I met up with a fellow telemarker called Toshi of Doggystyle Telemark fame.
The following video has me following Toshi down the M1 and Shirtfront.
The following clip is taken later in the day and is a fast cruisy run down Greengates and Wall St.
Rocky Gully is a great place for doing fast runs, after all, it is used by the ski teams for race training.
The following clip shows two fast runs down each side of the T-bar.
Coronet Peak had 10cm of new snow overnight which meant great conditions for skiing.
Run 1 is down The Hurdle and Shirtfront.
Run 2 is down the M1, Pro-Am and Shirtfront with the cam mounted to the rear
Run 3 is from the top of Greengates down to Sarah Sue (a great area for skiing when there’s enough snow)
I went up for first tracks (8am-9am), which is a great time to ski as the sun is rising over Cardrona and the slopes are groomed to perfection.
For this clip I decided to mount the cam backwards, which gives a great view of the snow plumes being created on each turn.
A bit later on, I captured a fast run down the M1 and Shirt Front. The runs every where were very cruisy.
Early morning the light was quite flat, but by mid morning the clouds cleared and the snow softened a bit and made for some good fun skiing. There’s a lot more grass poking through down low compared to last week and the lower half of Greengates was a bit brown in places.
Crowds weren’t too bad considering it is still school holidays. Maximum wait was around 5 mins.
Best runs were Rocky Gully, Hurdle and Wall St.
Run 1 -M1, Hurdle, Shirt Front
Run 2 - M1, Million Dollar, Wall St
Run 3 - Greengates, Wall St
Run 4 - Greengates, M1, Rocky Gully
Run 5 - Rocky Gully
Run 6 - M1, Shirt Front
It was on for young and old today. Seems like every man and his dog headed up to CP today. I was running late this morning and didn’t get up there until 10:15am and the car parks were almost full then.
Obviously those people who got up there early got the fresh stuff. The lift queues were pretty bad today (to be expected seeing it was the last day of winter festival and loads of fresh snow). Average time in the queue was around 10 mins, but Greengates got really bad early afternoon and it was real chaos.
The snow was in great condition and there was plenty of off piste skiing to be had
The 10cm of new snow yesterday afternoon and snow guns blasting at night really made a difference.
There was a strong wind on the peaks, but that helped push the snow into the protected areas. All the main trails were in great condition and provided good fast skiing opportunities.
Coronet Peak got off to a shaky start with rain postposting the opening day. The next day was better, although a lot of snow had been washed away.
This helmet cam footage shows the run from near the top of Greengates down the M1.
I returned to get some more footage of the “Pipeline” (my unofficial name) trail along the Arrow River. I was keen to go back on an overcast day so it was less contrasty, and the autumn colours on the trees add to the visuals.
This time, I captured some bike cam footage with the cam mounted close to the rear wheel. This gives an interesting perspective (particularly of how well the suspension works).
Having purchased a Specialized FSR XC comp just recently, the whole ride and footage is a lot smoother.
The following map gives a rough idea of the trail (unfortunately partially obscured by clouds).
High Quality Version (60MB)
The track around Lake Hayes was completed in late 2007 and provides a great easy going ride from Arrowtown. It’s suitable for all levels of riders and has some great scenery and an optional stop at a cafe (Walnut Cottage) before heading back to Arrowtown.
The map below shows the circuit taken.
The helmet cam video below shows sections of the track around the lake.
High Quality Version (91MB)