Upgrades entice more skiers as season start approaches
As the leaves change colour and the winds get colder, Wānaka skifields are preparing for another busy winter season.
The first alpine snowfall in the region occurred last week and the area's ski resorts have been working hard to ensure they have sufficient capacity for the upcoming season.
Cardrona and Treble Cone general manager Laura Hedley said numbers had been going up for a few years and the resort had had to make some changes to accommodate the increasing demand.
One of the biggest changes skiers could expect this season was 60ha of new terrain with a new six-seater express lift in the Soho Basin.
"The team have been working all summer, actually over the past two summers on that, and we've been doing some trail design, so it's a pretty amazing basin to open up."
The upgrade came as increased interest in the resort pushed the limits of both staff and infrastructure.
"So we actually put in capacity management over the last two years to manage a better guest experience" she said.
The resort is also building a new food and beverage building and retail store to take the pressure off lifts in the main basin.
Ms Hedley said they already had high numbers in the pre-bookings which she suspected was partly due to people's excitement over the new terrain.
"Yeah, we're seeing good numbers in our pre-bookings ... but all we know is from the last two years managing that capacity we had more people than that before.
"So there is an excess demand of people wanting to ski," she said.
Although she was disappointed that the skifields would not be hosting the Winter Games this year, she said there were still several events and activities for skiers of varying levels to look forward to.
For the more experienced skiers, the Josie Wells Invitational sees some of the world's best skiers coming to the Cardrona slopes to show off their skills
Although the slopes are a haven for athletes, they are also open for school activities and family passes.
Cardrona and Treble Cone are not the only ones hard at work to cater for an increase in skiers coming to Wānaka.
Snow Farm has also highlighted the changes it has made over the last few years including their new Musterers Hut and infrastructure upgrades to better maintain their trails.
To prepare for this year's snow season they are working on a new toilet block with the Queenstown Lakes District Council and introducing more robust water storage and solar electric systems.
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