Road trip!! The first chance Alex and I managed to get enough time to escape from our beautiful remote little life in Ohau, we took it.

There was only one place I desired to ski. I yearned for long, steep, pisted runs and wide open bumpy off-piste terrain. TC had it all.

TrebleCone is New Zealand South Island’s largest ski and snowboard resort (550ha), featuring the longest vertical run of all Wanaka and Queenstown ski fields, at a leg-burning 4km with a 400m vertical drop.

They had also just had 15cm of snow, and Saddle Basin had been shut the day before, so there were still fresh lines to be had when we arrived.

We headed straight up high for the fresher, lighter snow in Saddle Basin. The area up here had two blue piste runs that run around the edge, and the middle section was a playground of cliffs, natural half-pipes and wide open off-piste snow.

There is also some really challenging chutes for the advanced skier that wants to scare themselves… however luckily for us the area was shut due to avalanche risks – so the FOMO of killing myself struggling down them was put at ease 😉

However the summit hike was open and after watching beautiful S shaped lines form on the perfectly smooth face we decided that it was time to make our own mark.

The views were unreal. The weather lucked out on us so we got this incredible 360 view of Lake Wanaka, Wanaka town, and the mountain range at the back of TC reaching all the way to Mt Aspiring.

Boots were tightened, the route down was checked, and we chanced the “light” New Zealand powder. I don’t think either of our lines were as pretty as the symmetrical half-moon short turns we had spotted before, but it was awesome to say that we had done it and not tomahawked off of a huge cliff.

Shortly after that the weather started to roll in which made the peaks fuzzy and the piste was shrouded in mist. We decided to head down the now spring slush of Main Street to the Base area.

Apart from the Cafe at the base of the resort, there is one drinks station at the top of the Home Basin Express chair. I reckon they would benefit from another rest stop in Saddle Basin, although if you come prepared with water this shouldn’t be a problem.

TC have put some care into their choice of food at the Cafe, with a large range from hot pies, fries, chicken and cakes, to healthy sandwiches, salads and soup. The vegetarian options look appetising too. It is not cheap, but it is reasonable for New Zealand 😉

Coming from Ohau, TrebleCone to us felt extremely busy! However being a Monday we didn’t have to wait too long for the lifts or for a table.

TrebleCone is well equipped to accommodate the busy weekend crowds. We thought the car park looked pretty packed!

We were also surprised by a couple of colourful Kea visiting the Cafe area, these impressive birds are only found in forested and alpine regions of the South Island of New Zealand. I managed to snap them flapping and fighting over their stolen lunch.

 

Traveller’s Tips:

Treble Cone has two four-man chair lifts that run at a comfortable speed.

There are two areas to ski in resort, Saddle Basin and Home Basin, each one about the size of Ohau. They are linked by the High Street run, an easy flat cat track (might be challenging for beginner boarders).

This mountain is probably more suited to intermediate to advanced skiers as the beginner terrain is quite small and often busy with lessons. 

Instructors here are extremely helpful, knowledgable and incredible skiers (they have a great mountain to practice on!) They also run Rookies instructor training courses on this mountain by the best of the best. 

Toilets and Cafe are located next to the beginner area at the bottom of Home Basin.

Tickets are $110 for an Adult Day Pass. Lifts operate with electronic barriers.

 

More Info about TrebleCone Ski Area here.