Winter Wrap-Up of Cool South Island Ski Events

New Zealand’s South Island ski resorts punch above their weight when it comes to cool. New Zealanders love being on the snow and they love celebrating winter.

Two of this year’s biggest and most successful events were the inaugural Jossi Wells Invitational at Cardrona, sponsored by Monster Energy, and long-time favourite Gay Ski Week, the Southern Hemisphere’s largest gay winter festival.

Winter X Games gold medallist Jossi Wells hosted a two-day invitational over perfect bluebird days, with the international athletes dubbing the Cardrona Big Air jump the best in the world. This massive spectator event is set to become an annual showcase of the world’s best skiers and snowboarders, so make sure to keep an eye out for it in 2017.

Cardrona is Wells’ home mountain – he learned to ski there – and it was the perfect place for him to host his first invitational. “I’m very humbled and honoured to have the opportunity throw this event for all the riders and spectators,” Jossi said. “It all went off without a hitch – perfect day, perfect jump and all the riders threw down.”

Queenstown’s Gay Ski Week is a perennial favourite, with a week-long alpine party at the end of August / early September filled with adventure, snow and socialising. Check out its calendar of events to see what you missed out on this year, and what you can look forward to next year.

Cardrona and Queenstown aren’t the only slopes that enjoy a party – here are a few highlights from the other resorts. We hope to see you getting in amongst it next year!

Ohau is fond of music and costume, holding both an Irish weekend celebration and a Scottish weekend celebration, as well as the one and only Ohau Snowball (fancy dress required).

Mt Dobson put on a couple of “Fun Race” sessions where riders could test their skills against a race course or gates.

Round Hill hosted an 80’s Day with a huge atmosphere and awful outfits, as well as Salomon Dads’ Weekend, where kids can bring their dads to the slope and receive half-price lift tickets over the weekend. Best of all, kids can challenge their dads to a slalom race for prizes!

Porters loves a good party, including their traditional Oktoberfest, Spring Park Jam (informal) competition, and Retro Day, full of retro outfits, ancient skinny skis and old-school moves.

Mt Hutt puts on festivities for young and older adventurers. The Streets Mini Shred is a ski competition for kids aged 14 and under, while the Peak to Pub is an event combining a ski and bike race from the top of Mt Hutt (2,086 metres) to Methven’s Blue Pub (300 metres). And then there’s the Pond Skim – don fancy dress or togs, a helmet, and see if you can get to the other side without sinking OR swimming.

Treble Cone holds races all winter along which are fun to participate in or spectate. TC also hosts weekly Demo Days, where you can test the latest products from some of Wanaka’s snow retailers.

The Remarkables also hosts winter races. Established in 1977, the Winter Classic Race Series was created to let teams or individuals from local businesses compete against each other. No team? Sign up on the day and they’ll find a team you can join.

The winter fun never stops! If you weren’t able to join us this year, we hope to see you next year. Check out the resorts’ websites for upcoming events and plan your trip.