And thus concludes the first month of operations for the 2024 season! July has certainly kept us all on our toes and was probably one of the more challenging starts to a season we’ve had in recent years. The true blessing of the month came just in the nick of time – the most recent storm cycle which finally cleared on the 31st, setting us up spectacularly for August with between 40-70 cms across our Wānaka and Queenstown terrain.
July did kick off strong with a much-anticipated top-up just in time for opening on the 2nd, we had some spectacular early days in the Buchanan, Harris and Richardson Ranges. Higher altitude terrain proved to be the star of the show, particularly in the second half of the month as the cooler temperatures up high maintained the delicious wintery snow conditions we all know and love. Both the Isobel and Tyndall Glaciers provided some of the best days of the month.
July was truly a testament to our incredible guides and their uncanny knack for sniffing out little pockets of gold. Thanks to the awesome team we still had flocks of very happy campers, particularly during the Australian school holidays. We were feeling the gratitude for the endless Bluebird days, especially as Wānaka was shrouded in an unseasonably late inversion layer (low insulating cloud cover, trapping in freezing temperatures), and a day's Heli-skiing was the perfect escape up into the sun.
Bring on August!