First day of the ski season at Cardrona – from a TC skier’s perspective.

 

The start of the ski season is always a bit of a lottery.  Where is the most snow and is there enough to make the 500km round trip worthwhile? With the sale of TC to Cardrona I had a seasons pass giving access to both worlds, and for my first day it wasn’t hard to make a choice. TC had only one narrow run down Easy Rider open whereas Cardies had two lifts and two runs.  And the webcams also showed better snow cover at Cardrona.

After a sleep-in and leisurely breakfast I was slightly concerned I’d be too late to get a car park. The drive up the Cardrona is easier than the twisty narrow road to Glendhu and The Matukituki Valley.  Nobody passed me and there was only a little traffic all moving at the speed limit, very relaxed and no sign of the urgency that goes with commuting to TC.  After turning off the main highway the gravel ski road is also easier, as the road is wide, the corners not too sharp, and it’s smooth with no corrugations.  Again the other cars drove steadily and slow traffic politely pulled over when there was a build-up of vehicles behind them.

Despite being late there was plenty of parking left although TC Parking Pass holders would be shocked at the long walk from the car to the lift.

My memories from 20 years ago were of long queues, slow lifts, and freezing winds. Today it was warm, still, and there was an air of smooth operation and sophistication foreign to a TC skier. The lift gates opened efficiently every time when approached. None of the weird hip-grinding-on-to the-card-reading-apparatus I was used to.  Every seat on the new 6-seater was covered in smart padded red and black vinyl, with moulded seat separators, an auto-self lowering and raising safety bar, and little rests for your skis to give your thighs (aching after the walk from the truck) a break.

The Chondola and Whitestar Express lifts were open and on the upper runs at least there appeared to be plenty of snow. At the top of the Chondola I checked out a little drinks bar, where the smiling staff tempted me with hot chocolate fortified with Baileys or a hot mulled wine. But it was only 10.30 am so I skied off, dodging the learners on the easiest run down so I could try out the Gondola part of the Chondola.  The McDougals run was wide with a constant Green Run gradient. I can see why it was so popular with beginners and families with small kids. Reaching the lift base there  still no queues – where were all the people promised by the full car parks?

The gondola was just that, a modern 6-seater that allowed you to take your gloves off out of the weather and check your phone.  It reminded me happily of skiing in another country. At the top I paused to take a photo down the valley towards Wanaka, hidden by the inversion layer. A lovely view, but not the jaw-dropping spectacular lake vista from TC.

 I was very pleasantly surprised to find the on-piste snow in good condition. Cold chalky hardpack, smooth and well-groomed, nary a blade of grass or rock in sight. It was easy to weave down the uncrowded run to the bottom of the Whitestar Express. Again, no queues, well-oiled quick opening ticket gates, and more joy to find padded seats on this lift as well.  The off-piste and other runs were all roped off, but there didn’t look to be enough cover to ski there anyway.
The runs were only taking about three minutes to get down and the same to get up, so after an hour or so and eight runs I looked at taking an early lunch.  Bought, as I was too unprepared to bring my own.

The café was as smoothly run as the lifts. No queues and in no time I was looking for seat outside loaded with a hot pie and espresso. By chance who should have spare seat at their table but the Wilsons and Gawns. The outside lunch and banter reminded me of TC even if the view is somewhat restricted. The pie and coffee were excellent. A couple of runs with the crew after lunch was enough to satisfy my early season craving for snow.

Finishing early seemed appropriate seeing as there were really only two runs open and having a seasons pass means you are not pushing to get your money's worth.  The long walk back to the car was noticeable, and the road had thawed into a muddy slippery ride. It is a fun drive down without the big drops I’m used to and slower cars pulled over to let me past in a very unTC-like way. The temptation of a pint in the Cardrona Hotel was hard to resist, but in a show of strong willpower I turned left and followed to stream of traffic back to Wanaka.

The next morning I used my phone to check out the hill conditions. TC first: the webcams quickly loaded and showed the crappy weather forecast was accurate. I didn’t fancy skiing Easy Rider inside a cloud. The Cardy’s website was similar to TC in its weather prediction. I’m still waiting for the webcam to load……..