Craigieburn Ski Field, New Zealand resort travel page

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Wed 8 October 2008 Ari

If you want to be isolated up in a home-built mountain lodge helping cook dinner for 40 hardcore ski bums from Christchurch and around the world then Cragieburn is for you. The access road is terrifying even by NZ standards. You hike from the car park up to the lodge carrying your gear and beer for the week. Climb even higher to get to the lifts.The high-speed rope tows lift 500m with ropes tied around the axels of tractors with their wheels taken off. The Kiwis call this a "wanker filter". There's no grooming. There aren't any lift queues. After two days of sharing the mountain with nobody but your new friends from the lodge it'll dump and someone will take you through the best lines in the middle basin. You'll hike ridges and climb out of bowls and wish you'd brought your skins. You'll think it's the greatest place ever. If you want to be pampered go somewhere else.

Resort Statistics

Resort Type: Alpine
Winter: July - Oct

Lifts

Total Lifts: 3
Other lifts: 3 rope tows
Board Leashes required: No

Mountain

Total ride area: 400 hectares

Top lift: 1811m
Vertical drop: 500m
First lift: 1308m

Piste suitability

Green runs: 0%
Red runs: 55%
Black runs: 45%

Lift Passes

Lift Passes:
Day pass $28 member, $55 non-member
Half day $18/$45
Accomodation $38/75 member/non-member
$2 tow belt hire per day
Lift times:[No information]