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Latest in Queenstown
The Remarkables Adds Scarpa Bowl to Its Inbounds Terrain
The Remarkables is adding new inbounds terrain for winter, bringing the Scarpa Bowl - known locally as the Toilet Bowl - into its lift-accessed network after years as backcountry-only ground. The roughly 500 metre run is reached by bootpacking from the top of the Sugar Bowl chairlift, with a shuttle picking skiers up from the road at the bottom. It's a smaller, faster addition than the resort's planned Doolans expansion, though the new terrain hasn't opened yet due to a lack of snow this season.
Michael Fulton
Freeride World Tour Qualifier Heads Back to The Remarkables in August
The North Face Frontier, a Freeride World Tour Qualifier event, is returning to The Remarkables in Queenstown from 28 August to 3 September. The event pairs a two-star qualifier at Shadow Basin for newcomers with a four-star event on the Alta Chutes, one step below the professional level. Now in its 21st year, the competition has produced past FWT champions including New Zealanders Jess Hotter and Ben Richards, and comes as freeriding heads toward its Olympic debut at the 2030 Alps Games.
Michael Fulton
Cardrona and Treble Cone Launch App with New Zealand's First Phone-Based Ski Pass
Cardrona Alpine Resort and Treble Cone have launched a new app that includes New Zealand's first phone-based lift pass - no RFID card required. Skiers can now walk from the car park to the lift gates with just their phone. The Mountains App also brings live snow reports, trail maps, webcams, run tracking, and seasonal leaderboard challenges.
Michael Fulton
The Remarkables Could Become New Zealand's Largest Ski Area With NZD 150 Million Doolans Basin Expansion
NZSki has formally applied to expand The Remarkables into the Doolans Basin - a NZD 150 million-plus (USD 88.5 million) proposal that would grow the resort from 449 to 711 hectares and make it the largest single ski area in New Zealand. A 2.7km gondola, doubled visitor capacity, and four summers of construction. Here's what's on the table.
Michael Fulton
Coronet Peak Opens for the 2026 Season on 29 May, Leading New Zealand's Winter Kickoff
Coronet Peak has opened for the 2026 ski season on 29 May, making it the first major ski resort to come online in the Southern Hemisphere this year. The early start is powered by the resort's Snow Factory snowmaking system, with limited terrain and beginner-focused operations running through to 12 June before full mountain hours begin.
Michael Fulton
Whoosh Unveils Queenstown Transportation Network Proposal
Whoosh, a New Zealand-based company, has presented plans for an innovative transportation system in Queenstown, featuring self-driving cabins on an elevated cable network.
Michael Fulton
Cardrona's Soho Basin Opening Delayed Due to Weather
Cardrona Alpine Resort postpones the opening of its new Soho Basin expansion due to unseasonable weather. The 150-hectare addition promises new terrain for intermediate and advanced skiers.
Michael Fulton
New Zealand Ski Resorts Expect Up to 15 Inches of Snow
South Island ski areas are set for a significant snowfall, with up to 15 inches expected in some regions. The weather system will bring varying amounts of snow across different resorts, impacting skiing conditions throughout New Zealand.
Michael Fulton
Top 10 Ski Resorts in New Zealand for 2025 Season
Discover New Zealand's best ski resorts for the upcoming 2025 season. From family-friendly slopes to challenging terrain for experts, find the perfect destination for your next ski holiday.
Michael Fulton
New Zealand Ski Resorts Welcome Early Snow in Autumn
Several New Zealand ski resorts have received their first snowfall of the season in mid-autumn, signalling the approaching winter and building anticipation for the upcoming ski season.
Michael Fulton
Cardrona Expands with New 6-Seater Chairlift and T-Bar
Cardrona Alpine Resort is set to enhance its offerings with a new 6-seater detachable chairlift in Soho Basin and a T-bar for the terrain park, both scheduled to open for the 2025 winter season.
Michael Fulton
Cardrona Alpine Resort Partners with Chinese Ski Region to Boost Global Snow Sports
New Zealand's largest ski resort, Cardrona Alpine Resort, has signed a collaboration agreement with China's Chongli District Ice and Snow Association, aiming to enhance ski tourism and winter sports participation worldwide.
Michael Fulton
New Zealand's Superpass: Access 10 Ski Resorts on One Ticket
NZ Ski introduces Superpass, offering skiers and riders access to 10 mountains across New Zealand. This flexible pass allows for customised ski trips and includes perks at 60 off-slope venues.
Michael Fulton
Latest News
More from the SnowStash desk
FIS Weighs Holding World Championships in Almost Every Winter, Starting 2032
The International Ski and Snowboard Federation is looking at a major shake-up to its title events calendar. From 2032, World Championships could run not just in odd-numbered years but in every non-Olympic winter too, effectively putting a global title event on the calendar almost every season. The FIS Council has approved the concept following a feasibility study, though an accelerated rollout as early as 2028 is also under consideration.
4 Sept 2026
Mount Buller Becomes Latest Australian Resort to Call Time Early on 2026
Mount Buller closes out its 2026 season this Sunday, joining Falls Creek, Hotham and Charlotte Pass in a cluster of closures landing almost simultaneously and roughly a month ahead of schedule. The culprit is stark: Spencers Creek's benchmark snow depth hit 31.2cm on 3 September, just 18% of the 73-year average and an all-time low for this point in the season. Six of Victoria and NSW's best-known resorts will have shut their lifts early within a span of about two and a half weeks.
4 Sept 2026
Tremblant to Add New Timber Summit Ski Sector for 2027/28 Season
Tremblant has confirmed a major expansion of its Quebec ski area, with a new Timber Summit sector adding 62 acres of terrain, eight trails and a high-speed quad chairlift for winter 2027/28. It's part of a CAD 42.5 million investment that also includes a new beginner learning zone at Versant Soleil opening this coming season. The project has grown considerably since it was first announced back in 2020, when it carried a far smaller budget and an opening date that never eventuated.
2 Sept 2026
Mount Hotham to Close for the 2026 Season on Sunday, September 6
We knew when the Bird Bath Pond Skim showed up on Hotham's Instagram that the season was on its way out. It's been a rough one - I only managed two days on snow all year, at Falls Creek - and now Baw Baw, Selwyn and Hotham have all called it, possibly the worst Australian season I've seen in a decade. Hotham's last day of lift operations is Sunday, 6 September, with a Retro Day, Father's Day après and closing sales before the lifts stop turning for good.
1 Sept 2026
Thredbo to Replace Ageing Gunbarrel Quad With New Six-Seat Chairlift for 2028
Thredbo Alpine Resort has confirmed plans to replace its 37-year-old Gunbarrel quad chairlift with a new six-seat Doppelmayr D-Line, targeting winter 2028. The AUD 35 million project will keep travel time roughly the same but lift capacity from 2,800 to 3,000 skiers per hour. It's part of a broader investment push that also includes doubled snowmaking capacity at Friday Flat for 2027, with the ageing Kosciuszko Express now flagged as the resort's next major lift replacement after Gunbarrel.
31 Aug 2026
Aerial Tram Collides With Crane at Alpe d'Huez: 23 Injured
An aerial tram carrying around fifty passengers struck the boom of a construction crane on the route to Pic Blanc at Alpe d'Huez on Wednesday morning, injuring 23 people, three seriously. The cabin tipped on impact before the operator reversed it to right the car. Most of the injured were treated on site, with five taken to hospital in Grenoble, including a pregnant woman assessed as a precaution.
28 Aug 2026
Why Glaciers Are Collapsing - And What Happens When They Do
A deadly flood on the Nepal-China border, a decade-old tragedy on Italy's Marmolada, and an unstable glacier right now above a village near Zermatt - three very different mountain ranges, the same underlying story. Warming ice is destabilising terrain that was considered settled for generations, and the results range from catastrophic floods to slow-motion monitoring situations that could go either way.
27 Aug 2026
Pitztal Glacier Set to Reopen for the 2026/27 Ski Season on 26 September
Tyrol's highest ski area is gearing up to open a full month ahead of most of the Alps. The Pitztal Glacier is scheduled to start its 2026/27 season on Saturday 26 September, running through to 2 May 2027, with the lower-altitude Rifflsee area following in December. High-altitude terrain up to 3,440 metres gives the glacier a head start on snow, though as always, the actual opening extent will depend on how September's weather plays out. Early online ski pass bookings can save up to 30%.
26 Aug 2026