International (Europe/Japan/Southern Hemisphere) Australia and New Zealand Snow Season 2019

[Eleeski]

So the chairs default running up the left - is that from driving on the left or the coriolis effect?

 

[dbostedo]

The T-bar also loads on the left? Edit - actually not sure if this is true...

It's true. T-bar loads on the left.

 

[Turoa Kiwi]

Our beloved Turoa has been mostly shut for the last 5-6 days due to a massive storm cycle
Check out this photo of the Giant Cafe and return station .
That's ice on the handrails, decks and the chairs that are seen on the right hand side
We have a very dedicated crew of absolute legends who get out as early as they can ,in all sorts of weather ,to smash all of the ice off of the chairs for us ,prior to opening the lifts.
We've had approx 50cm of new snow in the last 7 days at Turoa. Around the other side of the Maunga, our sister field ,Whakapapa has received an amazing 1 metre of long awaited snow.
We've still got more snow coming in the next few days so this time next week there will be a lot of very happy punters having an absolute blast when the whole mountain will be open

 

[dbostedo]

^^^
Is the ice just from frost and the building being warmer than the ground? Or did the precipitation come down as sleet/hail/graupel?

 

[Turoa Kiwi]

^^^
Is the ice just from frost and the building being warmer than the ground? Or did the precipitation come down as sleet/hail/graupel?

Normally it's settled snow being rained on then re freezing

 

[Turoa Kiwi]

Our beloved Turoa has been mostly shut for the last 5-6 days due to a massive storm cycle
Check out this photo of the Giant Cafe and return station .
That's ice on the handrails, decks and the chairs that are seen on the right hand side
We have a very dedicated crew of absolute legends who get out as early as they can ,in all sorts of weather ,to smash all of the ice off of the chairs for us ,prior to opening the lifts.
We've had approx 50cm of new snow in the last 7 days at Turoa. Around the other side of the Maunga, our sister field ,Whakapapa has received an amazing 1 metre of long awaited snow.
We've still got more snow coming in the next few days so this time next week there will be a lot of very happy punters having an absolute blast when the whole mountain will be open View attachment 78074

It's still a blizzard up there at Turoa .. The snow report today reads thus ; Base 198 cms with 43cm snow in the last 24 hrs and 105cms in the last 7 days !!
And there's even more to come over the next 4 days. Its going to be a great season.....when they can open.. There is going to be be an awful amount (read days) of digging out ,de-icing and avalanche prior to opening though. Bring it on!!

 

[Marty McSly]

Something you don't see every day Down Under. Kangaroos in the snow.

 

[KingGrump]

Something you don't see every day Down Under. Kangaroos in the snow.

Hop turns?

 

[Tony]

^^^
Is the ice just from frost and the building being warmer than the ground? Or did the precipitation come down as sleet/hail/graupel?

Good article on rime sent out by Snowbrains recently that includes wikipedia’s version of how it forms. See https://snowbrains.com/which-ski-resort-has-the-largest-rime-ice-in-the-world/

 

[Turoa Kiwi]

Good article on rime sent out by Snowbrains recently that includes wikipedia’s version of how it forms. See https://snowbrains.com/which-ski-resort-has-the-largest-rime-ice-in-the-world/

A great article on Mt Ruapehu' s challenging conditions
Yep that"s where I ski all the time
The guys that break the ice off are absolutely some of the toughest workers in the world
They have to get the ice off before the wire ropes sag and the towers bend under the weight of the ice ,so they have been hard at it for two weeks now
We currently have had a two week storm cycle where the base has gone from under 90cms to over 220 cms but we haven't been able to get at it due to the storms
Hoping for a clear day up there tomorrow but the upper part wont be open due to avalanche control and trail forming

 

[LiquidFeet]

@Turoa Kiwi, since there will be big chunks of ice on the snow beneath the lifts, does that area get roped off so skiers won't run into the chunks?
Or do you ski around them at will?

 

[NZRob]

Clearing ice from the recent storms today, Far West t bar at Whakapapa. That's a t bar tower encased in ice behind the groomer.

 

[NZRob]

And another shot

 

[Aquila]

That's an absolutely incredible amount of rime! I've been watching the Ruapehu situation with interest; I used to ski at Turoa and have a good friend for whom Ruapehu is still their local mountain. Insane never-ending storm you guys have had up there. Kudos to the team there!

 

[Turoa Kiwi]

Clearing ice from the recent storms today, Far West t bar at Whakapapa. That's a t bar tower encased in ice behind the groomer. View attachment 78790

Those photos are great aren't they?
RAL must be happy that the towers didn't fall over with all that ice
T bar towers aren't that big really
That is the most I've seen on towers in a long time.
Looks like its going to be a few days before they even think about getting the wire up
Oh well. there's plenty of other places to ski with the base we've got up there

 

[Turoa Kiwi]

@Turoa Kiwi, since there will be big chunks of ice on the snow beneath the lifts, does that area get roped off so skiers won't run into the chunks?
Or do you ski around them at will?

They just let the chunks drop and they generally land behind and below the towers. They don't rope it off, just ski around it. More the fool the person that tries skiing through it all. We end up with some pretty big piles of chunked ice too

 

[NZRob]

https://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/skifield-tower-crumples-under-weight-ice

Have a look at this if you want to see some rime ice damage from a few years ago round the other side of Ruapehu....this is a big fat 6 seater tower!!

 

[James]

That's crazy!

 

[geepers]

Looks like NZ has been getting some sensational conditions.




Links for Mac users -
10 secs of pow skiing
Powder day at TC
Powder Day

And for the animal enthusiasts. It's rare to see a platypus at any time, let alone daylight in the snow. This is in Australia - its not native to NZ.

 

[LiquidFeet]

....
Links for Mac users -
10 secs of pow skiing
Powder day at TC
Powder Day

Thanks. I've been wondering why I couldn't watch these things. It's a Mac thing then.