New Zealand Ski Fields: Treble Cone Review

Ideal for: Experts, Steep & Deepers
Weather: Usually great
Snow: Deep, cold and dry

Aaah, Treble Cone - the mere mention of the name to Kiwis conjures up images of face shots, drop offs, steep runs and burning leg muscles!

All this is true - and more. Treble Cone is the steepest commercial ski area in New Zealand (only exceeded by Craigieburn Valley in Canterbury) and as such, attracts many of the country's top skiers and boarders who are keen to test their mettle against the best that Treble Cone has to offer.

Amazingly, the new six seater chairlift (Moro Express), leads not only to magic steeps and the legendary Matukituki Bowl, but also to Triple Treat, a green run that winds it's way back to the base! Triple Treat really is - and learners will enjoy having such long runs between chairlift rides. More advanced skiers are advised to keep their speed down on this run as the entire thing - top to bottom - is a designated Slow Zone.

This won't cause you any heartache as you head out towards the Saddle T-Bar to rip the hell out of the Boundary Ridge chutes plus the truly fantastic Bullet run.

Below the Saddle T-Bar lies the Saddle Chairlift, yet another lift dominated by expert and intermediate runs but serviced by a green run called Pete's Treat which ultimately hooks up with another green trail High Street from the top of Saddle T-Bar.

The ski area boundary extends an additional 240 metres up from the top of the Saddle T-Bar - all that way to the 2100 metre summit. Hikers will experience overload from the 900 metres of vertical skiing to get back to the carpark! For all except die-hard trailblazers and dedicated "first track" gurus, the 660 metres of vertical at Treble Cone will be more than sufficient. If your legs hold out from 9am until 4pm, you've done very well indeed.

The highest lift point (1860 metres) ensures the excellent condition of the upper slopes, and the "Lap" lift, the T2 T-Bar is perfect for working on your technique in consistent fall line skiing if the lower slopes are in poor shape.

Visitors will marvel at beautiful Lake Wanaka and the very odd looking striated hills in the valley below - AND the magic vista of the Southern Alps - of course!

Travelling to Treble Cone for a day's skiing from Queenstown is a long day - the travel time being close to 2 hours by the time you park your car. The bus is even slower!

Wanaka is the ideal base from which to ski Treble Cone. For those untroubled by cost, several helicopter companies will airlift you and your party from Queenstown to the summit of Treble Cone.

Lift ticket prices are at the pricey end of the spectrum, but not out of proportion to the amount of skiing and boarding available.

A very professional operation with good facilities; half pipes for snowboarders (and many many natural quarter pipes and wind lips) "Super Trails" for the less adventurous, outrageous gully runs, plenty of groomed slopes and stuff too extreme for most.

With Treble Cone's reputation as an advanced mountain, it is seldom crowded even on the frequent powder days that draw experts like bees to honey. Indeed, many non-experts avoid it because of it's reputation. However, the hearsay should be ignored as Treble Cone has some excellent skiing for all abilities - it's just that the experts might enjoy it more!

Over all, an incredible mountain for advanced skiers, with enough terrain for learners and intermediates to keep them occupied for a couple of days.