New Zealand

revyakin

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Jun 4, 2002, 8:03:17 PM6/4/02

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Last Sat was the first real summer day here in Jersey... and as you
may guess I was dreaming about being elsewhere. Then I figured that in
New Zealand they should be getting snow some time soon. So I went to
the web and...

http://www.snowfarmnz.com/

Has anyone been there or heard of that place? Ken, you very well may
be the right person to ask. Tickets start around $1300.
You may say - why not Australia, or Au, or...? I don't know. Perhaps
NZ just sounds a bit... alternative. And perhaps I should consider
joining a clinical depression study they carry out here at Princeton.
:)

Andrey.

Ken Roberts

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Jun 5, 2002, 2:27:53 AM6/5/02

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Andrey -

> perhaps I should consider joining a clinical depression study . . .

Sounds like you did not run in the Whiteface Mountain hill race last
weekend.

> Perhaps NZ just sounds a bit... alternative.

Well then how about Nepal? or perhaps Morocco?

> Has anyone been there or heard of that place?

I have _heard_ of that "Wiorau SnowFarm" place. I notice that the "Daily
Picture" on the SnowFarm website shows lots of snow and beautifully-groomed
tracks, but no timestamp -- also no trees, and no views of rocks or lakes or
mountains or oceans or sheep.

I have also heard that New Zealand is surrounded by a very large body of
water -- which might influence the weather. I own a book that includes a
picture of four Brit skiers visiting New Zealand -- walking out down the
Murchison glacier carrying their skis in the rain.

For other ideas about places (even _race_ events) in August, I suggest
checking out links from Gavin Watt's website and XCskiWorld. I have links
to both of those from
http://www.roberts-1.com/xcski
(from there go to Places, then "Snow Before and After Winter")

But while you're there on that page -- and before you purchase an airline
ticket for US$ 1300 -- I suggest clicking on some of the links by the words
"Dachstein Glacier" -- and then search your favorite Travel website to see
what airline prices you can get for Salzburg or Munich (or Milano?) -- and
see how those compare with prices to New Zealand.

Finally ask yourself the truly critical question: "Where am I more likely
to get my butt thoroughly kicked by some of the world's best racers: Wiorau
or Ramsau?"

Ken

revyakin

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Jun 5, 2002, 1:06:47 PM6/5/02

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Thanks Ken,

Well, you are right in terms of scenery, but I would not say it's
boring, it's just... different. Looks like tundra to me. And the web
site says that the snow is dry.

Speaking on butt kicking - may be that's exactly what I want - to be
the best skier on the block and NOT having muy butt kicked! :)

I am in a better mood today, so I may actually consider cheaper -
although traditional - options.

Brian Pinkerton

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Jun 5, 2002, 2:46:11 PM6/5/02

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revy...@yahoo.com wrote:

>http://www.snowfarmnz.com/
>
>Has anyone been there or heard of that place?

The snow farm is great! It's wide open skiing (no trees), but they do a good job with the grooming if they have enough snow (it's worth calling ahead about the availability of snow). The surrounding area is beautiful, with tons of great sporting opportunities: hiking, paddling, backcountry & alpine skiing, etc. Definitely worth a visit.

And where else can you do a ski race with the PM? (no joke -- Helen Clark showed up at the Merino Muster a few years ago.)

bri

Gavin Watt

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Jun 6, 2002, 4:47:52 AM6/6/02

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I was going to go there, but my Global rewards points went poof when Ansett
Airlines went bust. So I have had to check it out by web cam. It will be
slightly cheaper than skiing is Australia. It depends on wether you want to
stay at one location or visit a couple of places.
It looks great and is the only commercial xc ski resort in NZ that I'm aware
of.
The views are fantastic, but I might be concerned about wind and whiteouts.
In Australia, at Hotham and Lake Mountain you can ski between snow gum trees
which offer shelter from strong winds.
If you like down hill skiing then there are lots of places around that area
of the south
island of NZ to visit. There is a ski race called the Merino Muster (it is
run as a farm in summer) held mid August. There is talk of them trying to
make it a world loppet event (it might entice more people to visit the
southern hemisphere if there are two Loppet races, not just the Kangaroo
Hoppet).
Why not do the whole hog and vist Australia and New Zealand.

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