The clubs are great, all of my formative skiing was at some of these club fields and a small commercial ski field, Erewhon Park, which is sadly now closed
http://mtpotts.co.nz/history/ ,
http://sillybilliesreturn.blogspot.com/2015/09/wedding-anniversary.html .
The fields (the Cragieburn fields are not resorts - people will defintely look at you funny if you talk about resorts) go in a gradient of how developed they are from East to West. Porters is the only commercial field (operated as a for profit ski field - as opposed to the clubs which are run by member committees who take responsibility for hiring staff etc - with a club breaking even is good, building reserves is better). The closest I could think of in the US or Canada that would describe the vide of the Cragieburn fields would be A Basin, or Red Mountain in BC, pretty laid back and friendly.
Porters and Cheeseman have the most infrastructure and are the only two that have anything other than a rope tow and the only ones where you can drive to the lodge. Both are probably one day fields. At Porters if there is enough coverage Big Mama, Dome face and Bluff face are both fun, except if there is a whiteout. All of the skiing in the Cragieburns is above the tree line so white out conditions mean that you will have no reference points, meaning that if you are traversing to some of the side runs it is easy to traverse right out of the ski field.
Cheeseman is similar to Porters, head up high to Cokayne and A Basin (the A is for Avalanche) and Gun Barrel for what I think are the best bits. There is touring / back country in Tarn Basin and it does come out at a bend in the access road - but it is not patrolled or controlled). Sunny Face is good, but usually doesn't have enough coverage.
If you skate and can grab some hire skates, and there is ice there is a small open air ice rink in the bush near Forest Lodge.
Broken River, you used to put your stuff on a goods lift and walk up a short walk, but now they have converted the goods lift into the Tyndall Tram
https://brokenriver.co.nz/about-br/mountain/facilities/#alpine_rail . Broken River has great terrain and a great deck, and I understand that they even have craft beer on tap now. BR would be an ideal place to get used to using a rope tow.
I haven't skied Cragieburn I don't think, but can shed some light on Plake's mistake:
SRWA: While on the subject of local skiing, there’s also a run in the Craigieburn Ranges, New Zealand, called ‘Plake’s Mistake’. You’ve skied out there – are you the reason behind it?
Glen Plake: Yeah – I think so. The run is actually a narrow little chute over in middle basin. In those days we were skiing on 215 / 220 cm straight skis, which were longer than the chute was wide. It wasn’t a mistake as such to enter the chute, and I certainly didn’t mess it up; but what did happen – and thus the name – was that the tips and tails of my skis were touching the walls of the chute, which made it a bit awkward, and impeded my jump turns. I ended up just pointing the skis and straight-lining it like a bat out of hell *laughs*. I think the run was named by the old resort president. Wasn’t a biggy, but it is nice to have a funny legacy in a place I truly love to ski.
Copied from here https://snowriderswa.com/2016/12/23/glen-plake-more-than-a-just-mo-hawk-part-i/
Temple Basin I have spent a lot of time at, a long time ago. The trail map doesn't do it justice - it is bigger and steeper than it looks. Do walk around to downhiill i it is open, and come back through Bill's and through the chutes like Steve's Folly.
Side country - touring, there are routes that link Cragieburn, BR and Cheeseman
https://media.newzealand.com/en/story-ideas/introducing-the-craigieburn-haute-route/
Logistics:
Rope tows with nutcrackers are brilliant once you get the hang of them. There are a few tricks that make it easier and more comfortable. Frstly, hire a climbing harness type belt rather than the old school belts that some places may still have. Either Chill HQ in Christchurch
https://www.chillout.co.nz/alpine/ or gnomes in Darfield
https://gnomes.co.nz/ hire and sell them.
Gloves - rope tows shred gloves (and will rub and/or leave marks on your ski clothing). You can use glove protectors, and bring some pairs of Kinco gloves with you, they are the go to gloves for rope tows but they are $70 NZD per pair. If you have left overs at the end of your trip they make great koha (a recognition and acknowledgement of hospitality). You want to take the weight with your hips, not your waist or arms. This means that you want the length of the cord that attaches the nutcracker to the harness to be short enough at full stretch that your arm remains slightly bent - if it is longer then your arms take the weight. Counter-intuative though it is don't lean away from the rope when you approach a pulley (the wheels), you'll pull the rope off which is not cool at all. When you grip the rope at the start it is a bit like braking in a car - slow and smooth - you will quickly get faster and more confident.
The van - get snow chains and know how to fit them. but some cheep overalls or a mat because it will be muddy if you have to put them on. You will need chains, if you are renting and they try and give you snow socks insist on chains. Springfield and Arthur's Pass are your optons for petrol (gas) and be prepared for sticker shock.
Be prepared to damage the bases of your skis. The substrate of the Cragieburn ski fields is scree - you will hit rocks.
On your way from Christchurch stop for pies at the Sheffield Pie shop
http://openhost.sheffieldpieshop.co.nz/