New Snow Blankets Mt Hutt (04-Oct-11)

Between 20 to 30cm of new snow has blanketed Mt Hutt over the last two days, setting up the popular Canterbury ski area for a great New Zealand school holidays.

Mt Hutt ski area manager David Wilson said a storm cycle had delivered good snow to the slopes over the past two days, with more in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow.

“Unfortunately we’re closed today (Tuesday October 4) because of inclement weather and very low visibility, but there should be some good skiing and riding when this weather system clears,” he said.

“We’re looking at a much better weather forecast for tomorrow so fingers crossed!”

Mr Wilson said while it was “unusual” to receive snow in spring, it wasn’t unheard of.

“It’s great to have some new snow at the end of the season. When the sun makes an appearance and all our keen skiers and snowboarders come out to play, we’ll have some great snow days under blue skies in the build up to the Mt Hutt Spring Festival starting this weekend.

“Traditionally Mt Hutt’s often been the best place to be in the country for some end-of-season turns, and with new snow and sunshine it just couldn’t get better.”

Spring events coming up at Mt Hutt include the Mt Hutt Spring Festival which runs from October 8 to 14. The festival is a unique week of awesome events in Methven and at the ski area including a Pond Skim competition, Ski Joring, a unique competition where a horse and rider pull a skier at a fast pace through a course that has gates, jumps and rings, a music festival, ski racing and Kids Fun Day.

On October 15 one of Canterbury’s most renowned multisport events returns to the calendar, the Columbia Peak to Pub.

Now in its 12th year, the fun triathlon starts high on the slopes of Mt Hutt with a mass start run to skis or snowboard, followed by a giant slalom to the base area. Competitors then launch into a heart-stopping 19km bike ride down the Mt Hutt access road where individual racers or teams transition to an 11km run to finish outside the iconic Blue Pub in the centre of Methven.

Mt Hutt is scheduled to close on October 16, subject to weather conditions and guest numbers.