Largest alpine resort on horizon
A skifield between Queenstown and Wanaka is set to become the country’s largest alpine resort.
Queenstown businessman John Darby and Cardrona Alpine Resort have partnered up to develop the area, which will incorporate Cardrona and a new ‘‘Soho Basin’’ ski area.
The development will see Cardrona more than double in size to more than 900 hectares of skiable terrain, while Soho Basin will add an additional 500ha of high altitude skiable terrain.
There will also be a connection between the two, with access to Soho Basin from the top of the new cabinstyle gondola installed at Cardrona.
Richard Lauder, chief executive of Real Journeys Group which owns Cardrona Alpine Resort, said development of the ski areas was something the company had been looking at ‘‘for some time’’. ‘‘We’re both extremely pleased that we can work together to build a world class ski area with integrated facilities and amenities that will be both New Zealand’s largest mountain resort and a truly world-class ski destination.’’
Soho Basin faces Queenstown and covers all the southern and southwest faces of Mt Cardrona, and includes the two Willow Basins that directly adjoins Cardrona Alpine Resort’s southern boundary.
Soho Basin, as part of Glencoe Station, was bought by Darby over a decade ago.
Darby had spent more than 20 winters skiing on the slopes of Soho Basin with family and friends, he said.
‘‘With Cardrona, I’m now looking forward to opening up this same opportunity to the public. It’s a very special place and great care will be taken to preserve this wonderful alpine environment.’’
Cardrona is three years into a fiveyear development plan that has focused on preparing Cardrona for the Soho expansion.
This included installation of a $10 million cabin-style gondola, called the McDougall’s Chondola, the refurbishment and repurposing of the Base Area buildings, and expanded carparking with a connecting shuttle service.
The expansion also has implications on Cardrona’s summer operations, with the opportunity to grow further as New Zealand’s only mountain resort to offer a full summer of activities including mountain biking, mountain carting, dining, events and stargazing experiences.