Avalanche risk at skifields
Warnings are in place for dangerous avalanche conditions at South Island skifields after a storm moving up the country hit the mountains with a dumping of fresh snow.
The Avalanche Advisory said there was a ‘‘considerable’’ risk of avalanches at Arthur’s Pass, Aoraki/Mt Cook, Mt Hutt, Queenstown and Wa¯ naka. There was also a ‘‘moderate’’ risk at Craigieburn Range, Ohau and Two Thumbs.
Mt Hutt Ski Area manager James McKenzie said about 70 centimetres of fresh powder had blanketed the mountain since heavy snowfall began at 2am on Thursday. The snow did not relent until 6am on Friday.
‘‘It’s pretty good timing, really, because things were looking pretty scratchy before this storm, if I’m honest,’’ McKenzie said.
‘‘We’ve had some savage nor’westers blow through that stripped away a lot of our snow covering.’’
Mt Hutt, which opened on June 12, was the first in the southern hemisphere to open for the season.
McKenzie said 23 crew members had camped on Mt Hutt overnight on Wednesday and Thursday, meaning they were able to stay ‘‘on the right side of the storm’’ as the access road was cut off.
Friday was spent trying to clear the avalanche hazard by tossing explosives into powder pockets to encourage the snow to ‘‘shake down’’, he said.
McKenzie said Mt Hutt would reopen today. MetService forecast cloudy conditions with light southerlies winds today, and morning cloud then blue skies tomorrow.
Trampers were urged to stay out of the back country, and anyone planning to head into the mountains over the weekend was advised to check the weather and be wellequipped.
The Avalanche Advisory has issued a heightened risk of avalanches below 1200 metres at Aoraki/Mt Cook, rising to dangerous risk in alpine terrain. The warning, which was issued on Thursday, is in place until today.
‘‘With 20-30 centimetres of new snow, storm slab avalanches will be a hazard in most places where the snowpack was previously well established,’’ the advisory said on its website.
The threat at Arthur’s Pass was increasing during the day to ‘‘considerable hazard’’, it said.
Mt Dobson owner and mountain manager Bruce Foote said no-one was up the mountain so it was hard to say what the snow base would be, but he was happy with the snowfall ahead of the planned July 3 opening.