Treble Cone

Infobox ski area
name=Treble Cone
logo=Treble Cone skifield logo.svg
picture=Treble Cone skifield New Zealand base facilities.jpg
caption=Treble Cone base facilities in September 2006
location=Otago, New Zealand
nearest_city=Wanaka
top_elevation=2088m
base_elevation=1250m
terrainparks=1
snowfall=2.7m
snowmaking=yes
nightskiing=no
external_link= [http://www.treblecone.com/ www.treblecone.com]
lift_capacity= 6200 skiers/hr

Treble Cone is a commercial skifield near Wanaka, New Zealand.

Treble Cone boasts the longest vertical rise in the Southern Lakes and spectacular views over Lake Wanaka and Mount Aspiring. The skifield is the off-season training ground for the national ski teams of Austria and Norway. [cite web|title=Wanaka: The white stuff|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/7/story.cfm?c_id=7&objectid=10457479&pnum=2|publisher=New Zealand Herald|accessdate=2008-05-23]

History

Founded by Murray Raffills (Raffills Ridge namesake) and Ralph Markby and started out as a small field being managed by many locals until it was sold.

Winter Activities

Fans of the field tend to be attracted there for the fairly steep and challenging terrain which they claim is some of the best in the country however recent initiatives ensure that intermediate and beginner skiers and boarders are fully catered to. These include providing more expansive beginner and intermediate groomed trails for skiers and boarders. [http://www.newzealandnz.co.nz/ski-areas/treble-cone.html Treble Cone Ski Area] - "The biggest and steepest ski field in the South Island NZ", Accessed 20/11/07] There is also a small terrain park.

Guided tours are offered for advanced riders out to the Motatapu Chutes and for intermediate skiers/riders to see the new smoothed out terrain.

Elevations

*Base Buildings: 1250m
*Top of Volkswagen 6 Seater Express: 1760m
*Top of Saddle Quad Chairlift: 1960m
*Summit: 2088m

Lifts

*High Speed Detachable Six Seater Chairlift
*Quad Chairlift
*Platter Lift
*Magic Carpet

Treble Cone Race Academy

The Treble Cone Race Academy [http://www.wanakaski.co.nz/] is renowned for being one of the top ski racing training grounds in the Southern Hemishphere. Coordinated by an internationally qualified coaching team with strong connections with the Austrian Ski Team. The programs are designed to improve young athletes racing skills. With participation in many of New Zealand racers of all levels, this gives a great advantage to athletes from all over the world who come to Treble Cone to train with the academy. Treble Cone holds many races up to Continental Cup level.

eason Pass Prices

Treble Cone has controversially raised its season pass prices for the 2007 season. A season pass is now NZ$2200 after 31st May, with “early bird” pre-season passes being NZ$1500. The early bird pass is a free upgrade from a 50 day season pass to a premium pass due to public and local community consultation. Many locals believe the Treble Cone season pass is the most expensive in the world. There have been many letters to newspaperscite news | url =http://www.lakewanaka.co.nz/files/22%20Feb%20pages%201-5.pdf | title =TC refutes claims of over-pricing | publisher =The Wanaka Sun | date =22nd February, 2006 ] and a general upset towards Treble Cone. Treble Cone management has released [http://www.treblecone.co.nz/Media/press-release-details.asp?NewsID=30 media statements] though time will tell if the damage has been done.

ummer Activities

In summer Treble Cone opens the six seater chairlift for hiking and mountain biking. In 2007 this included hosting the first downhill event of the NZ Community Trust National Series in the weekend. 195 riders raced against the clock on the 2.5 km downhill trail

Proposed Gondola

ran a storycite news | url =http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3731018a7693,00.html | title =Treble Cone eyes $20m gondola | publisher =The Press | date =14th July, 2006 ] on Treble Cone Investments lodging resource consent applications regarding a proposed gondola from Cattle Flat (at the base of the skifield access road) to the skifield itself. The proposed gondola would travel 3.3 km in under 11 minutes, and be capable of carrying 2000 people an hour. It would rise 945 m.

Talk of a gondola has been around for some time, but has been re-ignited recently due to the deaths of three young Australian skiers when they drove off the access road in 2004. [cite news | url =http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/07/19/1090089046493.html|title=Australians robbed of bright future in NZ crash|publisher=Fairfax|date =19th July 2004 ] The access road is under regular criticism from patrons because of its corrugations, steep incline with tight switchbacks and lack of safety barriers. It also coincides with other objectives for the skifield, said Treble Cone director, Richard Hanson. A increase in ticket prices in 2006 seems to be to help the funding of the building project. On good days the field is always short of carparking, and cars may be parked up to a kilometre down the access road. Because of these reasons the gondola is a very popular proposal with locals except for the likelihood of more overcrowding at the resort.

It is expected the building process should take 10-months, with an opening at the start of the 2008 season at the earliest.

References

External links

* [http://www.treblecone.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.lakewanaka.co.nz Lake Wanaka, NZ Homepage]