The Southern Hemisphere is finally entering the 2023 season! New Zealand & Australia overseas ski latest and local information

2023/06/17

Photo: Tony Harrington

The southern hemisphere has the opposite season to Japan. In the heat of early summer in Japan, the southern hemisphere will finally enter the 2023 snow season, starting with the opening of Mt. Hutt in New Zealand on June 9th. What will ski and snowboard look like in the Southern Hemisphere, New Zealand, and Australia this summer, after a three-year hiatus from the coronavirus pandemic?

INDEX

New Zealand Australia
2023 season will be like this! Overview of

As you know, New Zealand and Australia in the southern hemisphere have opposite seasons to Japan. June to October is the snow season, and now, in mid-June, the 2023 season has just begun in the southern hemisphere. So, let's deliver the latest information on New Zealand and Australia from the field and an overview of the 2023 season.

Location : Treble Cone Photo : Tony Harrington

The Southern Hemisphere 2023 season is finally here!

Mt. Hutt was the first to start the season with snow on the South Island of NZ, and opened on June 9th as planned. The snow...although it hadn't fallen yet, the gates opened to the usual well-packed groom heaven with artificial snow cannons covering 28 hectares of the entire resort's 365 hectares. Season tickets and lift tickets have been sold online in advance at each resort, and sales are said to be extremely strong.

▼ New Zealand Mt. Hutt (June 9) Instagram post on opening day

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mt Hutt Ski Area (@mthuttnz)

The situation is similar in Australia, for example, the popular Mt. Buller accommodation is said to be fully booked everywhere. Let's take a peek at the video of Mt.Buller's opening day (June 10th), which is bustling every year.

▼Australia Mt.Buller (June 10th) opening day YouTube post

It is not only the movements of people that are active. At Mt.Cook in the Glacier Fields of New Zealand's South Island, it's currently raining powder like this! Looking at the posted comments, it's funny because "This is neither Japan nor Canada! It's Mt.Cook!" Japanese powder is still admired from overseas.

Prediction of El Niño return and warm winter

Snow resorts are opening one after another, but the 2023 snow season in the southern hemisphere has become a hot topic in terms of weather data. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), April 2023 will be the warmest month on record in the southern hemisphere. It is predicted that 2023 could be the hottest year on record, not just in the Southern Hemisphere. The Japan Meteorological Agency also announced the progress and forecast of the El Niño/La Niña phenomenon in March as the outlook for March 2023 to September 2023. (See diagram)

In addition to rising CO2 emissions and climate change, the end of the La Niña phenomenon of the last few years and the reappearance of El Niño are also major reasons behind this. El Niño events usually cause record global temperature rises. It looks like it will be a very worrying season as to how much snowfall will bring.

Progress and prediction of El Niño/La Niña events Source: Japan Meteorological Agency HP

lift pass situation

There are few countries in the world where lift fees are as cheap as Japan. New Zealand and Australia, like the United States, are increasing lift fees. In recent years, the price has skyrocketed, and as of the 2023 season, a one-day ticket in New Zealand is around $160 in NZ$. Especially from the last season in 2022 to this season in 2023, NZ$ 10-20.

Skiing is no longer considered a luxury activity for the wealthy. However, local people buy a common season pass for multiple resorts for around NZ$1,300 (approximately 110,000 yen) and visit them enthusiastically throughout the season.

Resort	2022 season (NZ$) price	2023 season (NZ$) price
Mt.Hutt｜Cornet Peak｜Remarkables (1 day ticket)	NZ$139	NZ$ 159 (+ NZ$ 20)
Mt.Hutt｜Cornet Peak｜Remarkables common season ticket	NZ$1299	NZ$ 1399 (+ NZ$ 100)
Cadorona (1 day ticket) \| Treblecorn (1 day ticket)	NZ$150	NZ$ 160 (+ NZ$ 10)
Cadorona \| Treblecone Common Season Pass	NZ$1499	NZ$ 1649 (+ NZ$ 200)

For guests coming from overseas, the wallet seems to scream. In addition, currently (as of June 2023), 1NZ$ = 85.5 yen, which is a very weak yen. Even so, it's an irresistible charm to be able to escape the scorching heat of Japan, travel abroad while escaping the heat, enjoy dynamic powder rides on the other side of the world, and experience heli-skiing more casually than in North America.

Responses and changes for the 2023 season of the resort

Location: Cornet Peak https://media.newzealand.com/

Despite concerns about the impact of El Niño, resorts have made various upgrades in anticipation of a new 2023 season with the coronavirus pandemic almost over.

For example, the changes and evolutions of the 2023 season "CHANGES" announced by New Zealand's commercial field are like this. In particular, the equipment has been upgraded with measures against light snow and comfort, such as increasing the number of snow machines that are indispensable for creating slopes in the season and maintaining the initial conditions, increasing the thermal power, and improving the slope environment for lifts and slopes. many.

In terms of software, we can see that they are improving the number and quality of rentals, schools, shops, meals, and other facilities and services to enjoy the resort life. In the Southern Hemisphere, it can be said that the effects and shadows of the corona disaster are almost gone. Even if you look at the resort's homepage, you can hardly find the word "COVID19" (new coronavirus). However, in order to make up for the shortcomings of the past three years, it seems that he is intent on expanding various services to get people to visit the resort.

Mt.Hutt 2023 (progress point)

Introduced 14 snow machines so that the trail can be completed at the earliest time of the season (started on the scheduled opening date)
Introducing new and upgrade to rental
Sledding area upgraded for beginners
Expanding coffee shops and expanding services

Cornet Peak 2023 (advanced point)

Create a fun slope (gentle slope for beginners) on the west side of the mountain
Introduced a new snow groomer, the latest sustainable model
Upgrade the type and number of rentals
Revived the 1-Day Kids Club for children aged 5 to 12 (closed due to COVID-19)
Increased and improved lineup including breakfast buffet
Introduced a pedestrian bridge from the parking lot in the lower part of the mountain
Fan gun (snow machine) fire power up
New shop near the bus stop on Duke Street, can be rented in advance in town, and can be taken directly on the shuttle bus (Common Remarkable)

Cadorona 2023 (evolved points)

There are restrictions on admission ・Reduce congestion by reducing sales of same-day tickets and setting rules to pre-specify which areas to visit and when
Online advance discount available

What are the movements of Japanese users?

Speaking of overseas ski trips, Fellow Travel, which has been escorting Japanese users to snow resorts around the world since 1977 as a company specializing in overseas ski tours, is famous.

New Zealand is popular with Japanese people because it can be skied in the middle of summer. The corona crisis has settled down, and sales of New Zealand ski trips are in full swing this summer. By the way, the "Southern Lakes 9 Days", which went on sale in April, is a 9-day package tour where you stay in Queenstown and ski around 4 ski resorts for 5.5 days. , On the weekend departure date, it starts from ¥59,8000, but all dates were sold out before the season started.
As far as the travel price goes, it's a pretty gorgeous overseas ski trip, but for fans of the southern hemisphere who have been waiting impatiently due to the corona disaster, it seems that it can't be helped.

Location: Cornet Peak Photo: Tony Harrington

Now that the corona crisis has calmed down and I can go abroad, I want to go skiing in the southern hemisphere this summer! Isn't there a lot of people? La Niña is over this summer, and El Niño is expected to return to heat waves. I want to get out of Japan and go powder riding on the other side of the world.

INFO
◆ Tourist New Zealand
◆ Tourist Australia