Snow Sports

Kiwi adventurer Erik Bradshaw has made New Zealand alpine history as the first person to ski the length of the Southern Alps.

New Zealand's southern winter slopes are a-buzz with high adrenalin activity as international snow and ice sports stars take their places for the second 100% Pure New Zealand Winter Games.

A wintry blast has dumped a deep snow blanket across New Zealand’s mountains over the past week, leaving ski fields in the north and south in superb shape for the winter season.

Skiers and snowboarders are clapping their gloved hands and kicking up their snow boots – kei te heke te hukapapa (it is snowing) and the New Zealand ski season is underway.

It took a while but the snow has finally arrived, dusting off Coronet Peak ski area in time for the concluding days of the 2011 Queenstown Winter Festival.

Top international snow and ice sports athletes are due to descend on New Zealand’s Southern Alps this winter, for 16 days of cool action in the 100% Pure New Zealand Winter Games.

While it's all about fun, the American Express Queenstown Winter Festival – rated one of the world's top 10 'must-see' festivals – has also revealed a serious side as a major money spinner.

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.

Adventure-loving backpackers wanting to get a taste of what Sir Edmund Hillary would call “base camp” can now bunk down in style at the foot of Aoraki Mount Cook, in New Zealand’s South Island.

A group of Kiwi champion skiers and surfers has scored a world first in an ambitious feat thought to be only possible in New Zealand – skiing five different mountains and surfing five different breaks in just five days.