Beth and I were sad to see Jon go, but shortly after he left the snow came. The mountains had been getting bare with little snowfall and high temperatures, but that all changed the other day when the clouds rolled in and dumped 65cm of snow on Remarkables. The new snow opened up lots of new runs at Remarks, and we have had a blast riding there the past few days. It has been the best snow of the season.
I attribute the large snowfall to the departure of another friend of mine, Dan. He insisted that the best snow of the year would come the day he left, and it did.
Unfortunately Coronet Peak didn’t get any of the snow (too low), and despite the snow reports claiming “great skiing and riding conditions” as they always do, there isn’t much coverage at all at Coronet. We have learned that “good skiing and riding conditions” means only that the temperature is below freezing. If it is above freezing they advertise “spring-like skiing and riding conditions.” On the bright side, no one is at Coronet Peak, which is almost as good as having heaps of snow. Okay not really, but it is nice to be the only person on a run. The half pipes are open at both parks, which is good fun. I will have to get some photos one day of me pulling off some inverted 7s off the pipe and post them here.
Beth and I have been spending the last few days trying to figure out what we are going to do with our lives after New Zealand. So far no solid answers have formulated. We thought we were going to be able to stay in New Zealand until December, but have found out that we would then be illegal immigrants. We had been hoping to get work visas for Australia and spend more time there, but they have recently stopped allowing Americans into the working holiday program. So we have to find a flight to Australia and spend a couple of months there just enjoying ourselves before returning back to Auckland to catch our flight to LA. After that, your guess is as good as mine.
Great photos! As we sweat in the 90 degree/extremely high humidty of Omaha, your photos seem so refreshingly cool. Beth looks like she’s having a great time on her board. I’m glad the two of you are discussing what to do next. After all, we wouldn’t want you to be illegal immigrants.
Thanks for the tip. I will find out if there are any of those here. I know that in Queenstown specifically, it is extremely easy to get a work permit and stay longer. The only problem is, most of the jobs aren’t very good and barely pay enough to live.
Yesterday we were up at Coronet snowboarding and one of the mountain photographers got a really sweet picture of me in the air. They let you look at the photos for free, but then it costs $30 bucks to get a copy. They try to act like that is a good deal.
6 Comments »
Comment by josh — August 17, 2007 @ 9:48 pm
Beth and I were sad to see Jon go, but shortly after he left the snow came. The mountains had been getting bare with little snowfall and high temperatures, but that all changed the other day when the clouds rolled in and dumped 65cm of snow on Remarkables. The new snow opened up lots of new runs at Remarks, and we have had a blast riding there the past few days. It has been the best snow of the season.
I attribute the large snowfall to the departure of another friend of mine, Dan. He insisted that the best snow of the year would come the day he left, and it did.
Unfortunately Coronet Peak didn’t get any of the snow (too low), and despite the snow reports claiming “great skiing and riding conditions” as they always do, there isn’t much coverage at all at Coronet. We have learned that “good skiing and riding conditions” means only that the temperature is below freezing. If it is above freezing they advertise “spring-like skiing and riding conditions.” On the bright side, no one is at Coronet Peak, which is almost as good as having heaps of snow. Okay not really, but it is nice to be the only person on a run. The half pipes are open at both parks, which is good fun. I will have to get some photos one day of me pulling off some inverted 7s off the pipe and post them here.
Beth and I have been spending the last few days trying to figure out what we are going to do with our lives after New Zealand. So far no solid answers have formulated. We thought we were going to be able to stay in New Zealand until December, but have found out that we would then be illegal immigrants. We had been hoping to get work visas for Australia and spend more time there, but they have recently stopped allowing Americans into the working holiday program. So we have to find a flight to Australia and spend a couple of months there just enjoying ourselves before returning back to Auckland to catch our flight to LA. After that, your guess is as good as mine.
Comment by josh — August 17, 2007 @ 9:55 pm
Here are a couple more photos of the snow.
Remarkables is slammed on the best day of the year. 65cm of fresh snow, and the sun is out!
Beth is lost in the fog riding down Homeward, the longest run at Remarks. There is actually a shuttle bus from the bottom of the run back to the lift.
Our friend Rob in the snow and fog
Comment by Clara — August 18, 2007 @ 3:49 pm
Great photos! As we sweat in the 90 degree/extremely high humidty of Omaha, your photos seem so refreshingly cool. Beth looks like she’s having a great time on her board. I’m glad the two of you are discussing what to do next. After all, we wouldn’t want you to be illegal immigrants.
Comment by dadman — August 20, 2007 @ 4:28 am
Of course maybe you could find a “sanctuary city” where illegal immigrants are sheltered and given free food, housing, and health care.
Nice snow pics! I DO want to see pics of you on the half pipe. You all must be be coming proficient snowboarders.
Comment by josh — August 20, 2007 @ 10:08 am
Thanks for the tip. I will find out if there are any of those here. I know that in Queenstown specifically, it is extremely easy to get a work permit and stay longer. The only problem is, most of the jobs aren’t very good and barely pay enough to live.
Yesterday we were up at Coronet snowboarding and one of the mountain photographers got a really sweet picture of me in the air. They let you look at the photos for free, but then it costs $30 bucks to get a copy. They try to act like that is a good deal.
Comment by dadman — August 21, 2007 @ 5:41 am
Too bad it was $30! Maybe Beth can get a good one.
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