Winter

New Zealand’s forthcoming ski season is shaping up to be another major success – with more flights, attractive deals and positive exchange rates adding impetus to the already strong Australian visitor market.

Snow sport enthusiasts are taking to the Canterbury hills to make the most of spring snows and escape the rumblings following the recent earthquake.

The inaugural FIS Snowboard & Freestyle Junior World Championships closed after 11 days of successful competition in New Zealand's Southern Alps.

With the 2010 FIS Snowboard and Freestyle Junior World Champs over, elite junior winter sports athletes from around the world are packing their bags – but many will leave with high hopes of returning.

Wanaka will welcome more than 300 top international junior snow sports athletes for the 2010 FIS Junior World Championships which begin this week (19 - 31 August).

New Zealand is in the grip of a wintry blast that's caused minor disruption on the roads but thrilled the snow sports fraternity who’re currently entertaining some of the world’s elite skiers and snowboarders.

The biggest gay alpine party in the southern hemisphere is celebrating its eighth birthday this year in Queenstown, New Zealand’s ‘adventure capital’.

Not for the faint-hearted, the World Heli Challenge in Wanaka is considered the most exotic snow-based event on the planet and brings the world’s top snowboarders and skiers to New Zealand for the “ultimate challenge”.

Invitations are out for one of New Zealand’s most-anticipated snow sports events – the eighth annual Burton New Zealand Open.

Coronet Peak, in Queenstown, will become the hub of international race training this month as it welcomes back some of the world’s best ski racers.