SirJibAlot 0 Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 All the US ski instructors are now from Argentina, I imagine they all go home and ski in south america during the summer. Link to post Share on other sites
Mantas 3 Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 Originally Posted By: thursday Don't get me STARTED on BALI! I waited for 20 minutes without moving. So did the only decent thing I could. I walked over to the local and visa exempt queue. Put US$10 in my passport and gave it to the immgration officer. He said he'd get the visa for me so I gave him the fee. It took me 5 mins to get through. Yes the special fee system, used it a few times myself over there. I once asked a policeman if he would pay my traffic infringement fine for me if I gave the money directly to him. Which he kindly did. So obliging aren't they. Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 I love the Bali system. Except the head blowing off one. Link to post Share on other sites
keba 0 Posted August 7, 2007 Share Posted August 7, 2007 Back on track... Mt Potts is only open to Heli access, and temple basin is "on hold", depending on conditions. Mt Hutt has a 60-70cm base, presumably lots of snow-making happening. Do we have anyone on the ground in NZ for reports? Here's where I went. http://www.snow.co.nz/index.asp Link to post Share on other sites
keba 0 Posted August 7, 2007 Share Posted August 7, 2007 Tells a sad tale... Link to post Share on other sites
journey_man 0 Posted August 7, 2007 Share Posted August 7, 2007 My god, that's tragic. It almost makes this season as bad as the last one was good! Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 Oh dear. Things are all mixed up arent they. Good one for Japan please! Link to post Share on other sites
keba 0 Posted August 11, 2007 Share Posted August 11, 2007 Glad I booked time in Thredbo, not NZ. Mt Ruapehu looks the goods, though... Link to post Share on other sites
journey_man 0 Posted August 11, 2007 Share Posted August 11, 2007 Mt Ruapehu is a bit of a special case because of the huge rocks - it needs about 1.6m to even operate! It is a lot better now than it was due to the use of snow cannons. Link to post Share on other sites
keba 0 Posted August 11, 2007 Share Posted August 11, 2007 Never been there, thanks for the tip. The raw numbers fooled me, a little local knowledge goes a long way. Link to post Share on other sites
Mantas 3 Posted August 11, 2007 Share Posted August 11, 2007 Originally Posted By: Journey Man Mt Ruapehu is a bit of a special case because of the huge rocks - it needs about 1.6m to even operate! It is a lot better now than it was due to the use of snow cannons. Why is that JM? Link to post Share on other sites
journey_man 0 Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 It is a really rocky landscape and there are always some "problem" rocks that are in high traffic areas and get uncovered easily. With the advent of the snow cannons the problem areas can be kept covered. This is especially true of the lower mountain - there is an area in Whakapapa called "The Rock Garden" where in places the main trail isn't that wide but gets nearly all the traffic. Apparently snow making has allowed the season to be significantly longer. Link to post Share on other sites
Mantas 3 Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 Have you been there? Link to post Share on other sites
journey_man 0 Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 I used to live in Auckland so Ruapehu was the nearest mountain. I usually skied Whakapapa and occasionally Turoa. As to which is better, I'll go for Whakapapa, but it's fair to say it is a subject of ongoing holy wars... For my money Whakapapa is the best field in the country when the snow and weather are on. However this almost never happens, in particular the weather. If you look here you can see that the mountain stands by itself and because of this catches all the weather going, and is hard to predict. If you ski every weekend you can expect to loose a day to wind every couple of weekends. Link to post Share on other sites
Mantas 3 Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 thanks mate. I'd like to go one day and maybe get it good. Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 Whakapapa is a great name, though it sounds like it could encourage the abuse of parents. Link to post Share on other sites
Mantas 3 Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 Things are looking better in NZ from all accounts. Up to 50 cm in 2 days in some places. My mate called from Christchurch today and said it was awesome. He did a heli drop somewhere. Link to post Share on other sites
journey_man 0 Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 :Green_With_Envy: Do you know who he went with? I have a mate who does heli tours out of Methven and I'd like to get some feedback on how people rate his trips. Link to post Share on other sites
Mantas 3 Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 I'll find out soon. I'm going to snow with him on thursday. Link to post Share on other sites
journey_man 0 Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 Cool! :Even_Greener_With_Envy: Can you PM me with who ran the heli tour and how it was? Thanks Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 Methven...I live near the original Methven in Scotland, just a wee pishy village, nothing to write home about....oh and a shite amatuer football team!! Link to post Share on other sites
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