Geoff's Journey

Joys of Summer

2012-02-11T22:54:00.006-08:00

Its been a month since I last wrote and the lately lots have been happening.
Just over a week ago I got my first tomato (below) and since then they have been coming thick and fast, above is the different varieties I'm growing, the three in the middle are the green zebra's which is the first time I've grown them and they are very nice.

Below is my first Broccoli and Courgette that I picked last week, and they are coming thick and fast too, I've blanched and frozen 3 Broccoli's heads since and cooked up and frozen some Courgette/Tomato sauce and put in the freezer for another day.
Another joy at this time of year are the Cherries, Peaches and Apricot's. The Cherries are almost done now which is a shame but it has been GR8 eating them as I usually miss them, cause most summers I'm in Canada ski-in.

My Rehab is coming along well and this last week was my first week back at work after 6 months off work, its good to be back working and earning my usual income.
I'm also halfway through a 6 week gym program which is going well. There is also a swimming lane there which is very good for my shoulder.
I'm also back riding my bike on the Hawea track which is a 2 hour ride there and back with a Mocha stop in Hawea. Before I started back to work I was riding it 3 times a week but now it is just weekends.
My fitness and strength is returning nicely and should be all good for the coming ski season in July :-)

Yesterday Lynley and I with 8 other friends went to the Gibbstone valley vineyard for their annual outdoor festival, this year it was the Little River Band from Australia (above), the two photo's below are of the Doobie Brothers who were the other band playing.
There was also 4 other bands 2 from the Queenstown high school, one from Dunedin and another from the North Island, they were very talented young bands.
Like last years CCR concert it was a beautiful sunny day and there was 10,000 there in a beautiful rural setting.

Christchurch to Wanaka

2012-01-13T18:32:00.004-08:00

Above is Steven and Susan at Christchurch airport just before flying back to Macau.

On my way back I decided to go up Mt John at Tekapo, I have never been up there before, we almost went up to the Observatory on our way up to Christchurch for a night viewing of the moon and stars.
Its strange to think in the 18 years I have been in Wanaka and the many times I have driven through Tekapo and never came up here before, I'll probably do it more often now.
Below is a shot looking towards Roundhill ski area which is in the center of the picture on the far side of Lake Tekapo above the island of trees.
The new rope tow on the ski area goes up the ridge line from the small mound to the top of the mountain to the right with the top in the clouds.

At the bottom of Mt John I took the photo below of the Lupin's which come out this time of year.

I have just started a 6 week gym program to get shoulder and rest of body back to fitness and strength so I can return to work.
I will be starting work in a few weeks ( supervisory and light work), when we will be starting to refurbish the church for the new Cinema Paradiso.

Steven and Susan's last two days in NZ

2012-01-13T00:00:00.006-08:00

Monday we left Wanaka for Christchurch staying at the Gladstone Hotel in Fairlie Monday night.
Our first stop was the cafe at Tarras for morning tea/coffee and then at mid day we caught up with Bill who sold Steven the hand glider in Chch three weeks earlier.
They planned to fly off Magic mountain which is where the locals hand gliders fly from.
It was quite a 4wd track and not used very much, we drove from various take off points to find a suitable spot and as we searched further along the lesser used track we had to move fallen rocks out of the way and also dig away some slips over the tracks as you can see in the photo below. I moved a few rocks but because of my shoulder I could not use the shovel.
There was three fliers and I was the retrieve driver who would pick them up when they land, unfortunately for them they could not find a suitable spot to fly from due to the weather conditions and also getting late in the day.
The photo above was on our way back down with the different style of planting pines on the valley floor.

We finally got back to Omaramara at 7Pm and were planning to have diner at the Gladstone in Fairlie but would not make it before the kitchen closed so we stopped at Tekapo and had a lovely Thai meal, it was really nice meal and a place I will eat at again, we sat by a window and watched the last of the sun hit the mountains around us (photo above) with lovely cloud formations along the tops and then the almost full moon popped above the nice clouds (photo below).

The next and last full day for Steven and Susan in NZ was spent driving from Fairlie and stopping off in Methven where Steven caught up with a old school friend Stirling who has lived there for 13 years, we had lunch at the "Brown pub" which is where I normally stay if I ski Mt Hut.
Then at 3 we headed for Amberley which is where my brother Gary's family live and it was also his grand daughter Sarah's 21st so there was a Bar B Q at Donna and Brent's place and in the photo below is some of the family with Steven and Susan on the right.
We stayed at Gary's that night and the next morning I dropped them off at the airport for their flight back to Macau (China).
It was great having them here for the three weeks, it was as relaxing as it was adventurous as it was socialising with family and friends. A real nice time.
I now look forward to seeing them in Macau later in the year.
:-)

Flying, Wine tasting, Gold panning what a start to the new year

2012-01-05T17:23:00.008-08:00

On this page is photo's from the last 4 days which has involved Steven flying his Hang Glider from Treble Cone today he flew for the 4th time from the mountain the photo above and below was a few days ago top one taking off from Pub Corner on TC and the one below was where he landed on Glendu station which is at the bottom of MT Roy in Glendu bay. He was trying to get above MT Roy so that he could fly to Wanaka and land on Pembroke park.

The photo above shows the streaky cloud formation above TC which looked amazing as a back drop to the mountain.

That same afternoon after the flight we headed for Cromwell which is 30 min's from Wanaka and went to a wine and food tasting festival in the old town of Cromwell, above is Steven and his wife Susan, there was a lot of people there and not many tables but after a while we managed to grab one where we stayed and one of us would go off and get some wine tasting and food to bring back to the table.

The next day we went to Arrowtown and visited the old Chinese settlement where the gold miners lived from 1860 to the 1920's. Above on the edge of the settlement the house in the photo was used for gold panning for those that wished to try, Steven had a go.

The guy above showed him how to do it and after about 15 min's managed to get the gold in the photo below from his pan of earth.
We then had some lunch before heading for Queens town for a few hours then we headed back to Wanaka and stopped at the Gibbstone Valley Vineyard for some wine tasting.

Steven flying off Treble cone New years eve

2012-01-04T02:49:00.007-08:00

Happy New year, having a Gr8 time, editing to follow:-) Its now Jan 6th, its been a busy new year with Steven and Susan over from their home in Macau (China) I have a lot to catch up on with photo's of what we've been doing. The photo's in this section talk about the last day of 2011.
New years Eve Steven did his first flight off Treble Cone and it was with the Glider he brought in Christchurch only 8 days earlier. It was a perfect day for flying a nice easterly, the view from the take off point is in the photo above with Glendu Bay to the right and Wanaka on the far shores of the lake.

Above Steven is setting up his glider with the Matukituki basin and mountains behind, as you can see the weather was awesome as it has been for the last three weeks (no rain).

Above and below Steven flying in perfect conditions with snow still on the mountains.

He landed behind Shania Twains Farm up the Motatapu valley near the gorge where he is in the photo below ready to jump in the cool water after a nice flight.

On our way back to Wanaka we stopped off at the Rippon vineyard for a bit of wine tasting which is one of Steven's favorite past times and the photo below is probably one of the most photographed places in Wanaka which is where they do the wine tasting.

Merry Xmas spent with the family

2011-12-28T19:51:00.007-08:00

Friday I drove up to Christchurch to pick my son Steven and his wife Susan up at Christchurch airport, they were supposed to land at 4pm but were delayed because of the umpteenth Earthquake that has happened there in the last two years. It was the first big one for a while and to happene just before Xmas was unfair to the people of Chch, I did not feel the first one as I was about 30 minutes away from Chch, then I got a call from my son who told me about it and that Chch airport was closed so I drove to Hornby which is about 4 miles away and I was waiting at the traffic lights and the car started to shake and I looked at the lights and they were swaying about, it was over in about a minute. I drove into a local cafe and did some internet while waiting for a call from Steven.
The airport opened at 5-20 and They managed to get booked on the 6-50 flight and arrived at 8pm.
The photo above we took on Xmas eve when we went to Clifton near Sumner to buy a Hang Glider for Steven to fly while he is here and when back in Macau ( China), it shows the part of the cliff that has fallen away in the previous earthquakes earlier in the year with the two high containers along the road side and part of a house that is still on the land, scary thoughts for those that live in that area. :-(

Xmas day photo above, left to right, my son son Steven his wfe Susan, my brother Gary and his son in-law Brent who also lives in Amberley, Gary doing the Bar-B-Q at his house.
It was GR8 to spend time with my family the first time we have been together for Xmas since 1992 up in Auckland, I've spent Xmas with my son Steven and his wife in England since then.
Out in Amberley which is 40 minutes north from the city centre it is a lot more stable and they only get minor shakes compared to Chch and the eastern suburbs.

Boxing day Steven, Susan and I drove back to Wanaka via the lovely Scenic route which is about 30 mins longer than straight down highway one.
Photo above was taken on a self timer by the Clutha river which is a 20 min walk from where I live and a photo with just me in it has been on this blogg before, so it was good to have Steven sitting on the log with me.

On the way back home along the track Steven was enjoying the fantail birds dancing around so I said grab a fallen twig and hold it out in front of you to see if the bird lands on it and to his amazement it did, photo above.

Yesterday we went wine tasting in near Cromwell and had a lovely lunch at the "Crazy Dog" vineyard with the wine tasting before.
After, we drove to Cromwell for some fruit and on the way back we drove to Welshtown at Bendigo a old mining town which is in ruins as you can see by the photo's above and below.
Above photo the valley in the distance on the left is where we live this side of the distant mountains.
Below Steven carried Susan over the threshold of the old house. The small town was inhabited between the 1860's and 1900.

Upgrade to our Cinema Paradiso

2011-12-09T22:23:00.007-08:00

This last week we have been upgrading our local Cinema Paradiso from 35 ml film to 3D Digital, above are the cinema's projectors that have been in this position since Oct 98. I was involved in converting the building into a cinema in 98 and have been the maintenance man there since.
This week Calum the owner closed the cinema for 3 days to do the upgrade.

Above Calum and Craig carrying out one of the four sections of the projector, and below Brian a founder with Calum and Andrea of the cinema Paradiso in Wanaka, working on dismantling the projectors.

Photo below is the new 3D Digital system ready to go with the small orange box that holds a movie. Before with the 35 mill film there used to be anything up to 8 reels which took up a lot of space in the booth especially when he shows up to 5 movies a day in the holidays.

The first movie under the new system was shown today, "Puss in boots" and above Calum's daughter Nagio (left) and her friend Emily sitting in the new addition of airline seats Calum brought recently for the cinema.
Below a photo of the old booth and the mixed seating there is there.

Spring time

2011-11-16T01:10:00.005-08:00

On Sunday I saw Hobbs (Calum's cat) laying in front of my car, photo above and to the right I saw the starling with some worms in his mouth and it would not move and there was another one by my car.

Now my car has not been driven since my accident which is over 3 months so after seeing the starling looking as if they were heading for my car the next day I decided to lift the bonnet and low and behold there was a nest over my engine (above) and in it were three fat chicks (below) laying on their backs waiting for a feed, so I lowered the bonnet slowly. I've been watching since and they are still getting fed and as I walk by to go up and feed the chickens I can hear them chirping for food.

Being spring time on my walk on Monday which was a beautiful day I sat by the bank and the duck and chicks above slowly edged their way along the river bank feeding.
Below another photo of a Fantail which always seem to be in the same places along the walk most days.
My shoulder is coming along better this week and with the strengthening exercise I seem to be getting more movement every day and I've been keeping myself busy Gardening and clearing the workshop out and getting it ready for when I get back working which is still 4 weeks plus away.
Last night we had snow in the mountains down to 1400 meters, this morning was sunny and a little cool with the wind coming off the mountains.

High wind clouds

2011-11-09T00:54:00.005-08:00

During my walk on Monday I took the photo above of a Shag flying up the Clutha river, its a shame the face is a bit blurry.

While on that walk it got really windy and early evening we had some amazing high wind cloud formations, the one above about a hour before sunset then the one below just as the sun had set, we do get some nice high wind cloud formations and a lot look quite alien.

Photo's above and below are of birds feeding on my deck on some leftover rice from diner.

My shoulder is healing slowly, I saw the surgeon yesterday for my post OP 6 week check and he said I have a frozen shoulder and instead of a 3 month heal it will be 4 to 5 months, it does feel its healing slowly but I'm a patient man and I'm enjoying this restful time out with retirement not too many years away I'm getting a good taste of whats to come :-)

In One week from spring to winter

2011-11-04T18:44:00.007-07:00

Over the last 7 days we have seen our climate change from warm Northerlies and spring weather to the last two days of South Westerlies and winter weather, which is still with us today.
The above photo I took at the beginning of the week while on one of my walks along the Clutha river of the new chicks staying close to their parents.

The above photo of a male Quail I took just before the cold weather arrived and not too far away I found this nest of Quail eggs below, some had broken the rest seem to have been abandoned as there was a half broken egg near by with the yoke still inside but no sign of it being in the chick stage, so I guess a rat, Ferret or stoat may have found the nest.

The last two days I have not been for a walk as the weather has been bad with strong South Westerlies bringing snow down to around 500 meters, yesterday afternoon we even had a few snow flakes in our garden, the photo below I took this morning when I popped into town for some shopping and a visit to the physio, it shows the fresh snow level just above the lake which is 300 meters above sea level.

Then when I got home I went and fed the chickens and found 4 new chicks below, bringing the total to 9 since I last wrote on my blogg last month, they have had a cold start to their new life, it has been sunny and cold today and the weather is supposed to warm up again by the beginning of next week.

Spring, Sun and Snow

2011-10-19T21:09:00.006-07:00

Spring time is a great time to be out of work and healing, two days ago we had snow down to about 800 meters and the above photo of Mt golds with new snow on the mountains I took on my walk to Albert town along the Clutha river.
Over the last week we've had about four days of rain which was much needed as we have'nt had rain for over 4 weeks.

Photo above I took from my kitchen window, looking out I noticed the Rabbit sitting with a couple of Quals which I've never seen before so I had to get my camera.

Above I saw a Qual in one of the trees lining our driveway as I was going for my walk today and below when I went to get some eggs from the chickens I noticed the chicks, the first of the spring.

Healing is coming along slowly, now in week 4 after the OP, I can't start strengthening till after 6 weeks.
Passing time is very nice with my walks, watching soccer on sky as well as the rugby world cup which is coming to its final game with the All Blacks playing France on Sunday, come on the AB's.
:-)

Another beautiful spring day

2011-10-07T19:30:00.006-07:00

Went for my daily walk yesterday, this time I walked along the Cardrona and Clutha Rivers to Albert town and back.
A few times I stopped and one of the times was when I saw the Trout above feeding close to the waters edge. I spent about ten minutes watching the trout.
I have just finished reading a book written by a friend Derek Grzelewski called the "Trout Dairies" it is a very good book and has got me interested again about getting back into fly fishing.
While watching him he kept feeding off the surface and it took a few shots before I could get a shot of him with his mouth open on the surface, photo below.

Also along the walk I sat on a bench looking out over the river and noticed a Heron along the bank and it kept flying over me backwards and forward to a pine tree behind me and was making a nest photo below.

Photo below was one of the times it flew by me on the bench.

It is one of my favorite past times spending time in nature whether walking, biking or ski-in and at the moment it is walking only and walking along the same paths I was 11 years ago it is reminding me of what a beautiful time that was.
For some people being out of work for 4 to 6 months would be disastrous but for me it was one of the most rewarding and beautiful times in my life. One of those times that we look back on and say had a big influence on our direction in and understanding of life.
Now at this time I'm enjoying the time out and the walks again at a leisurely pace and allowing nature to help me heal and understand my direction in life.
Being 61 and not too far away from retirement, spending more time in nature doing what I love is not to far off. :-)

Recovery time

2011-10-05T19:20:00.011-07:00

Its been a few months since the last time I wrote here. Our ski season is now over but mine has been over since I last wrote as I had a crash, on a groomed run of all places and tore a tendon in my left shoulder.
Two weeks ago I had it operated on paid for by ACC (accident compensation corporation) which supports anyone who has a accident at work, in the home or at play. They pay you a wage (80%) while off work and pay part of your physio or treatment required to get you back to how you was before the accident. It is a great system and I don't know how some of us could manage without it, I do not have a private health insurance mainly because we have this system in place and because I look after myself diet and health wise so if I'm out of action it would be because of a accident.

Before and after the operation one of the things I have been doing is walking along the rivers close to my home as I have already talked about in previous posts.
The photo above was on one of those walks, I used to walk to this bench above the Clutha River and spend a while soaking up the sun and enjoying the lovely views.
This photo was taken by a guy who was with two other guys and funnily enough and this is not a joke but one was from England, one from Scotland and the other was from Ireland and they were here for the Rugby world cup, They were off to Dunedin after the walk to watch England play Argentina. There is a funny end to it, they were only here till the Quarter finals because they did not expect to go any further. :-)
Although I think Ireland could reach the semi's. I'm not sure about England as France will probably beat them, being English I hope they don't lose.

11 years ago I walked the same paths after I had a operation on my right shoulder after doing the same thing ski-in.
The photo below I took of myself today under a willow tree by the river and 11 years ago on these walks I wrote the poem called "Fantail" which I put in a previous post.
It is a native bird with lots of them among the willows along the river bank. They are all over NZ and not just by rivers.

Below is the poem again which I have through photo shop put the text on a photo which I took a few years ago on one of my walks with the Fantail sitting on a branch that I had picked up off the ground.

The Photo below is of another bird the "Silver Eye" which I took earlier in the year. I'm not sure if they are native to NZ but there are a lot of them around here and they love to drink sugar water in the winter along with the "Bellbird" which is native to NZ. I hope to post a few photo's of them in the next post.

Springtime is a awesome time for healing and new growth and I'm enjoying this time and being open to new growth in aspects of my life.

Snow capped Mountains and Wildlife

2011-08-20T18:27:00.008-07:00

Went for another walk yesterday along the Clutha river to Albert town where I met Joy and Rex for lunch at the Albi pub.
Above a scenic shot of the snow capped Minorette's in the background and in the foreground the Hawea river coming into the Clutha river.

Sitting on a bench near the Albert town bridge waiting for Joy and Rex who were walking the Hawea- Albert town track I took the photo above of Treble Cone with good coverage down to the base lodge in the middle of the photo at top of tree's.

After lunch on my way back down the Clutha I took the photo's above and below of a male and female New Zealand Falcon.

I sat between two tree's by the river and the two were chasing each other and I managed to get a photo of them mating below, its hard to get close ups of these birds so I was pleased to get these and be able to watch them up close for ten minuets or more.

The day ended up with a nice sunset over the snow capped mountains taken from my deck and to end and begin a perfect day Liverpool won 2-0 at arsenal this morning. :-)

Walking the Clutha River

2011-08-13T18:13:00.004-07:00

Yesterday I went for a 2 and half hour walk from my house through Albert town, the bridge above (with the snow capped mountains in the back ground Treble Cone ski-field on the left) then along the Fishermans to the Outlet which is where the Clutha river starts from Lake Wanaka.
The weather has been spring like down in town all week with a little frost in the mornings. No new snow for a few weeks and its been cold and hard up the mountain softening up in the afternoon on the sunny slopes.

From the Albert town bridge I walked along the fisherman's track and took the photo's above and below.
Above is a trout I which was close to the bank swimming amongst the reeds.

The bird life is really nice along the river banks with the Heron above feeding along the waters edge and below the Fantails flying around the bushes and out above the water eating the insects.
Here is a poem I wrote in 2001 about the fantail.

While walking under the shade of the willow trees,
Beautiful sounds come to me,
As I look around what do I see,
Fantails flying with amazing ease.

As they fly from Branch to Branch,
Up close they do dance,
After a while they get used to me,
They land on my branch, I feel like a tree.

Watching them play totally free,
They have no stress about houses and money,
This connection with nature, Fantails and Trees,
Enhances my life, what a joy to just be.

Today is the start of a three day southerly storm so the mountains are going to be good and looking refreshed with new snow by Wednesday. :-)

The snow comes at last, 2 METERS OF IT

2011-07-14T00:00:00.005-07:00

Wednesday last week we had no snow, then it started snowing and did not stop till yesterday,
Then on Tuesday we had snow on the town (300 meters) photo above of Calums house and my fresh tracks :-) in the snow.
Then today we finally had our opening day up TC with a 2 meter base, the best start we have ever had even though it was a few weeks late, photo below I took on the way up the hill this morning before the sun hit it at 8-30am, showing it looking in awesome condition.

It was busy as always on a powder day, the snow was very consistent every where and dry, I had 4 good untracked runs before it all got tracked out.

Base of TC looking untouched apart from ski patrol tracks

Sundance above not normally looking like this on opening day, they managed to get it open by 11 and had a great run all the way to the car park :-)

Angus and Nagio's room's

2011-07-05T00:40:00.005-07:00

Above is Angus's room, the door to the shower is on the left, the wardrobe center and entrance door on the right.
Below is his window looking out on the parking area with the barn where I live in the background.

Nagio's room above showing her Wardrobe area which we still have to get some doors for and below is her bedroom window showing the door to the shower on the left.

We still have had no snow yet, tonight there is a storm in the mountains which is hitting the town during the night. Hopefully it will give us some snow on the mountains with more forecast over the next few days.

Awesome sunset this week in Wanaka

2011-07-01T17:11:00.006-07:00

Beautiful reflection of colour in the lake.

Driving into town, taken by the Puzzle world.

Colourfull Black peak.

The Minorete peaks

Cal's 50th

2011-06-26T02:21:00.005-07:00

Cal's 50th party on Friday night was a great night, lots of dancing and socialising, photo above of Cal dressed as Elvis and me in the middle as Robin Hood and the Martine on the left was a singer that entertained us with her singing and guitar playing during the evening.

Calum also had a local band playing who were very good. Above Lynley and Eyvonne dressed up for the party, the theme for the party was movie moments.

Above Brendan and I have a beer from the keg.
The photo below I took today on the Deans Bank bike ride of Treble Cone our local ski field.
As you can see there is a lack of real snow, the snow you do see on the main runs is man made snow and they have only been doing that for the last three days as the weather has cooled down.

Work then time with Family.

2011-06-20T02:40:00.006-07:00

Above is the South and West walls of the extension and the photo below is the west wall.
The work is almost finished now with just over a weeks work left inside to do. The plumber and the Electrician are in this week to do the final fix.

Above is covered area onto the double garage which the scaffolder's put up last week getting ready for Calum's 50th party which is this Friday, the theme is movie moments.

Saturday I went to my brother Gary's place in Amberley north of Christchurch it was his birthday the weekend before, I managed to get a "grab a seat" flight from Wanaka to Chch for $49 each way.
I have never flown out of Wanaka so I was looking forward to the flight and the airport is only 3 km's from where I live, Hope took me to the airport a hour before so we could have a coffee and lunch at the Airport Cafe which is a favorite place for some locals.
When I got there the flight was cancelled due to fog and I was now flying out of Queenstown later in the afternoon and they had laid a coach to take two of us to Queenstown.

Photo above is of me and my brother Gary on the left and below from right to left is Neil and Donna (son and Daughter) Christene his wife, his best friend John, myself Gary and Johns wife Vivky on the left.
They are all Crusader's fans and after a lovely Pot luck diner we sat down and watched them beat the Hurricans and get a home quater final match against the Stormers next weekend.

It was nice to spend some time with family again and Gary drove me to the airport, it had been foggy in Wanaka again in the morning but had cleared before we took off from Chch at 1-55pm.
The photo below is of the 19 seater 1500d aircraft which is the smallest plane I have flown in, it was a nice flight and really nice to fly into Wanaka airport for the first time, I guess I will be doing that more often in the future as it is cheaper than the $175 it cost me in petrol the last time I drove there in March.
I shall get some photo's taken of the inside of Calum's extension and put them on here and also hopefully we will get some snow soon too so that we can start ski-in. :-)

Winter is almost here

2011-05-15T23:20:00.006-07:00

The last two weeks I have been looking after Calum's house and dogs while they have been over in Australia spending time with family.
Tui above is one of Jerry's (below) pup's, the other pup Eishan was on on my blogg about three weeks ago.

I stayed in the house and worked on the extension all the outside is almost done now with the entrance porch finished since my last photo published.

They arrived back on Friday night and yesterday (Sunday) Calum and I went for a bike ride. We first went to Hawea where we met Lynley.
We had had some fresh snow on the mountains the night before which is a good sign winter is not far off and we will be ski-in Treble Cone which is the mountain you see in the background of the photo above on the right of Calum.
The photo below is on our way back from Hawea with Lynley now in the photo. After Lynley rode back to Hawea Calum and I rode the Fisherman's track along the Clutha River to Lake Wanaka and then rode the high single tracks back to Albert town and the home.
With a coffee break in Hawea Calum and I rode for three hours in total.

I'm heading up to Auckland on Wednesday for a retreat at the Vipassana center and will be back in Wanaka at the end of May, then it will be just three weeks till our ski season starts then it will be ski-in for 4 months :-)

Road trip to Dunedin

2011-04-19T02:45:00.005-07:00

Last Friday the scaffolding was taken down on two sides (photo below) getting ready for the next stage which is to finish off the lower roof section on the right and the Old porch which is being taken down in the top photo before the extension was started and will go on the left end of the extension.

As they were taking down the scaffolding Calum and I headed for Dunedin which takes 3 hours, we went to look for second hand doors at the recycling yards for windows and doors.
We stayed Friday night and after spending the afternoon looking at what there was we went round them again on Saturday morning and picked the ones that matched and would fit in the openings in the extension, we brought 10 of the 17 doors required.
Friday night Calum and had a nice meal at the Reef in Dunedin then went to the pub and watched the Highlanders beat the Rebels away from home, which was a good win.

Saturday morning for breakfast we paid a surprise visit on Peyton, Hope's daughter who works at the "All day gourmet", she was well surprised to see us.
Then after we picked the doors up and loaded them on the trailer we had a slow 5 hour drive back to Wanaka stopping four times on the way to re tighten the load on the trailer, also along the way I took a few photo's above and below of the Autumn colours along the route.

We got back Saturday evening, and Sunday although the weather was bad I did manage to get a short bike ride in during the afternoon and when I got back there was Calum's dog Eishen with a empty bag of dried dog food photo below, most times when she sees me she picks something up as if it was a present to give to me.

Work then play

2011-04-11T01:05:00.005-07:00

After a weeks work on Calum's extension photo above shows the Batten's fixed on the out side walls and since my last photo of the Extension on my Blogg back in November the other difference from the outside is the garage door.

After a good weeks work it was back to biking the river trails, Saturday I rode the new Deans bank track on the North side of the Clutha river, the photo above is taken from the top of Deans Bank looking west up to Lake Wanaka where the river starts and the photo below shows where it starts on the other side of the coloured Poplar trees.

In the two photo's above there is also a track through the poplar trees on the other bank which is the very popular Fisherman's track which runs from the Outlet to Albert Town.
I rode a section of it after the dean's Bank ride to get some Walnuts and Chess nuts that are by the track, the photo below is taken close to the Albert Town bridge looking up the Clutha river towards Mt Maud in the distance.

Biking the rivers in Autumn

2011-04-03T01:16:00.004-07:00

The last two weekends I have been biking the rivers along the Hawea and Clutha rivers that come out of Lake Hawea and Lake Wanaka.
Yesterday I rode to Hawea and back where I took the photo above of the Hawea river, the photo below is of the Clutha river with Mt Golds in the back ground.

The photo below I took along the Hawea track and as you can see by the colours we are well into Autumn.

Autumn is a beautiful time of year here in Wanaka with not only the colours of the trees changing but also all the harvesting of fruit, mushrooms and nuts that are in abundance around here.
The photo below I took in the orchard where I live and it is of a wasp also enjoying the fruit at this time of year.

During the week I have been busy working on the inside of Calums extension, it is all gibed (plaster boarded) and the stopper was in over the weekend taping all the joints etc.
A lot of people say work sucks but I enjoy my work even though for a 60 year old it does get a bit physical, but one thing does suck since I arrived back in Wanaka after my 3 months in Canada ski-ing and that is since I left Red mountain on the 28th Feb it has snowed every day except 3 and today (3rd April) at Red is the last day of the season.
They have had a awesome end to the season with 209 cm of snow falling in March. Like all lessons in life I have learned one this year and that is not to leave Red mountain before the end of the season. It is the first time I've done that out of 8 visits there.
But being back here in Wanaka like always has been great and to make up for the loss of Red our Ski season is only a few months away. :-)

Weekend away for Vicki's 50th

2011-03-16T01:57:00.006-07:00

Last weekend I drove six and a half hours to Amberley north of Christchurch for a friends 50th birthday party.
On the way I took the photo above of Mt Cook from the Canals at the Mt Cook salmon farm, even though it is a long drive it is a nice drive through lovely south Island scenery.

Vicki is in the photo above with the 50 badge on her right trouser pocket, the party was at hers and john's house which is at Loburn west of Amberley.

The above photo is of her friends joining in a group photo.

The only photo of me on my camera was the one above with two of Vicki's friends.
The party went on till 2 am and the following day I left my brothers house in Amberley and headed back to Wanaka to be their for Kirsten's 45th party/ Bar B Q at her house in Wanaka.
Having driven most of the weekend and partied late Saturday night I only stayed till 9 PM and went home for a early night.
Its now Wednesday and I have been busy on Calum's extension since I have been back from Canada and tomorrow we are having a pre-line inspection, then it will be gibing / plaster boarding the internal walls.

Creedance Clearwater revival and Dr Hook in concert

2011-03-06T22:28:00.005-08:00

Friday night we had a cold wet storm which when I woke up Saturday morning there was more fresh snow on the Buchanan's mountain range, the photo above I took from my deck.
Saturday there was a summer concert at the Gibston Valley Vineyard near Queenstown, with CCR, Dr Hook and a local band playing, it was a 40 minutes from Wanaka.
It was supposed to be a stormy day but the weather was sunny and hot and the storm did come but in the evening after the concert finished.

The photo above is CCR on stage, they came on about 5-30, they were awesome and it was great to hear a lot of my old favorites being played live by them, obviously John Fogerty was not with them and there are still 3 of the original band with 3 new members, the singer did a great job singing the songs.
Before them Dr Hook were on at 3-30 Photo below is of them on stage, they were pretty good but the singing was a bit flat sometimes.

The photo above of the stage was taken where lynley and I were sitting, the concert started at 1-30 with a local band who were very good and did some great covers and the youngest member was 16 and none of them looked over 20.
The panoramic shot below I took of the crowd, there was 15,000 people there and it was the first time they had done a concert at the vineyard, it is a great venue and I'm sure they will do more concerts there in the future.

I've been back almost a week now and I started back working on the extension on Friday and yesterday (Sunday) I went for my first bike ride of the year to Hawea and back, it was good to be riding again along the river trails again.

Last day in Canada and first in NZ

2011-03-02T19:43:00.005-08:00

Above and below is another two photo's I took of the bird life at Beaver Lake in Stanley Park Vancouver.
The photo above is a Canadian Robin and the one below is a Blue Jay.

Photo above and below are of the sunrise at Auckland airport just after I landed back in New Zealand on Tuesday. I then caught a 10 am flight to Queenstown where my friends Thierry and Kirsten picked me up, we had lunch and spent a few hours in Queenstown before heading back home to Wanaka.

Beaver Lake , Stanley Park, Vancouver

2011-03-01T19:07:00.004-08:00

After a 12 hour bus ride through the night to Vancouver I arrived there at 5-30 am and had to wait till 6-30 till the metro opened so I could get my luggage to the airport.
It snowed most of the way to Vancouver and there was 5 to 10 cm on the ground in the city. My flight was not until 7 Pm so I put my luggage in the left luggage and headed for Stanley Park. it is one of my favorite places to visit and I have never been there when there is snow on the ground.

It was great walking around Beaver lake in the park, it is a small lake which takes about 20 minutes to walk around, the photo's above and below I took while walking round.
The wildlife there are very friendly and for the first time I did not see any Squirrel's, Rakoon's or Chip Monks, maybe they don't like the snow.
The bird life were out in there numbers feeding off the nuts and bread people were putting out for them.

The photo's above and below are two of the photo's I took, not sure what the top one is called but the Chick a tee in the photo below are a friendly bird, they fly around in packs of about 8 to 10 and take it in turns to feed from your hand some times there are two on your hand at the same time.
There are more photo's in the next addition I'll be putting in tomorrow.

Last days at Red

2011-03-01T18:50:00.005-08:00

I'm now back in Wanaka NZ, the last three days I went touring one day at Salmo pass and the last two days off the ski hill.
The above photo is of Anna, a old friend from Wanaka where she lived in the early nineties and now lives in Rossland, we went touring off Record Ridge doing one run down the west side (which I have never done before) and then one run down the East side, they were both great runs. I did one more on my own down DL's trees while Anna and her friend Ann went home.

Friday night was mine and Taylor's last night so we had a little farewell gathering, Taylor above playing the guitar with his Dad Al, it has been great spending time with Al and his family in Rossland this winter and as always it is sad to say goodbye when that time comes.

The last day on Saturday (26th) I skied with my touring buddy Brian, I did a run down Grey first and then caught up with Brian at the paradise lodge and we set off and did two runs off Record peak one down my favorite line which is in a photo from last week and the second we skied the tree's which they call the juicy Quim and the photo above is of Brian after we skied out of the trees.
The last run for me this season was from White Wolf Ridge, we are standing at the top of it in the photo below getting ready to ski down to the Paradise lift which is beyond the bottom of the ridge line coming down from the right in the top center of the photo.
Then I went home and finalised my packing and Brian took me to the Greyhound bus Depot in Trail to catch the 5-30 bus to Vancouver.

Still touring

2011-02-21T18:58:00.005-08:00

We've had no new snow since Friday so I've been touring every day since, the weekend was clear blue skies and cold.
One of the joy's of touring here in Canada is walking amongst the trees and with them well coated with snow there are some awesome shapes created by the natural elements, the photo above I took on Record ridge on Saturday.
The photo below of Mt Grey I took yesterday, it was going to be a cruizy day but it was a American holiday weekend and the hill was very busy so I decided to do three hikes up Grey after my Mocha stop at 11.

Today (Monday) I hiked up Roberts first off and skied a nice run down DL's trees with 10 to 20 cm.
Then I skied in Paradise for a few runs and then I went for a hike up record and skied the same line I did on Saturday, photo above I took before I skied that line in the center of the picture.
The photo below was taken after I had skied it, its a short run but has a nice fall line.
It was a mixture of wind packed at the top and nice dry snow in the middle section changing to a slight crust at the bottom.
There is snow in the forecast over the next few days which will be perfect timing as the back country around the ski area is getting tracked out.

Two days of hiking

2011-02-19T20:34:00.004-08:00

The last two days I have been touring from the ski field, the photo above is of Record peak which is a 45 minute hike. Its a North East facing slope and is one of my favorite places to ski.
All the back country has accumulated 22 cm in the last 3 days on top of the 20 that was already there so its been good touring ski-in 30 to 40 cm.

Yesterday I skied the line in the photo above off Record peak, this is my favorite line off the peak and the first time I have skied that line this season.
The photo below is the line I skied this morning, I hiked up Mt Grey first and skied a different line than I normally do, all runs on Grey come back to Reno's run which takes you to the Mother Lode lift which took me to the top of Granite.
I then hiked up Record and skied the line below, then hiked up onto Record ridge which took 45 minutes and skied a nice line through the trees and then I hiked up to Roberts and skied a line down DL's trees.

I skied those last three runs yesterday after ski-in paradise till 11 am with 5 cm of new snow, Taylor, Al's son had arrived from Toronto and I showed him around paradise till a friend of his turned up then after a Mocha at the paradise lodge I headed up to Record peak for some more powder turns.
The photo below was taken in DL's tree's which had the steepest and deepest snow conditions and is always a good one to finish on because at the bottom of the run is the Paradise lift. :-)
Ski-in down Reno's run back to the base lodge there are some secret stashes of powder below the run you can always find to finish off a perfect day.

Another awesome day at Red

2011-02-16T17:37:00.004-08:00

We got another 6 cm overnight making it 17 cm in three days. The word had got out that yesterday was a great day at Red so there were more people up there today still with that there was still no line ups after the first run.
It was not like yesterday where we could go back to the same area (which was slides for us) and ski fresh line's one after the other. Today I only did 2 in slides compared to 6 yesterday.
Like yesterday after Lunch I decided to hike up Grey again, it was overcast and the viz was good, my first run was really good, photo above is the top section and the one below is the middle section. The snow was in better condition today and the extra 6 cm+ smoothed it out really nice, even the top 3 turns was not as hard packed as yesterday.

The first run was so good I decided to hike up again after a run on the hill, the sun was starting to come out at times, Photo above I took from the hill after my second run showing the clearing in the trees which is the run I took from the middle peak.
The second run I decided to Eight my tracks which you can see in the photo below, it was such a buzz to do that which does not happen much, even though there is a lot of back country skiers at Red I was surprised that it was not tracked out more. I did my last hike after 2Pm and got back in time to do another run on Granite which was down main run.

Awesome powder day

2011-02-15T17:29:00.005-08:00

Yesterday we had 5 cm and this morning we had another 6 cm overnight, it had warmed up yesterday and it was raining here in the town last night which is a 1000 meters, this morning at the top it was -7 and the snow was dry at the top and it got creamy as we got to the lower half.
Today was probably the best 6 cm day I've ever had and there was hardly anyone up there, after ski-in my favorite Lynx line to the bottom of the chair.
Then Rex, Paul and I skied 6 un-tracked lines between 1st and 3rd slides, it was amazing that there was hardly anyone there on such a good day.
My last run of the day was a hike up Mt Grey photo's above and below, it was a perfect end to a awesome day.

On Saturday me and two friends who I tour with Brian and Barber ( above) went for a hike in one of the Plewman bowls.
after ski-in the trees in the photo below we started to hike up onto the ridge to ski the north side of Mt Elgood on the way we passed a hut (photo above) which I had heard about but never seen, when we went in the fire was on so we had our lunch and a break before heading up Elgood. It was a well built hut with the bedroom area at the back.

Photo above is the North side of Plewmans which Brian and I skied two winters ago when I was last here.
After the hill closed today it started to dump with snow and is still snowing now at 6 Pm so hopefully it is going to be another awesome day at Red. :-)

Back ski-in after two weeks in England

2011-02-14T19:48:00.004-08:00

I'm now back in Canada ski-in Red mountain after a two week stay in England spending time with family and friends.
Photo above and below is of my daughter Michelle, grandson Liam and Michelle's husband and a great father to Liam Warren and of course myself, it was our last supper together for a while.
We had a Indian at a local resterant a few hours before I left for Gatwick to get my flight back to Canada.

Liam and Grandad

Above is a photo I took from the last part of my journey back to Rossland taken from a Pacific coastal plane as we came into land at Trail which is 15 Km's from Rossland down in the valley.
The photo shows the town of Rossland with the mountains we ski above and behind the town.

I have skied four days since I got back and two of them I have been touring. Last night we got our first snow for a week a mere 5 cm, but it was a fun day ski-in in the Paradise ski area.
At mid day I went for a hike and my first run was down the center of Record Peak photo above.
I then hiked carried on hiking and did two more runs one off Record ridge and the last down DL's trees on MT Roberts at the bottom of that run is the Paradise lift, very handy after touring.
12 more ski days left and then I'm on my way back to Wanaka in New Zealand :-)

Day out in Liverpool

2011-02-04T01:05:00.006-08:00

I'm now half way through my two week stay in England, on Wednesday my daughter Michelle, grandson Liam and myself drove to Liverpool for the day.
It was only just over two hours to drive there and strangely having supported Liverpool football club for 30 years and a Beatles fan in the 60's it was the first time I'd been there.
I also have two friends from Liverpool from my army days that I always see when in England but they live in Cambridge and Gillingham.
They told me I had to go to the Albert docks first, so we did. The photo above is the Big wheel there and from the top of that I took the photo below of the Albert Docks.
We spent 4 hours there visiting the Beatles story and the shops etc there, later after the ride on the big wheel we went on the River Mersey cruise which took 50 minutes.

Then at 5 we headed for Anfield the home ground of Liverpool FC, after picking up the tickets the 3 of us went into the supporters club for a shop, photo above of Liam and I after buying beanies, scarf's and shirts.

Then at 7 after seeing the players arrive at the players entrance in their coaches we went into the stadium, photo above of Liam and I with the pitch in the back ground, and the photo below of the stadium full just before kick off.
One of the most moving and enjoyable parts of the day was singing "you'll never walk alone" the Liverpool FC anthem with the supporters just before they kicked off.

I'm now visiting Roy from Liverpool who lives in Gillingham and on Sunday I go and see my other Liverpudlian friend Steve who lives in Cambridge.

Time in England

2011-01-31T10:10:00.007-08:00

After a long journey from Rossland, BC, Canada to Northampton, England I finally arrived at my daughters house (above) the end cottage on the right at 3 pm on Thursday.
She lives in a small village Kislingbury 5 miles out side Northampton, it is a very picturesque village with lots of old style houses.
The photo below is in the back garden with Liam my grandson (nearest) and his friend Charlie who lives next door on the trampoline.

Then we walked Scooby his Chocolate Labrador along the river and the photo above is Liam playing on a fallen tree along the walk.

The photo's above and below I took along the walk as well of the sun setting behind the naked trees and the dead plant life along the river bank.
I've had a busy 5 days visiting family in Northampton, Luton and Dunstable, its been great seeing everyone again and because its a short visit (two weeks) I will be visiting Luton and Dunstable at the weekend and in between I'm going to spend a night at Cambridge and Gillingham to see two Friends of mine I was in the Army with between 66 and 71 and we've stayed in touch ever since when I've been in England.

a great weekend touring

2011-01-24T20:54:00.006-08:00

Saturday Brian, Dan and myself went touring around the mountains close to the ski field. We hiked up Mt Grey first and were first to ski down photo above. It was a firm wind packed base at the top and as we skied down into the trees it soften up nicely.

Our second run above was off Record peak, photo showing Brian and Dan after the run getting ready to put their skins on to hike to our third run which was off Record ridge, photo below shows Brian looking back at where we had skied about halfway down the slope.

Then we hiked to the top of Mt Roberts and skied the hour Glass where Brian is ski-in in photo below. This was our last run of the day and it comes out at the Paradise chair and we got there at 2 minutes to 3, it was perfect timing as the lift closed at 3.
We started the day getting on the lift at the base lodge at 9am.

Yesterday Sunday Brian and I went touring in the bowls around Mt Plewman.
It was a lovely sunny day and we were the only ones that had skied in the area we went to, it took 3 hours to walk there and we had three runs from the top and down into two of the bowls, the photo below was down the south face and we skied it twice, it was firm at the top and then it turned into corn like snow and then got deeper as we got lower.

Today I had a cruizy day and just skied the groomers on the ski hill, It was snowing on and off all day and since the hill closed it has been snowing heavy so it looks like my last day here for two weeks is going to be a powder day.
Tomorrow evening I get the bus to Calgary to catch a flight to Manchester for a two week holiday in England visiting my Daughter Michelle, grandson Liam and my brother colin and his family.

!5cm powder day

2011-01-20T19:59:00.004-08:00

After what seemed ages since our last snow fall but it was only 5 days this morning we woke up to 15cm of new dry snow.
Since our last decent snow fall last Friday it warmed up and the town lost a lot of snow then yesterday we had a sunny blue bird day and -10 on Granite.
Today was another one of those epic days at Red and the top photo of Papoose alley was my second run of the day.

At the end of the day I did a hike up Roberts which is the mountain in the photo below taken from Rosslands main street last month.
I skied DL's tree's which runs down the right ridge in the photo and the top of my run is in the photo above, it was a awesome run as always and it was good to get it all freshened up after our warm up a few days ago.

Photo below of a snow ghost from my hike.

From Canadian snow to NZ snow in one day

2011-01-15T16:29:00.007-08:00

Wednesday was a super dry powder day, a typical Canadian winters powder day which I wrote about in my last writing, we woke up Thursday morning to another 7cm at 6am and it snowed up until we skied Ruby Tuesday (above), the two girls in the photo are Janet from England and Vicky from Australia, we were the first down Ruby Tuesday and again a typical Red mountain day with not many people on the slopes.
The snow was not dry like the day before in fact it warmed up during this day and the snow was more like ski-in NZ.

It was still a awesome days ski-in and on the North side the snow was 50 cm and more in places, the wind had blown a lot of snow over from the south aspects.
The photo above is of a old friend from the nineties in Wanaka, some of you in Wanaka will remember Anna from Melbourne who moved to Rossland here in Canada in 95 and has lived here ever since, she is ski-in out of the trees below Sarah's chute which she really lijke as she kept wanting to ski it, we did it 4 times.

The photo above and below is one of my favorite lines on Mt Roberts in DL's trees, I skied it yesterday (Friday) On the ski field the fog was very dense and on the groomed runs you could not see a thing and luckily for the trees we could ski off piste, the snow was getting heavier as the freezing level rose to 1400 meters which is the bottom of Paradise.
In DL's trees which is above 1400 meters and on the North side it was drier and I had two awesome runs in there and it was 50 cm.

Today Saturday it was a sunny morning with again warm temperatures, I lost my beanie when I was hiking up Roberts yesterday so first thing this morning I hiked up again and there it was near the end of the skin track where I did my first run ( Photo below).
So I did another run down through Dl's trees today it had a slight crust on the top, it was ski-able and the snow underneath was a little heavier than yesterday.
So after that I went and skied in Paradise where it was sunny and almost spring like ski-in except for the crust off piste.

25 cm of dry powder :-)

2011-01-12T19:06:00.005-08:00

Today was the best day on the hill so far this season, I've had better when back country but on the ski hill it was a awesome day, we had 20 cm at 6 am and it was still snowing when we got to the top of Granite at 9-15.
When it is over 15 cm I skin up to the Mother lode chair missing out the lower silver lode chair, it takes about 15 mins, photo above is me coming up to the Mother lode chair and there was two people there before me.
Today Jan 12th is also Lynley's 50th birthday so I dedicated my runs today for her and tomorrow is Julian Howarth's birthday so I did some turns for him too.
It was foggy and windy at the top of the chair so I headed for the Powder fields first being the first down there other than the ski patrol.
Then I did a run on the North side which was deeper 50 cm, I guess the south west wind had filled in the North side, the second run was the best run on the hill and the third down 3rd slides was also awesome.

After a mocha and food break in Paradise at mid day I did some nice tree runs in Paradise, then at 1 I went for a hike up Grey and was again first down through the clearing, it was foggy at the top and a bit wind affected but down just above the tree line (above) it cleared and the rest was just awesome ski-in again.

There was about 25 cm on this south aspect and being the first down there it was awesome seeing no tracks in front of me (above).

The wind had affected it a little and after a big day on the hill I stopped now and then for a breather and took the photo's above.

Yesterday I went for a hike and skied 4 runs the last being the run I did last today on Grey, it had been tracked a lot but still found some nice turns by and in the trees.
My first run was off Record Ridge which was and is the best aspect to ski for tree runs and best snow conditions so when these storms have passed which they are forecasting to be on Tuesday the back country will hopefully be better than it has been, and what we've had this season is very good.
Photo above I took on Record Ridge where I took my skins off ready for my first run yesterday, I call it the guard dog.

Took a day off

2011-01-10T20:20:00.007-08:00

Photo above of the west aspect of Roberts taken from record ridge where I have hiked along a lot this last week and the week before I skied down the aspect in photo most days.

Took my first day off today, we had 16 cm in 24 hours yesterday which was a nice top up but my body was not responding to some ski-in in the trees so I thought it must be time for a day off so today I went down to trail and soaked in the hot pools at the Aquatic center and swam a little and spent a short while in the steam room.
It was nice to have a lay in, to chill out and do something different now I'm ready to ski again tomorrow.

Above is the Paradise ski area taken from Record Ridge with the Paradise lodge in the center on the left edge of the photo, this is a great area to ski when its up to 10 cm, the tree runs are awesome.

Above is the skin out track from the bottom of the North face of Record peak which is one of my favorite back country slopes to ski, in the back ground is Old Glory, this was taken on New years day at about 3-30 pm on our way back to the ski field.

Photo's above and below are more photo's I took of the snow beings I pass on my hikes along the back country trails around here.

Mt Grey, the run of the day

2011-01-06T19:18:00.007-08:00

Photo above is of Mt Grey which I took a few weeks ago, it shows my run of the day today from the middle peak down through the clearing to Reno's run which runs from left to right at the bottom of the picture and is the edge of the ski area.
Before I hiked up Grey I hiked up Roberts and did a nice run down through DL's trees.

Above, Just skied the top section of the run.

Above, the only section that goes through well spaced trees.

Above, the middle section ready to be skied with the North face of Granite in the back ground showing Short Squaw (Booty's run) and Windows in the center of photo.

Above, just skied that section.

Above, the lower section running into Reno's run at the bottom.
We have received 10cm over the last two days and today it snowed about 5 cm during the day covering all the old tracks and today I was the first one down Grey making it a awesome run.
There is 10cm expected tonight and some more tomorrow and Saturday which will be a great top up for the back country again.
I finished the day off with a nice run through the Windows Trees on the North face of Granite.

8 days touring in a row

2011-01-04T21:33:00.006-08:00

Today was the eight day I have been touring in a row from the ski field at Red, the last 4 days I have skied off the ridge in the photo above which is called Record ridge, the last three days our first run was down the North side of Record peak (shaded side), the peak is on the right of the photo.
Our second run has been down the through the trees halfway along the ridge which runs from right to left and the photo below I took today halfway down through the trees.

New years day one of my touring friends Brian arrived in town and on the 2nd Jan we skied the runs I've mentioned above, the third run we hiked along the ridge to the highest point on the left and skied what they call the field of dreams, all the runs I've been ski-in the last eight days have been between 30 and 50 cm of dry snow, every aspect has been great ski-in, we've had hardly any wind this season.
The photo below is of Brian skinning along the ridge surrounded by the snow beings (ghosts) and the beautiful sun which gave us a blue bird day. The third run we went back to Record peak and then headed back to base via the paradise ski area.

Rex came with me yesterday and today I went again on my own, the photo below was my third run today ski-in off the Gun Barrel ridge down into DL's trees on Mt Roberts.
This run is always a favorite as it is steep and deep all the way down to the Paradise chair and is 50 cm deep in places.

Half the joy of touring here in Canada is walking through the trees especially when they are loaded with snow and they form all sorts of shapes and most can be turned into beings with a ski pole making the eyes, nose and a smile.
We have had some small snow falls the last two days giving us 7 cm of the driest snow I have ever seen, yesterday you could see the blue sky through the snow falling which a friend said was always like that in Japan but has never seen it here before.
Today it snowed lightly most of the day and there is snow in the forecast for the next three days so it will be back to ski-in on the hill till these storms pass then it will be back to the amazing back country that is within easy reach of the ski hill.

New years eve was a great night down the local flying Steam Shovel pub with a local band playing some great covers and me and friends danced till 1-30 am when they finished, powder by the day and dancing at night a great way to end the old year and start the new one :-)

Happy new year my friends

2010-12-30T17:36:00.007-08:00

Today is New years day in NZ so I'd like to wish those that look at this site a happy new year and all the best for 2011.
New years eve is tomorrow here and today we had a clear blue sky day but no new snow overnight and it was -12 at the summit.
I skied a few runs on the mother lode chair and then had my morning Mocha in Paradise and then decided to go touring for the rest of the day.
I did two runs on the west aspect of Roberts, photo above shows the top section with my two lines down from the top.

The photo above is another section down the slope, the one below is the next section that I skied.

The one below is on the same run a bit further down, then I skinned back up to the top which took 30 minutes.
The first one was so good ski-in 40 to 50 cm of fresh powder I decided to do another run, touring here is just awesome especially back country, with the mountain having its busiest days since 2003 (being Xmas period) it was good to get away from the crowds and enjoy the beautiful back country here close to Red.

Photo below is another snow being that I created out of the snow covered trees. Its fun creating these beings as I walk along, its also nice walking amongst the snow covered trees.
After the two runs on the west aspect I skinned back to the top of Roberts and then skied a nice line on the North side through the trees to the lift on Paradise, the snow was above my knees on the steep sections and there is a lot of them, again another awesome run.

There is no new snow in the forecast for 4 days so it looks like sunny days and more of what I skied today, there is a lot of Terrain out there close to the Ski area, a nice way to end 2010.

To all my friends that visit this site I'd like to wish you all a very happy new year and all the best for 2011, :-)

30 cm in 3 days

2010-12-29T17:56:00.008-08:00

The last three days its been snowing on and off giving us 30 cm during this time, yesterday we woke up to 12 cm over night and instead of being on the first chair at the silver lode chair I skinned up to the Mother Lode chair which took 15 minutes, both chairs start at the same time but the Mother chair is higher up.
Today though we only had 4 cm overnight so I stayed on the silver lode chair and was on the first chair, photo above.

I skied the Paradise area which is always fun when there is only around 5 cm, it was also snowing most of the day so we probably got another 5 to 10 during today.
I skied in Paradise till 11 am, then I decided to go up Mt Grey, photo above and skied the line from the center peak down through the clearing which they cleared in the summer, this run is becoming a very good back country run and at the bottom of the run is Reno's ( Long Squaw) run which takes you back to Base and the Mother Lode Chair.
The photo above I took from short Squaw which I was first down yesterday on the 12 cm powder day.

The run was so good I went back up and did another run, the photo's above and below of the snow beings I took from the spot where I hiked up too which took 25 minutes.
With all the snow covered tree's etc I love to stick my ski pole in certain places to make eye's which turn them into snow beings and I put smiley faces on mounds of snow as you have seen in earlier photo's.

While I was up there for my second run I bumped into some Friends and we decided to go and do another back country run on Roberts through DL's trees which was as always a good run.
I'm not sure why that text has turned Orange? but there you go we get what we get sometimes and like today and most days here at Red mountain what we mainly get is a awesome days ski-in. :-)

A lovely Xmas day

2010-12-27T16:58:00.009-08:00

Xmas day was a beautiful blue sky day, first time that it has not been a powder day in the 5 times I've been here for Xmas.
It started off with Breakfast with Santa in the paradise lodge, photo above with Left to right, John, Carol, myself (English) and John and Kate from Australia.
There was lots of food, I went out and had a ski for a hour and then went back and had some sweet cake's etc and a Mocha.

Then after that I went out and did some more runs and caught Sanata taking some time after his busy Schedule getting some turns in Paradise.

Because we did not have any fresh snow overnight I had to carry on my tradition of ski-in fresh powder turns on Xmas day so I went for a hike up Roberts and had a nice un tracked run back down to Paradise, along the way I took the photo above of a lovely Xmas like tree covered in snow.

In the evening I had Xmas diner with my friend Al's son Colin and friends down in Trail, photo
above is of Colin and I. It was a lovely evening with lots of food, I'm glad I do not eat that amount of food every day.
I had a very happy and merry Xmas day and I hope those that read this also had a very happy and merry Xmas day :-)

Xmas eve at Red

2010-12-24T22:24:00.007-08:00

For those that visit this Site I'd like to wish you a very merry and happy Xmas, the photo above is of a artificial Xmas tree I brought here 5 years ago and put up every year I'm here. I love it here living at 1000 meters with snow all around town it really makes it feel like Xmas.

Yesterday was such a great days ski-in that I decided to do the same again today, skied Paradise till 11-30 and then went and skied Roberts on the south side and then the North side,
It had warmed up overnight and there was a skiff of snow which left a 1cm layer of wetter snow on top of the dry snow, but my ski's (above) were very happy to be out in the snow again.

It was nice just walking out there in the snow amongst the tree's and every now and then there was a mound of snow that looked like a being which just needed some Eye's and a smile to turn it into what I call a snow ghost or a snow beings, photo above and below.

At 2-30 I stopped ski-in and headed into town for some last minuete shopping as well as popping into the pub before it shut at 4 for a few glasses of Red wine with the locals, photo below.
Its always the same people that are in there at the same time, mostly skiers and a few workers.
Living here in Rossland at Xmas time is a beautiful time, with the snow everywhere it feels more like Xmas than anywhere else I've been in the past. walking from shop to shop it felt very Xmassy.

Merry Xmass to you all and all the best for 2011 :-)

Another Awesome day ski-ing the pow at Red

2010-12-23T19:37:00.008-08:00

Since I last wrote on Saturday we've had 30 cm of Dry snow, we had 12 cm on Tuesday which was a awesome day ski-in on the hill.
Wednesday, Thursday and Today I've been back country ski-in Mt Roberts and Mt Grey which has 40cm of nice dry powder and deeper in places.
We woke up this morning with 4 cm overnight and normally when its around 5 cm I head to Paradise and this morning I got to the top of Ruby Tuesday (above) and not even the lifty's had skied it, so it was nice to ski, the photo below is from the bottom of the run which has 3 sections to ski, you can see the bottom two in the photo.

I skied in paradise till 11-30 ski-in the tree's and like always small amounts of fresh snow just freshens up the snow below.
At 11-30 I decided to go for a hike up Roberts and on the way up the track looking at the south aspect ( below) I decided to ski it from the top, I've only skied this aspect once before in the past as I usually ski the North side but today walking up the south side looked very nice and it does not get skied much.

The photo below I took halfway down the aspect, because it has not been skied the snow was a good 40 cm and deeper in some places.
Walking back up from the creek to the skin up track from Paradise it took me 20 min's so it was well worth the ski and will probably do it a bit more often.

While skinning up I took the Macro photo of the frosted snow above hanging on the tree's, it looked beautiful hanging there on all the tree's as I walked back up.
Back on the track to the top of Roberts I headed for Dl's tree's and skied another awesome run down (below) through the tree's to the Paradise lift.

It was 2 pm when I got to the lift and the hill closes at 3, on the way up the chair I decided to skin up MT Grey which takes 30 min's and I had another awesome run down to Reno's run and then back to the Base lodge and the end of another 5 hour day of ski-in the pow at Red.
We are expecting more snow tonight and tomorrow with the temperatures rising, so I guess it will be more like NZ snow tomorrow which will be good for our base which now stands at 130 cm .

More fresh lines

2010-12-18T19:49:00.006-08:00

Photo above is the south aspect of Mt Grey taken from Granite which is part of Red mountains ski area.
The tracks down the center of the picture are the ones I did for my last run yesterday, this morning I went up there again for my first run and skied to the skiers left of the tracks, again it was a awesome run down.
The photo below I took halfway down Grey showing the North side of Granite which is part of Red's ski area.

The photo above is the north aspect of Mt Roberts where I also skied yesterday taken from the Paradise ski area which is the photo below which I took from Mt Roberts yesterday.
You can see the Paradise lift almost in the bottom/center of the picture above, its in a perfect position for ski-in DL's tree's on the right of the picture. Today it was my second run after ski-in Grey.

The rest of the day I skied in the ski area and just after mid day it started to snow and it is still snowing outside and its 8pm and -8, so it looks like its going to be a powder day tomorrow :-)
The photo below I took yesterday from Mt Roberts and it shows more touring area's we ski from the hill, the ridge line running from right to left is white wolf ridge and is a 15 minute hike from the ski area and the mountain on the left is Record mountain and is a 45 minute hike.
The mountain in the distance is Old glory and is about 2,700 meters which I have not skied yet, apparently it is a big long hike to the top and is about a 30 minute drive from Red.
I also love taking photo's of the snow ghosts formed by the snow on the tree's at the tops of these peaks.

Blue sky powder day touring Mt Roberts and Mt Grey

2010-12-17T19:40:00.008-08:00

Yesterday two days after the 10cm day the photo above show's there was still fresh lines to be found on Granite.
After lunch I went for my first hike up Mt Roberts to check the conditions of the snow in DL's tree's and it was awesome, a nice long steep run with about 10 cm on top of a crust which was caused by the rain to the top on the 13th (of all days).

Today was a free day at Red so it was very busy and it was a beautiful sunny day. I decided to hike back up Roberts and keep doing it during the day.
On the way up the second time I looked at the slope (Photo above) and decided to ski that (photo below) and then walk back to the top which took 10 min's.

Back at the top I skied down to the entrance to DL's tree's photo below which is my favorite spot where I like to start my ski down, Paradise ski area in the back ground.

Half way down I stopped and took the photo below, there is good spacing all the way down this north facing tree run, from Paradise the trees look close but nearer the ground they are well spaced.
Another reason this is a awesome steep slope to ski is that when you get to the bottom there is the Paradise chair (photo below). Mt Roberts is back country and it takes 30 min's to skin to the top and then the North aspects gives you nice steep runs to the chair.
I did three runs there today and then finished off the day with a hike up Grey mountain which also takes 30 min's from the ski area which again gives you some awesome ski-in back down to Reno's 7km run back to the base lodge to end what was another awesome powder day at Red.

I will probably do the same again tomorrow and snow is in the forecast for tomorrow night and Sunday :-)

10 cm overnight

2010-12-14T17:57:00.007-08:00

We got another 10 cm overnight and today us skiers could ski the white stuff, no crust and it had jelled well with the 22cm which had the crust yesterday, the snow was NZ style snow which is setting us up with a good base.

The morning I skied in Paradise, the weather was foggy so the tree's were where those that were up there headed and there were not many so there was fresh tracks to be had all morning and probably all day.

I had lunch at the Paradise lodge then headed for the north side to check out some of my favorite runs and to see how the base was filling up in the trees, it was all good and the ski-in was un tracked as you can see in the photo's on this page.

All the photo's on this page are of one run as I skied down through the tree's. It is one of the window's run off the ridge at the top of Slides.
It was a nice long run and I stopped 3 times as I skied down to take the photo's where I was going and where I had been.
It is a nice steep tree run and was the run of the day and it was 1-30 pm and no one had been down there, this is what I like about Red you can always find a fresh line on a powder day, and the next day as well if you know the hill.
All the runs I did on the north side and the Powder fields on the East aspect were in great condition for this time of year.
The forecast is for a 50% chance of snow again tonight so maybe tomorrow will be another powder day. :-)

Is it April or December

2010-12-13T15:33:00.006-08:00

Today they opened the Mother Lode chair above which gave us access to Paradise and the upper mountain.
The photo below is near the top of the Mother Lode chair and show's the Papoose bowl which is one of my favorite area's to ski especially the Lynx line, which is on the left in the photo.

It all looked very nice to ski until I stuck my pole in the snow at the top, it had a rain crust on the surface of the snow, the temperatures have been warm and yesterday it must have rained right to the top on top of the 22cm we received on Saturday night.
When I got to the top of Ruby Tuesday which is my favorite run in Paradise it looked perfect untouched, un groomed and 22+ cm to ski.
Unfortunately it had a crust on the surface, but that did not stop me from ski-in it, it was hard to ski I got halfway down (photo below) and headed along a groomed cat track to the groomed Southern Comfort for the rest of the run to the Paradise chair.
The last time I skied this run was after the hill closed in April 2009 when I hiked up for my 100th day of that season, it looked just like it did today but it never had a crust on it which made me wonder with the warm temperatures the last few days what time of year it was. Last week I was ski-in 30 to 40 cm of dry powder snow and now the ski-in is more like spring time.

Even Gambler below looked good for this time of year still needing another 50 cm before they can groom it.
Sitting on the paradise chair the only people I saw ski-in this stuff were snowboarders, so for me it was ski-in groomed trails till mid day and the best run of the day was the 7 Km cat track from Paradise back to the base lodge.
I stopped ski-in at mid day and headed to the Flying Steam shovel to watch Man Utd beat Arsenal 1-0.
The forecast is for more snow tonight with the freezing level lowering to the valley floor and rising to 900 meters tomorrow. at least we are getting a good base now with this wet snow, unfortunately the back country is out of bounds at the moment as the Avalanche hazard is extreme.

22 cm overnight so They opened the Red chair today

2010-12-12T20:55:00.007-08:00

Above, woke up to 10 cm of new snow in the garden and up the hill they got 22cm so it was a powder day.
Photo below arriving at The Lodge with Red Mountain behind at 8 this morning, it was drizzling which meant the snow would probably be heavy.
Yesterday they opened a part of the ski resort and because we had 22 cm overnight they opened the below Red mountain today.

Waiting in line for the Red chair to open at 8-30 the photo below shows the owner of the ski resort Howard in the light blue jacket joining the line with fellow skiers. He used to ski here before he brought the hill, he is often up the front on powder days when he is in town. He does own a house in Rossland but I guess business takes him away sometimes.

The snow was heavy and more like ski-in back home in NZ, it was a fun day and the wet snow is good for our base as we need 90cm for good coverage to cover fallen logs and rocks that lay all over the mountains in the region.
Granite mountain has now reached that required depth and tomorrow they are opening the Mother Lode chair so there will be more freshies to be had like the photo below taken coming out of the tree's on Red.
That now means the whole ski resort will be open.

2010/11 Season started today

2010-12-11T20:28:00.007-08:00

Today the 2010/11 season kicked off with limited ski-ing on the T-bar and Silver lode which is only the lower half of the mountain. Red and the upper half of Granite even though it has 85 cm at the top still needs another storm before it will open.
The photo's above and below I took on Thursday when I went for a hike up Red (below) and then after ski-ing the cliff and face I hiked up Reno's run (above), there is enough snow I believe to open but I guess they are being safety first as there are hazards off piste especially in the tree's.

Photo below is of Teresa and Al who are my closest friends here who have always invited me round for Xmas diner when I've been here since 2000.
They used to own the Clancey's cafe in town but sold it two years ago. Al is now a chef at the local Steam Shovel pub. They came round for diner last night and then we had a game of Dominoe's.

As I said earlier they only opened the lower mountain today as we need another storm before they open the top and today after ski-ing from 9 till 3 it started snowing at 3 and I just took the photo below from my front door with about 5cm on the steps and 20 cm in the forecast for overnight so hopefully they will open more of the mountain tomorrow.

Two days to go to Opening day and today remember John Jennon.

2010-12-08T15:44:00.007-08:00

With only two days to go till opening day on Saturday, we had 12 cm of new snow last night, it was wetter than we have been getting which is good for the base as in my last two days touring the snow is deep but dry so this wetter snow we are getting now will consolidate the base.
The photo above of Granite mountain I took from the top of Red on Sunday and the tree'd landscape on the facing slope is called powder fields, for this time of year Granite is looking good for opening day, it still could do with another half a meter to be good to ski everywhere which with snow forecast till Sunday we should reach that and more.

The photo above I took on Tuesday night on my way into town looking up second avenue with the pink colors in the East after sunset, in NZ when we have a colorful sunset in winter a storm is usually following which it did during the day yesterday (Wed).

Also yesterday I went for a hike up Granite, my plan was to ski down Main from Buffalo ridge but as I was skinning up the last steep section the snow had a crust on it which was probably caused by the sun being on the slope for three days which meant all the sunny aspects would have a crust on it so I decided to ski down Short Squaw on the north side, photo above is at the top of Short Squaw on Buffalo ridge.
It was a nice run with no crust and the only problem was going through the boulder field at the bottom which needs another 50 cm to cover most of them.
The photo below of Red mountain I took from the new deck at the base lodge which is twice the size of the old one. The actual lodge is also twice the size of the old lodge from last season and after a walk around it yesterday it looks very nice with the new molding nicely in with the old which they have retained really well especially in the Rafters bar.

I was going to go for a hike today but decided to have a rest day and with more snow overnight tomorrow the coverage will be better and deeper covering most of the tracks from the last week of ski touring by the local skiers.
I will be going tomorrow and will probably skin up the north face of Red (above) and ski down the Cliff & Face which is the run in the photo above. :-)

Also today is December 8th, the anniversary of John Lennon's death in 1980, its hard to believe it has been 30 years, he is very much still alive with his music in my I Tunes Library, with"Imagine" still one of my favorite's and in my heart and beliefs the future of our world.

First day's hike

2010-12-05T22:54:00.005-08:00

Above another shot of the house where I'm staying, we've had the clear blue skies for two days now, its been around -6 to -10. Everywhere looks so beautiful covered in snow.

The photo above is of Red mountain taken from the lodge, today I skinned up this shady side, it was quite cold in the shade, luckily the walk up kept me warm.
Once at the top I decided to ski down the sunny side which is Sallies Alley, the open area run in the photo below which I took from the main street on Saturday.

The photo below is taken from on the run at a section I was just going to ski, other people had been up there looking at the track on the right.
The snow was nice to ski especially with the sounds of crystal's sliding into each other as I turned.
Its great being back in Rossland, for me its like Wanaka was in the 90's, with everywhere covered in snow it really makes it feel like winter.

It was nice to be walking in the snow here again, amongst the tree's and the snow is deep and dry.
After two cold sunny days the top layer of snow had crystalized and the photo below show's this and also the amazing shapes etc of the tops of small pine tree's that are poking through the snow covered in snow.

The mountain opens on the 11th so it will be a few more days hiking, there is snow forecast for Tuesday through till Sunday :-)

Arrived in Rossland BC

2010-12-02T22:15:00.004-08:00

After leaving the sunny beaches of Auckland and photo above of the pohutakaua tree flowers in full colour, I spent two days in wet Vancouver, I didn't take many photo's and unfortunately only spent a hour in Stanley park instead of normally most of the day because of the rain, did some shopping and brought some ski gear, went to the Aquarium which is always a good bad weather place to visit.

I left Vancouver on the Greyhound yesterday (Wed) morning at 7am and got to Rossland at 8pm after being picked up by Al's son Colin.
Everywhere down to the Columbia river in Trail has a good amount of snow on the ground especially up here in Rossland.
Today I took the photo's above and below while walking from Al's house (above) to where I'm staying(Below) and I stayed at Al's house last night.

Today I walked around the streets of upper Rossland walking in the snow and felt very good and happy to be back here again, it is a place where I feel settled and love to be.
Its great to see and meet people I have not seen for 19 months again and to know I'm here till the end of Feb, its going to be hard to leave during the season.
I have also booked a flight to England on 26th Jan and will be back here on Feb 11th, it'll be great to see family over there especially my Daughter Michelle and my grandson Liam.
The photo below is one of some I took today while walking around Rossland looking very wintery.
I'm having bindings put on my ski's and hopefully will go for a hike on Saturday, tomorrow I'm going to enjoy getting settled back into the Davis Street house.

Work, dancing and the beach

2010-11-27T12:44:00.020-08:00

Photo above is of the last day at work for 3 months :-).
I'm now in Auckland and tonight I fly to Vancouver for the start of my three months away skiing and hopefully visit England for a few weeks in February.
The last 5 days I have been in Auckland spending time with Allan and Julie some good friends who live in Whitford.
I picked up Calum at the airport on Wednesday and below the two of us on One Tree Hill, photo taken by Allan.

Then later in the day on Wednesday we caught up with Hope and Peyton at Maraetai beach and stopped in Whitford (below) for a coffee.

Cal and I stayed at Julie and Allans and Hope and Peyton camped at Omana forest park by the beach.
The next day it was off to One tree hill and then to Mt Smart stadium at 4 to soak up the concert atmosphere.
Getting there early we were able to get into the restricted area at the front which only allows so many people in to prevent crushing etc. Once in there we could come and go, having a stamp on our neck like a love bite to allow us back in.
J-Zee was on first at 7-3o and then U2 came on at 9-15.

The first night I did not have my camera, Peyton did so hopefully I'll get some photo's from her by e-mail.
The following day I went again as I had a spare ticket from Thursday and swapped it on trade me for the second concert.
Getting there at 5-30 I was still able to get down the front. The first half of the show I stayed there and took the photo's below of Bono, Larry, Adam and the Edge and then I went away from the front and went to the back to get a overview of the concert where I took the photo above and lots more.
Both were awesome concerts and Hope, Peyton and Cal were blown away that we were so close with no crushing and room to dance. There were even children there with their parents.

Bono and Adam.

The Edge.

Larry Mullen.

We dropped Calum off at the airport on Friday and yesterday I took Hope, Peyton and her friend Michelle to the west coast and spent some time at Karekare beach (above and below) and then onto Bethells beach after a view from the lookout point above Phia.

Photo below is of Oniels beach next to Bethells beach, where Hope and I had a swim in the little sheltered cove on the left, the rest of the beaches and the sea was wild and rough and people were restricted to swimming between the flags which were not very far apart .
Both Hope and Peyton fell in love with the beaches and the scenic drive through the bush, as people do.

This morning I dropped them off at the airport at 6-30 after camping at the Manakau Top Ten park for the night.
Now for me it is dropping off the rental car later and then getting ready for my 8pm flight to Vancouver where I arrive at Midday on the same date.
The same day to be experienced twice, one in the sun and heat of NZ and the other the cool climate of winter in Canada, :-)

6 day working week

2010-11-07T02:58:00.004-08:00

With three weeks now left before I go to Canada I worked 6 days this week and will be doing a 6 day week till I go to get it all closed in.
We started the week by first wrapping the building with the above photo showing the green colored wrap and putting the window seal around the openings.

Calum saw me with my sun hat on and three pairs of glasses (Sun, protective and reading) while I was having a cup of tea, so he suggested taking a photo of me with my camera ( photo above) so he did while I was on the phone and looking at the plans, you could call it multi tasking.

Friday we had put most of the cavity batten's on and some sheets of exterior ply on, photo above.
Yesterday I finished off the batten's and the photo below I took this morning, even though it cooled down Thursday and Friday with some high cloud the rest of the week it was hot and sunny.

Back to working 5 days a week

2010-10-30T14:41:00.007-07:00

The last few weeks its been back to a 5 day working week first time since the ski season started in June.
Photo above shows the framing ready for the roofing iron to be laid, the first stage of closing the extension in.
The photo below shows the roof almost finished, just the trims to seal it all in.

No skiing this weekend, the first weekend since mid June. We did have a storm later in the week and even though the forecast was snow down to 600 meters, it rained to the top.
So it looks like it is the end of skiing here in NZ till next June.
So it was on my bike for my first bike ride since June, Thierry and I went along the Hawea river track to Hawea, photo below of Albert town bridge with still snow on the mountains in the distance.

From the bridge I took the photo below of Treble Cone with still a lot of snow on the upper mountain with not much at all in the lower main basin which we have to walk up to ski the higher snow.

In early December I arrive in Rossland, Canada to spend a few months skiing at Red mountain which had their first snow fall during the week, photo below.
Until then it is working five days a week to get the above extension closed in with the cladding on, windows and doors in place and the finishing off the inside will be delayed till late February.
To keep fit it will be back on the bike trails at the weekend and I'd like to ride the new track along the west shores of Lake Wanaka to Glendue bay and back from here which will probably take 4 hours.

Another great corn day at Cardrona

2010-10-25T00:57:00.010-07:00

Saturday, Thierry, Derek Michael and I went touring at Cardrona again, it was another warm sunny day with cool westerlies at the 2000 meters which was nice as it cooled us down after each hike to the top of each run.
We did our usual first run off Mt Cardrona and for the second time this season we did the short run down the north face (photo above) which had corned up nicely, probably a hour later it would be very soft and grabby.

We did our second run (above) down what has been our second run on most touring days, it is a nice fall line with some nice gullies, the photo above is only the lower half of the run as it starts higher up and to the left.

Photo's above are of where we had lunch between the second and third runs, the slope behind is North facing and it losing the snow very fast, Captains on Cardrona ski field is on the other side of ridge and is east to south east facing and holds the snow a lot better.
Maya Derek's dog in the photo below had another adventurous day and slept all the way home in the Van.

Our third run in the photo below was a nice run and we had to ski the right side as the snow in the gully and the East aspect had softened and was quite grabby.
The bottom photo of Mt Cardrona was taken after our fourth and last run the last run we skied down the far ridge on the left which had corned up really nicely again and then we dropped into the Soho bowl lower down the ridge out of picture.
There is still plenty of snow in this bowl and the gully where we skied our second run so there could be another ski day or two.

almost ready for the roof shout

2010-10-23T13:55:00.013-07:00

Friday Cal above spent most of the day screwing, the purlin's down onto the rafters that is.
This is a new instruction from the building code these days as well as nailing two 100 mm nails on the skew into each rafter.

Craig above, spent the Friday staining the exterior ply.

Photo above of the extension now with the purlin's fixed in place and below Calum rocking to the music coming out of Craig's car radio.
There is still barge boards, soffit's and final bracing elements and fixings to be fixed before the roof shout, probably on Friday before the roofing goes on next weekend.

We worked all week with no ski day. We did have a storm Sunday, Monday and Tuesday which left some snow on the mountains and we did have snow flurries down on the town Monday and Tuesday.
It was also windy up high all week so it was not favorable to go skiing but yesterday (Saturday) Thierry, Derek, Micheal and myself did go for a ski at Cardrona, we had a great day skiing corn snow, photo's will follow tomorrow.

Another touring day

2010-10-15T00:00:00.007-07:00

Today Derek and I with his dog Maya went and toured out the back of Cardrona again, today the expected high in Wanaka was the mid twenties.
There was a nice cool breeze at 2000 meters which was much needed after walking in very warm temperatures.
Our first run was down the North face of Mt Cardrona, photo above showing our tracks, it had corned up nicely, because it was North facing the snow level did not go down very far so it was a short run.

Then it was a short hike to our second run which is becoming one of my favorite lines, it is also becoming our second run every time we go touring.
Photo above shows our tracks which start a little higher and to the left at the top of the photo.
It had also corned up nicely but started to get grabby at the bottom of the run out of photo.
The photo also shows our tracks on the left from our run on Tuesday.

For our third run we hiked back to the top of Mt Cardrona and skied down the South running ridge of the southern valley they call Soho.
The photo above shows the middle section of the ridge, being on the west side of the ridge and with the sun on it , it had corned up nicely by 2 pm when we skied it.
The bottom photo shows our turns into the Soho from the ridge at the bottom half of our run, the top half had corned up really nice and then the bottom half started to get very soft and grabby.

The photo of the day was the one below of Maya enjoy the deep soft snow and getting her own fresh tracks in the soft snow.

Work and play

2010-10-14T01:26:00.005-07:00

Photo's above are of our last two touring days at Cardrona taken by my friend and wanaka photographer Thierry Huet. Top one on the top of Mt Cardrona taking my skins off my ski's and the one below that of our turns on our last run.

Photo's below are of The work we have been doing the last two days since our last ski day on Tuesday.
The one directly below after we had plumbed and straightened all the walls up and fitted the ridge beam ready for the rafters ( bottom photo) we fitted the following day.

Another GR8 day touring

2010-10-11T22:58:00.008-07:00

After the 30 cm that fell over the weekend it was good to be back up Cardrona for a days touring. Photo above of Mt Cardrona looked pretty good at the top with a little wind affect, it looked good in the gullies but there was also two people hiking up to the top ahead of us, so we decided to ski down the North Face (photo below) into the eastern valley which is where we have skied on the last 4 visits to Cardrona, it is nice a sheltered in there and gets early sun up high.
I went touring with Derek and his dog Maya who are in the photo below walking up to the start of our second run.
Apart from the first few turns on wind packed snow the rest of the run down to a lower level in the valley was nice spring powder snow.

The photo below of my turns on our second run was the best run of the day and a nice fall line with consistent snow.

Photo below of Derek and Maya skiing the third run, Maya is really good while touring and she loves running along side Derek occasionally running across his path.
While walking up she often wanders off in search of rabbits.

Our fourth run Below was from the top of MT Cardrona, the two people who we saw earlier up there went down on the right of the picture leaving this nice fall line untouched so on our way back up we decided to ski it for our last run.
The turns on the right of my turns you can see Maya's tracks as she followed Derek skiing down, also while at the top while we were taking our skins off the ski's Maya was digging a hole in the snow and was disappearing into the pack, when Derek went over to look there was a dead mountain goat laying there, I have a photo of it but decided not to put it on this page.

The photo's above and below of Maya wandering about while we are getting ready for our next run, she was above us at a height of around 2000 meters keeping her eye's on her master.
Back to work tomorrow for a few days and hopefully if the weather is fine we will have another day up there later in the week.

Charity day up Treble Cone

2010-10-11T02:07:00.005-07:00

Saturday was another good day up TC, it was a fund raiser day for St John's Ambulance and 204 tickets were sold.
As you can see by the photo above at first the light was flat and there was also 10 cm of new snow overnight, it took a while for people to arrive due to the weather which was good for us that got up there early with lots of fresh lines all morning.

The photo above is of the powder bowl which had up to 30 cm in places was a great area to ski and about 11 the sun started to shine which made the light a lot better and we could see our lines more clearly.

Mid Wave and the plunge were also other good area's to ski with the snow filling in lower lying area's giving lots of nice short runs ( photo above) all over the place.

Photo's above and below I took today at work after we had fixed into place the first floor framing which arrived this morning.
After a frosty morning it got very warm and I was into my shorts after lunch. The forecast is the same for the next three days.
Tomorrow Thierry, Derrek and myself are ski touring again behind Cardrona and the forecast is for light winds and the freezing level rising to 3000 meters so the area's we skied the last three visits there will be corning up nicely and there will even be some powder in the gullies after up to 30 cm has fallen since Friday, it even snowed in town yesterday for 10 minutes.

Back at Work

2010-10-08T03:26:00.007-07:00

After a great days skiing yesterday it was back to work today, again we had some nice color with our sunrise this morning photo above.

Photo above of Calum the owner of the house we are extending showing his son Angus how to straighten the nails and hammer them in.

Calum and I nailing the flooring in place above.

Nagio Calum's Daughter brushing her teeth in the area where her new bedroom will be.

Calum was called into work at the cinema at lunch time and could not come back to help me finish off the floor, luckily Craig above was free to come in and helped me finish off laying the rest of the flooring.
Photo below I took early this evening with Calum and Andrea getting used to parking their cars in the future garage.

This evening it is raining and they are forecasting snow down to 900 meters so hopefully tomorrow's fund raiser at Treble Cone will go ahead and we will have powder day.
Snow is also forecast for Saturday night and Sunday night so hopefully we will also get a good top up ready for some touring next week.

A day off work touring :-)

2010-10-06T21:51:00.008-07:00

Since closing day at TC on Sunday Cal and I have worked for the last three days getting the ground floor framing and joists ready for the flooring which arrives tomorrow (photo above).

Today it was a perfect touring day, clear sky's and no wind so it was off to Cardrona with Thierry, photo above shows him getting ready to skin up to Mt Cardrona with part of the ski field behind him.

Our first run we skied off the North Face which is behind the ski field photo above, it had corned up nicely by the time we got there and being the North face it was a bit thin in places but nice to ski corn snow. It is also the first time I had skied this slope for a few years as we normally ski off Mt Cardrona which is out of the picture and to the right.

Our second run was the sme run I skied Last week on Monday and Friday and again by the time we got up there that Eastern aspect had corned up nicely too although a bit softer higher up in the sun.
After that run where I took the photo Thierry took the photo below of me having lunch amongst the Tussock and Rocks with the North face aspects on the left.

We then hiked up Mt Cardrona and skied the west ridge which was in the sun and then came down at the lower end of the ridge for our 3rd and last run and dropped into the basin from the rock in the photo below where you can see our nice corn turns.

Like last Monday week it was one of the best days of the season and the next ski day is on Saturday at TC photo below for a fund raiser day for the red cross and snow is in the forecast for the night before so we could be in for a pow day again just like last year.
Until then it is a work day tomorrow putting the floor down on Calum's extension.

Closing dat at Treble Cone

2010-10-03T23:55:00.006-07:00

Yesterday was closing day up TC, and there was a beautiful sunrise hitting the mountains (photo above) which I took from my deck before breakfast.
As always we dressed up in fancy dress and Cal, Lynley and I went up together in Lynley's car, photo below was just before we left Lynley's house to drop off young Lilly at the child minder who was looking after her so Lynley could have a fun day with her friends.

Lynley looking nice and pink and ready to ski in the photo below at the top of the 6 seater with lake wanaka in the back ground.

Calum not quite ready in the photo below but what a great shot of Lake and the town of Wanaka in the back ground.

Also Thierry below at the top of the 6 seater in his green hair do and colorful T shirt,

As you can see it was a beautiful day with no wind which made everything soften up nicely as the day went on, there was a slight cool breeze in the saddle which was good as down in the main basin it was very warm at the base.
Photo below of Cal and Lynley on the Quad chair in the saddle ( Upper Basin).
We skied up until 3-30 and then chilled out in the cafe socialising till 4-30 ish then headed home.

More photo's of the day will be coming up soon.

Touring today at cardrona

2010-09-30T23:48:00.005-07:00

This morning I worked for a few hours waiting for the snow to soften and then went touring in the same area we toured on Monday. I only skied two runs.
The photo above I took from the Cardrona road before you get to the entrance to the ski field and it is of the area we skied on Monday and I skied today.
Mt Cardrona where we skied the first run is a little higher and to the left which you can't see from the road.
Photo below is the top of Mt Cardrona and today it was a little firmer and not powdery in the gully like it was on Monday.

When I got to the top of Cardrona I met a guy from Christchurch who was also skiing on his own so we did a few runs together, he is skiing (Telemarker) in the photo above and the photo below shows what the snow conditions were like, firm with a little snow on top which had a slight wind pattern, it was OK to ski and thankfully not icy.

The photo below was our second run which started at the top of the mountain in the top photo and we skied down the gully in the middle to where Kieth is in the photo below.
The lower section had softened and you can see the rain drifts from the rain we had on Wednesday.
Because I started later in the morning this was my last run so we hiked back up to the Ski field and then the car park and home.

This weekend is the last weekend of the season at Treble Cone so it will be skiing there the next two days. At the moment it is snowing down to about 800 meters so it could be a powder day tomorrow.
There is a fund raising day up TC on the 9th 0r 10th Oct but apart from that October looks like it will be a good month for touring at Cardrona and Treble Cone with maybe a few days skiing at Mt Dobson before that closes in Mid october :-)

Photo's Derek took of me on Monday touring

2010-09-30T23:46:00.004-07:00

Back to work today

2010-09-27T23:01:00.006-07:00

Woke up this morning to a colorful sky, photo above and below show the beauty of the early sunrise. The snow capped mountains I see from my deck every day always bring about a beauty which changes from day to day and the top photo looking eastwards above the sleep out I lived in for almost 10 years enjoying the many beautiful sunrise's.

Today Calum, Craig and myself worked on fixing and placing the ground floor walls to Calum's two story extension. The frames were pre-cut and pre-nailed for us so all we had to do was stand them up, level and straighten them and fix them to the existing house.

Above and below the boys enjoying a well earned beer after a good days work.

A great day Back country at Cardrona

2010-09-27T00:44:00.009-07:00

Today Derek and I went touring out the back of Cardrona, the weather was perfect no wind and we just hoped that the wind after the last storm did not affect the snow.
The photo above is of a area we normally ski and it looked pretty good but we did not ski this area until our last (4th) run.
The photo below is of Mt Cardrona (on the left) when we got to the top we decided to ski the eastern aspect on the right going down into a valley between where we are standing and the high ridge at the back.

Photo below is of Derek skiing the first run with his dog Maya who followed me down on the right and then when I stopped she headed over to her master.
The snow was nice with it blown into the gullies, the exposed slopes were firm and slightly icy which a hour later turned to Corn on the sunny aspects.

The photo below i took on our way back to the summit after our third run showing the turns we did on our first run.

The photo below was our second run, by the time we got to the top in the photo everything that was firm earlier was now corning up nicely and this run was a mix of blown in snow and corn snow as we got lower.

the photo below is the bottom section of our third run which was in the next gully from the same ridge line we skied our second run.

After our third run we went back to the top of Mt Cardrona (in photo) and decided to ski down into the valley where we normally ski, it looked wind affected and firm earlier in the day but as we skied down all area's that looked firm earlier had now corned up nicely and we skied down lower than we planned as it was nice to ski and hard to stop.
By the time we got back to the car it was 5pm which is the latest I've ever skied here in NZ and after the busy day at Treble Cone on Saturday and all the problems with the lift que's it was great to be back country again and surprisinly Derek and I were the only skiers out there all day.

Every day in every way the skiing is getting better and better

2010-09-25T01:33:00.007-07:00

My last report on Thursday said it was the best day of the season, well today went one better, waking up this morning to a snow report that said 30cm fell during the day yesterday while the ski hill was closed.
The photo above I took from my usual spot just before Glendue Bay showing Sundance on the left and the Matuki Basin on the right well covered.

The 30 cm fell during the day yesterday while the mountain was closed due to high winds but looking at the slopes when we got to the lift it did not look very wind affected in fact it looked quite smooth.
Photo above I took while standing in the que waiting for the mountain to open which it did on time at 9.

The photo above I took from the lift of the powder bowl in the distance with Sundance on the left showing it nice and smooth. The photo below I took after a few runs, surprisingly it was not that busy until mid morning just before they opened the saddle at 11.
The saddle was a bit wind affected and I only did one run over there as the main basin was better skiing.

It was the best day so far and on the way home I took the photo below from pub corner a few K's down the mountain road showing the mountain well tracked.
There is more snow in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow and tomorrow looks like a stormy day with maybe some clearance in the afternoon.

Best day of the season so far

2010-09-23T02:40:00.006-07:00

The photo above of my car I took yesterday as I left TC at 3, the skiing up TC is getting better with every day, on Tuesday we had 8 cm and it was a great day's skiing especially in the main Basin, the Saddle (upper Basin) was a bit wind affected.
Yesterday was another good day with clear blue skies to start with and then it started snowing at mid day and was still dumping when we left at 3 (photo above).

The photo above I took this morning after we had received 15 cm overnight, today was the best day of the season for me, I was on the second chair and there was not many people there so it was fresh lines most of the morning and they opened the Powder bowl (photo below) just after 10.
When they opened it I was the first one down Magnum, the gully by the rock on the left of the picture, its been a long time since I was first down there and the powder bowl was excellent skiing all day.
They never opened the Saddle due to strong SW winds which blew a lot of snow into the main basin and in the afternoon the winds got stronger in the main basin filling in earlier tracks making it a great afternoons skiing.

Photo below I took from Glendue bay looking out across the lake to Treble Cone. The forecast for tomorrow is more snow with an expected 30 cm during the day and tomorrow night which will make another powder day on Saturday which is expected to be clear saturday morning.
We have had about 10 powder days this month taking our base to over 2 meters.

Another awesome day at TC

2010-09-18T23:04:00.006-07:00

Another awesome day up TC today, during the day yesterday they got another 10cm and this morning on my way to TC I took the photo above from Glendue Bay showing the lower basin looking a bit better than it did last week.

The photo's above and below are of the "Gun Barrel" which was the run of the day and the best its been all season, it was chalky and dry on the shaddy side and springy on the sunny side making it a nice ride from top to bottom.

The photo below is of the Head wall which was also a nice run on the sunny side and on the skiers left of it is the "Upper Gun Barrel" which was a nice run leading into the "Gun Barrel".
The saddle in the upper basin was not as good as yesterday as it was very wind affected and windy during the day, but the lower Main Basin was very good skiing being sheltered from the South westerlies blowing strong in the saddle.

The Photo below I took from Glendue Bay on my way home.
With onlt two weeks left to go till closing day TC is looking the best its looked all season and there is more snow in the forecast right up until next Friday so we are getting a great finish to the season and it looks like touring in October after the hill closes will be epic. :-)

30 cm powder day

2010-09-18T03:59:00.006-07:00

Today we woke up to a 30cm powder day at treble Cone, winter has returned with nice dry snow to ski,
The photo above is the floor slab for Calum's extension which we have been working on since my last ski day on Wednesday.

The photo above is how Treble Cone looked this morning photo taken from the Diamond lake car park, it shows the lower basin has a better coverage of snow than it did on Wednesday and the forecast is for more snow most days till next Friday.

Photo above is of the saddle which they had open just after 10 this morning, unfortunately it was tracked out after two runs.

The photo's above and below are of one of my favorite short runs in the main basin over between the Camel and Matuki, the bottom photo shows me eighting my earlier run.

Another day up Treble Cone

2010-09-15T02:56:00.005-07:00

The last few days we've been working on Calum's two storey extension getting it ready for the concrete floor slab, photo above.
Yesterday and last night Treble Cone got almost 10 cm so today was clear and sunny so it was a day off to ski TC.

Photo above and below are two of the runs I did from the Summit which is a 15 minute walk from the top of the Saddle Quad chair.
The first run above I was the second to walk up to the summit and the first one down and the one below I did straight after the first one as it was so good.

The fog came in now and then and the photo below of a Fog Bow I took after the run above before I got to the Quad chair.

The forecast for the next three days is for more precipitation which is going to bring a predicted 75 cm plus for Treble Cone which is much needed in the lower main Basin.
This evening back home we had some nice color in the clouds after sunset which is sometimes a sign of a storm on its way, photo below.

Good ski week up TC

2010-09-04T01:04:00.006-07:00

This week has been a good week for snow and skiing up TC, Thursday was one of the best days for skiing fresh lines not because of 10 to 15 cm of snow we got Wednesday night but because there was hardly anyone there and when they opened the upper Saddle basin there was 15 cm + to ski and I had 7 runs which were fresh tracks, that has not happened up TC for a long time.
Then on Friday I worked but they got another 10 cm during the day as a southerly came through.
Then today was a clear blue sky day and the photo above I took from Town showing the mountains well covered with snow and the Photo below I took from Glendue Bay showing TC looking better than it has done since the opening day back in June.

I went up with Lynley and Eyvonne who are skiing in the photo below down the Gun barrel, this was one of the best runs of the day and because it has stayed cold over the last two storms the snow was in great condition.
It was busy over in the upper basin so we stayed in the main basin all morning as there was no que's.

Photo above is of them again skiing the powder bowl and the photo below is from the same spot looking out over to Lake Wanaka.
All the photo's above taken on the hill show that there was hardly anyone skiing the main Basin, we did go over the saddle for two runs but the Que's were bigger so we came back to the main Basin.

Hopefully the weather will be the same as today which will pull me back up to TC for another excellent spring day, ther is more snow forecast tomorrow evening and Monday morning so hopefully it will be another powder day on Monday. :-)

Touring Cardrona

2010-09-01T02:55:00.006-07:00

Yesterday Derrick his dog Mya and myself went touring out the back of the Cardrona ski-field, its the first time I've been there this winter and last Friday they had 30 cm of new snow so we was hoping it would be a great day.
Unfortunately for us it turned out to be one of the strangest days skiing I've ever had, we walked for about a hour through the fog to the top of Mt Cardrona, when we got there it still had not cleared but we could see about 50 yards in front of us.
On the way I took the photo above of Derrick and his dog Mya by a big snow drift and the one below is a close up of the snow drift which looks like a dog.

It was hard to ski as the snow had a wind packed wet 10 cm on the top and as we sank into it it was hard to turn so after only a few turns I was on my back side, we searched the gullies etc on the way down and it was the same all the way, it was like when I first learnt to ski deep snow, struggling to turn.
The photo below was near the bottom of our run where we had lunch and you can see I managed to get a few turns in the gully which was all I did manage on the decent. This gully is normally excellent to ski when there is fresh snow but yesterday it was not. You can see by the tracks that the top layer of snow has set, Mya derricks dog had a bad day too trying to run in it.

Photo below I took from where we had lunch and there is more snow here than I have ever seen before unfortunately none of it could be skied.
But it was good to be out walking through the snow in the mountains, it is only the second time this winter that I have gone touring and both were bad days, a far cry from the excellent powder touring days of Canada where there is hardly ever a bad day. Roll on December.

The photo below Derrick took of me when we finally got back to the ski-field after a Ken Dodd coffusing kind of day.

20cm powder day

2010-08-26T00:23:00.006-07:00

Photo above of Mt Golds I took this morning from my deck after hearing we had got 15 cm in the main basin and 20 cm in the saddle.
Treble cone was on hold because of strong northerly winds, Mt Golds above is roughly the height of the base at Treble Cone.
At 8 am they said it was open so it was up to TC for a much needed powder day, the last one was on Friday 13th.

Photo above I took at mid day after it had been snowing most of the morning, the viz was not the best and it kept coming and going during the day.
The snow was wet which in one way is not good as we get quite wet and on the other it is good for the base, as you can see in the photo below in the Matuki basin it is needed, this is the first run I've done there this winter, it gets a lot of sun and because we have not had much snow low down it does not stay long.

The photo below is of a Spaniard plant that grows on the mountain with the Tussocks. It was where I took the photo above so you can see the base is about 20 cm.
the main basin got a good dump today with another 10 during the day and more coming over the next three days so it should look different on Monday, the Saddle basin has almost a 2 meter base now and was hard work today with the viz being bad but the runs down the fence lines were good as it gave us some contrast against the snow.
But the last run at 3 down the head wall and powder bowl between Gun Barrell and Sidewinder was almost the best of the day and mostly untracked.

More photo's of the lovely Leo's party

2010-08-23T00:27:00.013-07:00

Photo above has the three lovely Leo's the party was held for, Sarah on the left and Hope and I dancing in the back ground.

The photo's on this page were taken by one of my best friend's here in Wanaka, Thierry Huet a local photographer.
The one above shows the lighting system we had which was really good especially when the smoke machine came on as well.

Photo above is me in my 60's outfit with pink trouser's made of Hemp (which I brought in Glastonbury) and blond wig, which I also wore on the closing day of our ski season up Treble Cone last October.

Above other guy's and gal's dressed up in their 60's and 80's gear, and Garrick a projectionist at the Paradiso cinema in his Laker's basket ball outfit.

Photo above Sarah dancing with Christine and me Ceroc dancing with one of Sarah's friends, below me doing my Mick Jagger impersonation dancing with Hope.

Photo's above and below guy's and Gal's dancing with the smoke machine on.

My 60th party and the three Lovely Leo's party

2010-08-18T02:51:00.012-07:00

Saturday I had a party for my 60th and also called it a Three lovely Leo's party. My birthday was the following day. It was originaly going to be a 60's eve party and then I found out that one of the Cinema Paradiso staff Sarah was 30 on Saturday 14th and Hope was the 9th, so we joined forces and had the three lovely Leo's party and there was also two others whose birthdays was during the week, Angus (Calum and Andrea's son) who was 12 on the 11th and Katherine another staff member of the Paradiso was on the 12th.
Calum and Thierry in the photo above helped me set up the final preparations for the party.
The photo below shows the scaffold addition to the double garage which formed the dancing area.
we also had a fire brazier with tables and chairs. As you can see the weather was good which was a relief as we had had two days of rain Thursday and Friday and it stayed clear all weekend.

Tannette and Tarn.

Hope And I, photo taken while the lens was still misty.

Sarah who was 30 on Saturday in the photo above with me helping me hold the lovely cake that Carl and Shaneen had made for me.

Dave and the back of Sharon above and Thierry, Lynley, Nikki, Darren and Ewin below.

Calum with the girls who work at the Paradiso below,

My birthday dinner was the following day at Amigoes, a local Mexican resteraunt, shared with close friends.
Dave, tracey, Penny and her two children, Maud and Eliza are behind the photgrapher.

There are more photo's to come which where taken by Thierry and others. :-)

Some more photo's of our road trip to Roundhill

2010-08-11T04:07:00.007-07:00

Photo above of Mt Cook from the Von Brown Hut (pub) on the lower mountain of Roundhill.

Mt John with snow down to Lake Tekapo.

Another photo from the "Von Brown hut" with mine and Hope's ski's and Mt John again in the background.

On the way home a photo of the upper mountain at Roundhill, the rope tow going to the top left end of the highest ridge.

Photo of snow on the tree's further along the road before Tekapo.

More photo's of Hope's day

2010-08-11T03:52:00.005-07:00

Leaving Fairlie with Mt Dobson in the distance centre of picture,

Mt Dobson above with 80cm of new snow in the last 48 hours, ski hill is on the other side the sunny face.

Just driven through Burk's pass.

Driving along Lake Tekapo towards Roundhill with the inversion.

Another photo just before Roundhill.

Hope's birthday road trip

2010-08-10T01:14:00.009-07:00

Yesterday was Hope's birthday and after our trip to Roundhill three weeks ago she wanted to spend her birthday in the same area.
This trip was even more amazing than the one a few weeks ago with 10 to 15 cm of snow down to the lake at Tekapo and 10 cm in Fairlie, I have never seen snow in Fairlie.
At first Hope wanted to ski Dobson which she has never been to before, we stayed at the Gladstone grand hotel in Fairlie where we stayed on our last road trip.
We woke up to a clear blue sky day, Dobson had 70 cm Saturday night and was closed Sunday and unfortunately it was closed again yesterday after getting another 10 cm.
So we headed for Roundhill which had 50cm Saturday night and was also closed Sunday but open for us yesterday.
The photo above was taken along the road from Tekapo to Roundhill and with snow on the road and trees it reminded me of Canada.

we arrived at Roundhill with low cloud and bad light, but Hope above on the pomma was enjoying her birthday.
As the cloud disspersed by mid day photo below, Hope's day was getting better and better especially as we could see the higher mountain which was not open yet and looking very inviting to be skied.
The small bar in the photo was not open so it was off for a ski.

Hope being a beginner skier headed off to practice her technique and I headed over to the rope tow to see how long it would be before it opened which is where I took the photo below of the lovely view of Lake Tekapo and Mount John covered with snow down to the lake.
They said it would be 2 pm before they would get all the rope out of the snow.

So off I went and caught up with Hope and took some more photo's along the way, the one below of the slope which the rope tow goes up looking all beautiful and ready to be skied.

Eventually at 2 they opened the slope and it was off for some awesome vertical skiing, I did two runs my second one being the longest run on the right. They were the best two runs of the season for me and maybe the longest straight and steepest runs I've ever done in NZ.
The snow was not heavy and I did both runs without stopping which says how good the snow was.

After those two runs I caught up with Hope again at 3-30 and we went to the small bar which was by now open and we had a glass of snaps each to toast her birthday and another beautiful day at Roundhill, phot below.

Then it was the 3 hour drive back to Wanaka, driving along Lake Tekapo looking beautiful with snow everywhere, photo below of Hope driving with the snow on the trees and the lake behind.
Back in Wanaka we went to the Spice room our favourite Indian resteraunt for dinner after another beautiful road trip skiing.

More photo's from a Nut-cracker (rope tows) of a weekend

2010-07-28T03:28:00.005-07:00

Here are some more photo's from Fox Peak, photo above is of Nicky above the inversion layer, it was a beautiful day above the clouds very different from the cold bleak day under them.

Every time I skied down into the cloud from the sunshine I could see a partial fog bow, but one time as in the photo I could see a whole fog bow.

One thing I liked about Fox was the lack of people ,as you can see in the photo's above and below it looks like Nicky and I are the only ones there and the other thing was that there are lots of fresh lines to be skied on powder days.

As I said in my last post Hope could not ski with the conditions the way they were, she did not mind at all about not skiing because she loves walking and after lunch she walked down the road till she could see where she was walking and walked across country till we caught up with her on our way back to Fairlie.
We left at 3 and caught up with her 15 km away at the gate (photo below) which says 15 km to Fox peak.

We did plan to ski Dobson on Sunday but ended up skiing Fox which in the end made it a nut-cracker (Rope Tows) of a weekend and like all road trips for me its nice to ski new ski fields which is what we all did over the weekend.

Sunday at Fox peak

2010-07-27T23:27:00.006-07:00

Sunday we woke up to an inversion over Fairlie, the girls wanted to ski Fox which I thought was not a good idea because it has three rope tows and Hope being a beginner and never experienced a rope tow I thought Dobson would have been a better choice but they wanted to go to Fox because neither of us had been there before even though I have tried twice but never made it because of the road conditions.
Fox peak is a club field and it is 36 K's from Fairlie, the photo above is by a gate you have to open to drive the last 15k's to the car park.
The photo below is a bridge you have to drive over which is at the bottom of the mountain, The first time I drove over it there was snow on it.
The road is better now than what it was two years ago when I last tried to drive up it, it is a narrow road and last time there was big pot holes which my two wheel drive could not drive through, this year it was way better with no pot holes but still quite narrow on the top half.

Even though the snow report said the base was above the cloud by the time we got there it was halfway up the second rope tow where it stayed for most of the day.
Unfortunately for Hope it was not good conditions to have your first experience of a rope tow and even though the first tow was the easiest the groomed runs were not very good on the bottom two tows and the second and top tow were harder to get on, the groomed runs on the top tow were good and not really that steep so Hope would have been ok on them.
She would have loved the views above the cloud, photo above I took from the top of the top tow so all you see is back country, Fox peak is the peak on the left.
The photo below is the south bowl with Fox peak on the right.
Hope decided to read a book hoping it might clear and after lunch she went for a walk down the road to below the cloud level and headed across country to the gate in the top photo where we picked her up on the way down.

Above the cloud the club field was awesome to ski especially with hardly anyone there, Nicky and I just skied fresh line after fresh line working our way across the mountain.
The photo below is above the Top tow and after lunch I put my skins on my ski's and walked for 15 minutes to the top of the hill and skied the third line from the left, it was a nice steep slope with 20cm of fresh snow.
I liked Fox peak as a ski field for a few reason's one there was not many people there and one of the members said in the 28 years he's been skiing there there has never been more than a 100 people there. The other and main reason is the back country looks very good and easy to get back to the ski area.

More of photo's of Fox peak coming up.
Yesterday ( Tuesday) at TC we had a 10cm powder day, it was a great day with not many people there for the first two hours.