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  • Patrick Lam :tinoflag:va2lam@mastodon.nz
    Aug 3, 2026, 10:20 PM

    Went skiing at Whakapapa and Turoa on the weekend, which prompted a couple of thoughts.

    1. Lift tickets at NZ$160/day feel expensive, but I did the inflation check, and it's just me being old. The NZ inflation calculator says that it's NZ$80 in 2000 dollars, which is what me-being-old expects lift tickets to cost. I don't think these ski fields are actually raking in the big bucks. (I have skied at places that cost substantially less this year: C$84 at Mont Grand Fonds in Quebec. But I think they also have fewer expenses).

    2. Conditions at Whakapapa were good: it was warm and the snow was OK, though not as much as I would have expected given the forecast. Conditions at Turoa were like skiing in northeastern North America, with actually cold wind chill and pretty icy slopes.

    3. Even though it's objectively not expensive compared to costs, it makes me question value for money. At the midweek prices of $110/day I would be much more keen. But people have to work on weekdays.

    4. Also, thanks to the Sky Waka riders for subsidizing us! There were a lot of people in the snow pen at the top of the gondola at Whakapapa. (stuff.co.nz/nz-news/361014689/)

    #ski #skiNZ

    Actually pretty icy snow on Turoa under a clear sky. Taranaki Maunga is visible in the distance!
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Replies

  • Patrick Lam :tinoflag:va2lam@mastodon.nz
    Aug 3, 2026, 10:22 PM

    Bonus NZ moment: I was on a triple lift and two other singles got on: one from Wairarapa and one from Hastings. The guy from Hastings was here for a snowboard instructor course. Turns out that he rides with the son of the woman from the Wairarapa ("oh, you took that video of Jamie going over the jump!"); the son was also on the same course. #NZ

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  • Bob LeFridge :tinoflag:BobLefridge@mastodon.nz
    Aug 3, 2026, 10:42 PM

    I love chairlift conversations. We once shared a chair at Mount Hutt with a guy who knew one of our sons who was living in London. He took a group selfie on the chair, sent it to London son and we had a reply by the time we all reached the top of the lift.

    I'm told that Coronet lift tickets are $180 this year. It makes the old person's season pass look like a bargain at $599.

    I don't know how families manage to ski. Gear hire will cost just a bit less than the lift ticket, per person, plus accommodation. You could drop thousands in a weekend.

    @va2lam

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  • Patrick Lam :tinoflag:va2lam@mastodon.nz
    Aug 3, 2026, 10:45 PM

    @BobLefridge yes just the two of us spent close to a thousand. But season passes for kids are "only" $450 at Turoa.

    On another note, I was on a bus near Chamonix and talked to some people from Gaspé Quebec. We had a mutual acquaintance. Well, they knew Joelle much more than I did, but I sent her a selfie.

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  • Bob LeFridge :tinoflag:BobLefridge@mastodon.nz
    Aug 3, 2026, 11:12 PM

    Soon after we moved to QT in `99 they introduced cheap local passes. Two mountains, $299 for the year... ski your heart out. The passes only went up $50 a year after that and kids' passes were either free or fifty bucks, so skiing was affordable for us.

    We were always cheap skiers. Season's pass, own gear, bring sandwiches. Our only real cost was petrol. We'd usually clock up around 40 days including all the blue sky days. The family went night skiing every Friday and Saturday and we always had a ball. Races down the Shirt Front in the semi-dark, hot soup waiting at base.

    I do miss skiing, but as a single retiree I can't afford it these days.

    @va2lam

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  • Patrick Lam :tinoflag:va2lam@mastodon.nz
    Aug 3, 2026, 11:17 PM

    @BobLefridge we were talking about Ruapehu lifetime pass owners who would bring instant noodles; definitely cheap but not quite financially sustainable, hence bankruptcy.

    40 days is quite good!

    I also notice that the super early bird Turoa ticket is $550 in 2026 dollars which is cheaper than $399 in 2000 dollars, but it is less good than the mountains around Queenstown.

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  • Bob LeFridge :tinoflag:BobLefridge@mastodon.nz
    Aug 3, 2026, 11:41 PM

    I feel like we were spoilt. There were fewer tourists back then and the snow was more reliable. Early and late season was purely locals, and the seasons were longer. We skied the Remarks on October 28th once, my daughter's birthday.

    I haven't skied Coronet for fifteen years because it became far too busy for us. From Dunedin we'd nip up to either the Remarks or Mt Hutt for two or three blue sky days at a time, 15-20 days a year. But you can't beat living at the base of a skifield. I'm glad my kids grew up in the mountains.

    @va2lam

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  • Patrick Lam :tinoflag:va2lam@mastodon.nz
    Aug 4, 2026, 1:58 AM

    @BobLefridge I seem to remember northern hemisphere snow on Oct 28 in the old days, though no resorts would be open. There were just fewer people back then in general though.

    My mother-in-law has lived 15 minutes from a ski field for the past 10 years but hasn't skiied in that time. Those ski fields are quite busy though. Less during midweek to be sure.

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  • Darryl Cousinscousinsd@mastodon.nz
    Aug 3, 2026, 11:43 PM

    Of my 63 seasons I've had 2 seasons in the snow. Once in the 1980s on Mt Hotham (Victoria) and the second in the 1990s at Klewenalp (ZentralSchweiz), both times working as a cook. I did enjoy the skiing, viel Spaß. Neither of those employers were very nice, but I coped, kept to myself, and did the work.

    @va2lam @BobLefridge

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  • Bob LeFridge :tinoflag:BobLefridge@mastodon.nz
    Aug 4, 2026, 2:50 AM

    The thing which improved my skiing the most was having half a dozen former ski patrol & ski instructors amongst my friends. They knew every part of the mountain and following those guys all over Coronet took my skiing to a new level. You learn to glide over the mountain.

    Damn, I miss skiing.

    @va2lam @cousinsd

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  • Darryl Cousinscousinsd@mastodon.nz
    Aug 4, 2026, 4:03 AM

    I cannot honestly say that I got good at skiing, but I did enjoy living on a winter's mountain and throwing myself down a steep slope is thrilling indeed. Of course, never again, though I did dabble a couple of times with cross-country skiing in flatter winter lands. Also fun, in a more sedate fashion.

    @va2lam @BobLefridge

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