Archive for the 'Ski New Zealand' Category

Canadian woman leads first day of FIS ANC X-Country Cup in New Zealand

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Mike Styles
on August 15, 2008
in 2007-2008 Ski Racing News, Athletes and Competition and Ski New Zealand
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Cross country skiers from around the world gathered at Snow Farm NZ on Thursday for the first of the FIS ANC Cup Series races with a strong field of men and women from Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Canada and France.
In the men’s 15km Classic Race a tight bunch of five skiers were neck and neck for the first two laps. Eventual winner Tomio Kanamaru (JPN) broke from the group at the bottom of the last steep hill to finish ahead of nine-times Canadian national champion, Robin McKeever and Masaaki Kozu (JPN) in a time of 43:15:20. McKeever has also won two gold and one silver medal athlete 2002 Paralympics, acting as the sighted guide for his brother Brian.
The Japanese skiers have been living and training at the Snow Farm and their altitude training and local knowledge has stood them in good stead. Kanamaru said,

This is my first race of the season and I was very happy to win. We love coming to train at the Snow Farm and enjoy competing against the New Zealand and Australian skiers in these races. Conditions were fast and we had a great group at the front”

First New Zealander home was 18-year-old Andy Pohl in sixteenth place. “I was very pleased with my race and it is just so great to have a race with such high caliber skiers right here at the Snow Farm,” said Pohl. Pohl will race the sprint and freestyle races on Saturday and Sunday this weekend and finish off the season training at the Snow Farm.
In November Pohl will return to Canada for a second season, racing in the domestic USA and Canadian competitions as a build up to the World Junior Championships to be held in Chamonix France in January 2009.
In the women’s 10 km Classic Race, Olympic bronze medalist, Milaine Theriault (CAN) led from the start, winning in a time of 34:39:90. She built up a solid lead after one lap and had extended this to a one-minute lead over Katie Calder (NZE) by the finish. Calder is a recent addition to the New Zealand Cross Country Ski Team after moving from Australia where she has established herself as one of Australasia’s top women skiers. In third place was Sumiko Ishigaki from Japan.

Wanaka 15-year-old Anna Hogg put in a strong performance in the women’s race as an invited participant, keeping pace with the strong Japanese women’s team members. Hogg is a member of the NZ Nordic Sports Development programme and has benefited from the season’s coaching under visiting American coach Alexei Sotskov.

The Series continues this weekend with the Sprint Races on Saturday August 16 and the Freestyle Races on Sunday August 17.

International racers head to Kiwi for glaciar training

Published
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Mike Styles
on August 15, 2008
in Athletes and Competition, Ski New Zealand and Ski Resorts
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With the snow conditions across most New Zealand ski resorts being as good as they have for the past fifteen years, international racers have began training for the upcoming FIS racing season.
Mt Hutt has received its first intake of ski racers including overall 2007 World Champion Aksel Lund Svindal who’s due to arrive this week, back from a horrific crash at the Birds of Pray Downhill in Vail Colorado last year.
Svindal and his Norwegian team mates are undertaking two weeks of intense training at Australasia’s only Downhill training facility.
Mt Hutt Ski Area Manager Dave Wilson said Mt Hutt’s reputation for attracting the world’s fastest alpine skiers had captured the attention of Red Bull who now sponsor the facility.

As a sponsor of the world famous Kitzbuel Downhill in Austria and supporter of athletes such as Eric Guay, Lindsey Vonn and Daren Rhalves, Red Bull has a strong presence on the Alpine World Cup Circuit. With Red Bull’s support we can take the next step towards becoming a truly world class race training facility, and one where we can showcase these amazing athletes to our guests.”

Mr Wilson said spectators to Mt Hutt this season would be treated to first class alpine skiing by some of the very best athletes in the world.

Watching these professionals in action is a unique experience and one which would be difficult to enjoy anywhere else in the world. We encourage everyone to come up and at some stage and check it out.”

The Arena will also host the Austrian Men’s and Women’s Alpine Ski Teams and the Swiss Women’s Alpine Ski Team during August and early September. Included in the training line up are previous world champions Marlies Schild and Nicole Hosp from the Austrian Women’s Alpine Ski Team.
Skiercross Olympic Gold Medal contender Errol Kerr is a regular visitor to Mt Hutt and returns again this year but not with his old Far West Alpine Ski Team from the United States. He’s now a representative of Jamaica and is the only Alpine skier representing the Caribbean country at the 2010 Olympic Games.

The Austrian Men’s Alpine Ski Team, which always has a strong presence on World Cup podiums, will bring a group of top athletes to train for the Super G and Downhill Alpine events.
First timers at Mt Hutt last season, the Swiss Women’s Alpine Ski Team, are retuning again this year but with a larger team including young skier Lara Gut who’s set to make an even bigger mark on the Alpine World Cup Circuit this year.

The Red Bull International Race Training Arena consists of a 1,460m track that starts at the top of Mt Hutt and finishes in the base area. Athletes reach speeds of 130 km/h while hitting jumps that send them 40m through the air. The Arena is located in the main basin of Mt Hutt offering spectators great views from top to bottom.

Related Story
Jamaica: the sequel - return to 2010 Winter Olympics

Third major storm brings more than 40 inches of snow in NZ

Published
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Mike Styles
on August 8, 2008
in Ski New Zealand
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The major snow storm in New Zealand has dumped a metre (40 inches) of fresh snow at Mt Hutt causing anticipation among the region’s skiers and boarders while keeping staff busy on the end of shovels. When the weather cleared last weekend, Mt Hutt visitors enjoyed spectacular powder conditions according to ski area manager Dave Wilson.

“Once again this season, we’re digging ourselves out of a huge snow dump, clearing the road, de-icing lifts and carrying out avalanche control as we prepare to welcome customers.
With two metres of snow falling over the last week, the high country ski area now boasts a 2.25m base with a soft powder surface – a base that Mr Wilson expects to secure a traditionally long Mt Hutt season.

“We’ve got wall to wall, top to bottom winter snow and are just looking forward to getting out there and playing in it.

www.nzski.com

Snowboarders from 17 countries face off at Burton snowboarding competition

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Mike Styles
on August 2, 2008
in Athletes and Competition and Ski New Zealand
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More than 200 competitors from 17 countries have converged in New Zealand for the Burton Open that kicked off last Tuesday at Snow Park NZ.
The Burton New Zealand Open is the first event of the 2008/09 Burton Global Open Series (BGOS) which features competitions in Australia, Japan, Europe, Canada and the USA. The event is also part of the SwatchTicket to Ride (TTR) World Tour.

Continue reading ‘Snowboarders from 17 countries face off at Burton snowboarding competition’

Burton and The Remarkables unveil new concept terrain park in NZ

Published
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Mike Styles
on August 1, 2008
in Ski New Zealand
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Hundreds of snowboarders flocked to The Remarkables in New Zealand last weekend to celebrate the opening of Burton’s newest location of The Stash.
Over 20 of Burton’s regional and international riders, including Keegan Valaika, Mikel Bang, Robett Hollis, Nick Brown, Juliane Bray and Shelly Gotlieb, along with other notable KIWI’s came out to inaugurate The Stash alongside the shredding public at Saturday’s grand opening event.
“The Stash in New Zealand paves the way for a new style of Stash that plays off of the rock and stone landscape, said Jeff Boliba, Global Resort Director at Burton.

The unique features and layout will stoke out riders from around the globe,”

Greeting riders at the entrance to The Stash are two giant stone Keas, a parrot indigenous to the region and notorious for wreaking havoc. A variety of potential lines lie beyond, including features such as rock wall-rides, log jibs, cliff drops and even a jibbable stone hut. The park is truly unlike any other out there, stashed high in the mountains above the tree line.
Created by Jake Burton and the Burton team riders, The Stash is marketed as an evolution of freestyle terrain in a natural environment. The kilometer long run provides riders with an organic, big mountain terrain park that follows the natural lines of the mountain.
“No two runs on The Stash are the same, every time you drop in you get a completely new riding experience,” says Boliba.

Jake and our team developed The Stash with The Remarkables because we have always shared the common goal of taking snowboarding to the next level.”

Ross Lawrence, Ski Area Manager for The Remarkables had this to say,

Our well developed park system has already made The Remarkables a firm favorite with snowboarders, and the addition of The Stash will only make us more of a destination for snowboarders worldwide.”

The Stash at The Remarkables is only the third run of its kind worldwide and the first in the Southern Hemisphere. Located in the bowls of Serpentine and the Galleries trails, The Stash is aimed at intermediate and advanced riders. The Stash can also be found in Avoriaz, France and Northstar-at-Tahoe, USA.
www.thestash.com

Gale-Force winds hit Kiwi ski area and create 12-hour rescue effort

Published
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Mike Styles
on July 28, 2008
in Ski New Zealand
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A devastating windstorm registering more than 200 kph (125 mph) suddenly hit Mt. Ruapehu, New Zealand mid morning Saturday left thousands skiers trying to get down during a spectacular 12-hour evacuation effort.
Ten thousand skiers were at the jointly owned Whakapapa and Turoa ski resorts when the wild weather struck mid-morning, and about 8,000 left straight away as a result. However about 2,000 stayed on the slopes to battle the elements. At one point skiers were reported forming human chains to guide themselves off the mountain and cars were escorted from the area in groups of six, although a large number were left at the area overnight.

I don’t think anyone could have predicted how quickly the weather was going to come in. One minute it was beautiful, thousands of people were having a lovely time, then bang and it was not quite so lovely.”

“I expected it to worsen gradually throughout the afternoon, but this came in very fast. Normally you know when a storm is coming, but there was no warning.” resort spokesman Mike Smith told local media.
Luckily no deaths were reported during the incident.

City Centre Snow Event For Christchurch

Published
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Mike Styles
on July 23, 2008
in Ski New Zealand
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Christchurch New Zealand will play host to a rail jam on a purpose built structure right in the middle the city, providing exciting spectator action on Saturday 9th August.

The 2nd Annual SkullCandy Winter Rail Jam will see around 100 freestyle skiers and snowboarders are expected take part in the event which offers prizes valued at more than $5,500 (NZ) for top tricks and aerials as judged by an expert panel.

Snow is being shipped into the Strip (Oxford Terrace) from Mt Hutt to cover a 4.5m high structure for the event. A Dj will provide the soundtrack while MC Mana from New Zealand band Rhombus will host the event. $2,500 worth of prizes are up for grabs by spectators with the main prize going to the spectator in the best retro ski outfit.