The New Zealand weather is pretty hard to pick sometimes. Being an island sticking out between the Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea can make funny things happen.

So here’s an outlook for the next few days:

After a pretty good week weather-wise at Mount Hutt it looks like snow is on the way. Two out of the three forecasts I’ve checked are predicting some snow so fingers crossed. There hasn’t been a huge amount of powder days this year but the skiing has still been really good, especially first thing on the groomers. But the snow should come this week meaning there will be some awesome skiing to be had with the current great coverage. Perhaps snowing the most on Sunday and Monday, Wednesday looks like the pick for that epic powder day under clear blue skies.

Here are the sites I normally go to to see what is up with the weather at Mount Hutt:

www.metservice.co.nz
www.snow.co.nz
www.snow-forecast.com

Well, I had the pleasure of staying at Mount Hutt overnight last week. Unfortunately I didn’t have much choice and neither did the other 1200 people stuck there for the night after 200km/hr winds closed the access road.

The day started out a little breezy which is not uncommon at Mount Hutt but the winds built up rather quickly and became exciting about lunchtime. By exciting I mean that it was hard to stand up when a gust hit, a rope hand line was required to get to the toilet and car windows were getting blown in. It wasn’t that bad though, most of the 300 school kids stuck thought it was a great time (not sure their teachers had the same thoughts!) The mountain staff pitched in to provide food and keep people happy. At 10am the following day the road reopened and a convoy of vehicles headed down the hill, with everyone waving and quite happy to be getting into a hot shower on returning home I expect.

In all I was glad to have experienced a night at Mount Hutt, something that happens only about once in every ten years so I can count myself lucky to have been there.

The worst thing about the whole time was that a lot of snow got blown away. However, there is still a great base and with snow in the forecast this week it should be great skiing at Mount Hutt. Maybe just bring a sleeping bag for the unexpected.

Well the skiing at Hutt is pretty good right now, the mountain recieved about a metre of new snow from the last storm and conditions are great. Unfortunately a few areas are closed due to avalanche hazard but there is still plenty of terrain open and fun to be had. I’ve been taking things slow after playing my annual game of rugby and feeling a little sore, silly idea that was.

For beginners at Hutt this year there has been an exciting development with the magic carpet now totally enclosed complete with TV screens showing replays of your last run. So if you are new to the sport there has never been a better time to hit the slopes.

Summer time in Mammoth is awesome. Just about everyday dawns fine and crisp with things warming up nicely during the day. Whilst it can get pretty hot in the sun a lot of the time the many trees provide some refreshing shade. However, coming from NZ where rain is never too far away I’d have to admit to getting excited about a little bit of rain and the odd thunderstorm.

The Mountain was open for skiing right until the 5th of July and on the same day you could ski, mountain bike, fish and play golf, not too shabby aye. There is also a huge array of festivals during the summer to make Mammoth a great holiday stop when the snow has melted away until next season.

Unfortunately, I left summer and my beautiful wife behind to head back to Mount Hutt, New Zealand to finish some ski exams. More posts about that and the southern snow coming soon.

Cows in the Owens Valley

Well since my last post promoting the virtues of spring skiing it has been snowing lots! I went powder skiing today which was awesome fun, the visibility was a little bit limited but the great snow made up for it. As I look out the window it’s dumping even more snow outside, oh well another powder day tomorrow with the mountain all to myself. So much for Spring!

Don’t forget you can get private lessons for $90/hour by the hour.

Break out the powder skis and I might see you up the hill.

Whilst a lot of people might now be thinking about the beach, bear in mind spring time at Mammoth is great. There are a lot of advantages to skiing in spring; here’s a few to think about:

It’s generally warm! For those that dislike the cold, skiing in spring is a toasty experience.

Work on your tan! In the last few days I’ve seen people skiing in kilts, shorts and bikinis… just be careful not to fall over.

Spring corn. Once the snow softens up you get amazing spring corn, or in other words, epic soft smooth snow. I rate good spring corn up there with powder skiing.

Generally it’s pretty quiet on the slopes.

Enjoy a beer or cold refreshment in the sun.

Cheap lift tickets. The mountain charges $69 a day from now until the end of the season, not a bad price when you can ski from top to bottom, and there’s still a huge amount of snow around.

Cheap private lessons. There is now a flat rate of $90/hour for private lessons. Considering in peak season it costs $150/hour it’s an awesome deal. Don’t forget too that you can have up the 5 people per instructor for even better value.

I guess that’s enough reasons to visit Mammoth in the next month or two but there’s much more to do than just skiing in spring. For one, the natural hot pools near by are not to be missed. Also, with the mountain scheduled to open until July 4th you’ll be able to play golf and ski on the same day soon enough.

So this week started off with 2 feet of fresh powder, and it’s spring! Then I was stoked to recieive an award for the supervisors choice of instructor of the year at Canyon Lodge. During the week I’ve had a lot of fun instructing, ranging from teaching 5 first time kids from one family how to ski to doing laps off the top with expericenced skiers. To top things off its snowing again!

As a side note the scheduled closing date for main lodge is July the 4th so it’s shaping up to be an epic season.

Mammoth can get a little breezy sometimes but even when it’s windy it is not all bad.  I’ve also been listening to the ‘word on the street’ about how windy or bad the weather is going to get. I normally hear it first on my morning gondola ride with someone speculating about the perfect storm hitting Mammoth and it makes such an interesting story it spreads like wildfire.

So here are my tips on the wind and forecasts:

1. Dress warm! A face mask or a neck warmer you can pull up are essential.  Hand warmers can be useful too.

2. Stay low and head to Canyon if it’s really windy. Chair 7, 8 and 21 are probably the most sheltered chairs to go to.

3. Don’t let a bad forecast ruin your trip. There’s been lots of times a bad forecast has turned out incorrect. You might miss that awesome powder day!

4. Wear goggles even if it’s a clear day. I don’t like goggles myself but on a windy day they stop your eyes watering and keep your face warmer.

5. Seek out slopes that are sheltered and have collected the wind blown snow; an example would be the avalanche runs off chair 22 but this depends on the wind direction. The wind blown snow at Mammoth can be amazing and some of the best snow you will ever ski. Avoid around areas that look like a moon landscape unless you like crud.

6. Get a lesson for skiing variable conditions.

7. Don’t believe everything you hear on the gondola or chairlift.

8. If all else fails put rocks in your pockets to stop from being blown away.

Skiing in the wind can be a lot of fun, don’t let a little ‘breeze’ put you off!

After some glorious fine days here at Mammoth winter is back and I’m happy! Don’t get me wrong I love spring skiing with the sun on my back and skiing the spring corn. But I can’t help getting excited when it snows, a bit like a kid at xmas. The end to the season at Mammoth looks to be awesome, it’s well worth coming up one last time before hiting the beaches for the summer.

Here are my top 10 ski runs in no particular order.

1. Pony Trail, Whistler, (Green) Ok, it’s a green but I honestly thought it was a blue when I first skied it! Under the red chair this is a great fall line pitch. Great for going fast and getting a carve on.

2. Big Mama, Porter Heights NZ (Black) This is a great thigh burner of a run with 2000 vertical feet of goodness, shame it’s a three t-bar ride back to the top.

3. Towers, Mount Hutt NZ (Black) Mount Hutt rocks and towers is always good (well just about always!)

4. Round Robin, Mammoth (Green) I know another green run but when I need to get back to Canyon Lodge this run is fun and uncrowded, great for teaching on too.

5. Rock Garden, Whakapapa, (Blue) This is where it all began for me for skiing; I can remember an awesome run with natural jumps. Sometimes we were lucky enough to be snowed in and this was only open to people staying on the mountain, lots of fun. Honourable mention to Tennant’s Valley.

6. Quicksilver Trees, Mammoth (Blue) Some awesome tree skiing in here that I just love to take people to. Easy enough for most people but just a blast, so peaceful.

7. Spankies Ladder/Blackcomb Glacier, Whistler (Double Black/Blue) Spankies is a whole bunch of runs, some of which are scary, but in a good way. On the glacier it’s magic and you feel in a different world from the rest of the mountain.

8. Alan’s Basin, Broken River NZ, (Black) New Zealand club fields are an awesome experience, sometimes the closest thing you will get to heliskiing without the helicopter. If the snow is on you can ski powder all the way to the car park at the end of the day.

9. Exhibition Bowl, Mount Hutt NZ (Blue) A natural halfpipe in a gully, often gets great wind blown snow (it is Mount Hutt after all) Just don’t crash under the quad chair with everyone watching. Honourable mention, lower dry creek, Mammoth, (blue).

10. Bill’s Basin, Temple Basin NZ (Black) I use to volunteer as a ski patroller at Temple back in the day. This place gets a lot of snow from frequent Nor’West storms.

There are countless other runs that just missed out on selection,  feel free to post your favourite runs on my site.