventure is one of the things that riding is all about.

 
LINK:   www.chillout.co.nz

 

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For more information on the CHILL Multi Mountain Pass and any of the 11 fields visit: www.chillout.co.nz

 

For some recounts of great experiences had at the club fields visit these links

Stories from the depths
http://chillout.co.nz/about.asp?DocID=20

 

A Scot-mans Heli
http://chillout.co.nz/about.asp?DocID=23