Snowsure: 4.0
- Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing
- Is often closed due to a lack of snow
- Occasionally suffers from a lack of snow
- Rarely suffers from a lack of snow
- Cardrona is snowsure even in the poorest seasons
Visitor reviews for Cardrona Ski Resort
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(NOTE: Reviews may be edited by our content team for the purposes of ensuring accurate and relevant information)
(NOTE: Reviews may be edited by our content team for the purposes of ensuring accurate and relevant information)
Latest
June 26, 2008
Daniel o'Donoghue
Daniel o'Donoghue
I read with interest the review by the guy that had spent a lot of time at Morzine / Avoriaz. Certainly resort skiing in NZ is very different to Europe. However I spent most of February last year (2007) in Les Gets, Morzine and Avoriaz and a fair bit of the time was spent skiing through puddles or walking over mud! When there was snow you had to put up with rude French people pushing in in lift lines or cutting you off on the slopes or smoking in cafes!
The snow might be a bit thin on the ground sometimes in NZ but you always get looked after and there is heaps more to do off the slopes. Cardrona is the best value in NZ and if you want a bit more action go to Canterbury and hit the club fields.
Portes du Soleil is a great place to go skiing and I've had awesome snow on previous visits but I will still go back to NZ every year.
May 20, 2008
James Stafford
James Stafford
I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Cardrona and found it to be the most suited NZ resort to my ex-skateboarding style of snowboarding (in 07).
Their man-made features seem to mesh well with the natural flow of the mountain and I found myself frequently carving new lines down the few major runs. I had enormous amounts of fun with the simplest of banks, allowing me to nail my first 180s and 360s in natural terrain.
I have to compliment the staff for having not only found my passport, but getting it back to me with the $100 or so dollars still inside!!! That experience alone was amazing enough to write home about.
I also found their mushroom soup to be one of the tastiest meals I had in the whole trip to NZ, and that's saying something.
Having been to Perisher in Australia, and the Remarkables and Coronet Peak in NZ, I would highly recommend Cardrona as Queenstown's first resort of call.
September 07, 2007
Pierre from
United Kingdom
Pierre from
United Kingdom
My experience of Cardrona is not good. Although any resort has a lot to live up to when you've spent several seasons in Morzine/Avoriaz. When it snows in NZ you don't get the massive dumps like you do in Europe or North America and I didn't find my self waist deep or even knee deep in powder for that matter. I've just come back and am seriously considering if I would ever go back due to the unreliablity of the snow. Cardrona did try though and made good with what little snow they had and its cheaper than Treble Cone which is really bad value for money. When I left they had 80cms base at the top which is pretty poor in my opinion and the lack of snow depth meant the terrain didn't have that many decent natural features to do any tricks off. I felt there chair lifts were too damn slow and kept stopping too frequently. The best thing about Cardrona is that Snowpark is opposite, I had more fun there as it has a really nice vibe even though I was limited to park riding the natural terrain was even more interesting.
[Editors comments. Having alternated between the European Alps and NZ for 12 years, I feel inclined to add a caveat. NZ is a big place with a very variable climate and the 2007 season was below average. Central Otago skifields like Cardrona always tend to have modest snowfalls because of the local arid climate - there are high mountains in every direction. Off piste can be frustrating as a result. The piste tends to be excellent, the parks too, and the weather reliably sunny. However, other parts of NZ frequently DO get very large dumps of snow that can compare with the European Alps. Westerly storms often give 24hr falls of more than 2m all along the main divide (heli-access only). These snowfalls just about reach Treble Cone and Temple Basin, giving say 50cm falls, but do not penetrate much further east into the rainshadow. 20-50cm snow events are fairly frequent at North Island resorts in any season because the volcanoes are exposed to all directions of weather. Without question, El Nino years such as 2006 are the best times to visit NZ. In such years, a steady march of southerly fronts invariably delivers regular dumps to most resorts, especially favouring ones closer to the Pacific coast such as Mt Hutt, Mt Olympus and eastern Otago resorts like Mt Dobson. In such years, Turoa and Whakapapa can accumulate more than 5m bases].
May 01, 2005
David
David
April 15, 2005
Marty Cart
Marty Cart
October 05, 2004
Doug Denmead
Doug Denmead
I had a great time blasting around the resort. Then snow was excellent for this time of the year. {sept}
Spent a lot of time in Captain's bowl inventing different ways to get down.
I am sure I have improved my technique over these hols. as each day i seem to be going faster and more confidently.
Had a great day following my daughter around and down the Arcadia chutes. I didn't do this too well, but have been practicing lots of short turns and getting a kick out of the tails of my crossmaxes, trying to ski around the pole plant with a more exaggerated up and down movement. It works for me.
I am sure i am addicted to all this white stuff!
I love the run down to the bottom of the Whitestar chair closest to the lodge.
This is nice and long and straight and is good for getting you going with some rhythm {however you spell that}
What is great is the huge area available off piste with no trees.
Care must be taken though, with no marking of the cliff off piste to the north of the Whitestar. {maybe i could have skied off there when going down casually one day}
As Arnie said: 'I'll be back'
{Hopefully in 2005}
Nearest