Cardrona: Schneevorhersage

Visited in late August 2014 along with Coronet Peak and Treble Cone. As indicated in previous reviews, NZ ski fields are much smaller than many of those in Europe. They are not resorts, they are more akin to the drive-to-and-ski fields such as Sunshine Village and Lake Louise in Canada (albeit smaller). Cardrona is a really pleasant field. It's not huge and a good skier will have skied it all in a day (or less). However, the runs are nice (mostly Euro blue-red standard) and the scenery is stunning. Lifts are generally modern and speedy; slightly annoying that NZ lifts don't to have foot rests, and McDougalls lift is very slow and uncomfortable. Main restaurant if v busy at lunch-time (not sure on prices, we bought our own food, as did many others). Drive up, on gravel, was ok; was chain free for us (but very dusty). Have chains with you. Easiest to get to from Wanaka. Not many enticing multi-day deals to be had (you save $3-5 on subsequent days), with the adult price being ~$98 per day. Compared to area passes, in some Euro resorts, this strikes me as a bit expensive given the size of the fields. Multi-day passes bought for Cardrona can also be used at Treble Cone (but not Coronet Peak or Remarkables; different operating companies). Staff are really pleasant and its good to see lifties marshalling the list queues to ensure that lifts are full and there is no pushing-in (Europe could learn from this). Liked Cardrona, but I think Coronet Peak offers that bit more.