Cardrona Alpine Resort
| Cardrona Alpine Resort | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | South Island, New Zealand |
| Nearest city | Wanaka, New Zealand |
| Vertical | 600 m |
| Top elevation | 1894 m |
| Base elevation | 1670 m |
| Skiable area | 345 hectares |
| Lift system | 6 total; 4 chairlifts (two fixed quads, two detachable quad), 2 magic learner, 1 platter |
| Lift capacity | 10200/hour |
| Terrain parks | 7 (2 Half Pipes ,4 parks and 1 gravity cross course ) |
| Snowfall | 2.7 m (8.9 ft) |
| Snowmaking | Yes |
| Night skiing | No |
| Website | http://www.cardrona.com |
Cardrona Alpine Resort is a ski resort in New Zealand's South Island. The skifield ranges from 1,260m to 1,894m. The distribution of slopes is 25% beginner, 50% intermediate and 25% advanced. There are 2 detachable quad chairlifts and 2 fixed-grip quad chairlift, 2 "magic carpet" learner lifts and 1 platter lift for beginners. Some snowmaking equipment is present. Snowboarding is well catered for with 2 half pipes and 4 terrain parks. There is also a "High performance centre" which trains more advanced skiers and snowboarders. Families with infants and young children, are well catered for, with child care facilities provided by the resorts, Cardrona Kindy.
The resort is located near Wanaka, 5 hours drive from Christchurch, and a 1-hour drive from Queenstown. On-mountain accommodation is provided in the form of 15 self-contained apartments.
There was a tradition, that at the bottom of the mountain, women leave their old bra on the Cardrona Bra Fence before leaving town.
The old Captains chairlift (replaced by the Captains Express) was reinstalled, as the Valley View Quad, below the existing Whitestar Express, prior to the 2010 winter. The main purpose of this lift, was to allow construction of a competition grade downhill run, by increasing the lifted vertical, available to the resort. General trails are available though. Due to insufficient snow cover this lift did not open for the 2010 season. Stage 2 of the plan was set for the 2011 winter and added snowmaking. However, as of mid July 2011, the lift remains closed due to the slow start to 2011 winter and snowmaking efforts have been focused on the upper mountain.
External links
Media related to Cardrona Alpine Resort at Wikimedia Commons
- Cardrona Alpine Resort website
- OnTheSnow.com snow report for Cardrona
- Powderhounds.com reviews of Cardrona
- New Zealand ski Cardrona page
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Coordinates: 44°52′26″S 168°57′00″E / 44.873937°S 168.949986°E