Reaching Our Peak
Our plans to get up the mountain nice and early this morning went a little askew to say the least. Everyone slept in, took forever to get showered and dressed and generally just dilly-dallied around so that instead of being out the door at 8am, it was almost 9 by the time we breathed our first lungful of icy Queenstown air. Poor Ross was getting more frustrated as the morning went on and the hold-ups just kept coming.
We had decided to spend a snow-filled day at Coronet Peak today, not finding out until later that The Remarkables ski fields were closed due to very poor visibility. That would have explained the hoards of people heading to Coronet Peak, winding up the snowy road in a peak-hour-like throng. Ross was doing a brilliant job negotiating the slippery roads but the car was losing grip and sliding just a little, freaking me (with my backseat driving pants on) right out. Passing the sign at the foot of the ascent we all acknowledged it said “NO SNOW CHAINS REQUIRED” and foregoing a stop at ‘Snow Chain Bay No.1’, it was an angst-filled drive to ‘Snow Chain Bay No. 2’ and an opportunity to put some chains on! I thought we’d never get there.
The snow chain fitting demonstration at the car hire place had seemed so seamless and easy – even a child could do it. Mind you, the tyre was suspended in the air. In reality, it wasn’t exactly a piece of cake. Another car pulled in to fit chains and they were in and out – job done – in about 5 minutes. For first-timers like us though, it was not so easy! Sam was a legend and got out to offer help. We drove forward and back trying to position the damn things and Sam and Ross were covered in grit and dust from lying on the ground. Eventually we conceded defeat and while I was on ‘hold’ with roadside assistance, Ross hailed a Grit Distributing Truck, whose kind driver gave us a quick demo but then reaffirmed that we really should be OK without chains today. What a shocker!
Toby had decided to put the snowboarding aside today and give skiing a go. He was hoping to make his lesson by 10:20am. By now it was well after 10 though and the only car park still having vacancies was so far away we needed a shuttle bus to get to the snow fields! We queued for ages and were then told that Tobes, being under 16, and to comply with insurance regulations, would have to go in the KEA Club with all the little kids. You can imagine how well this news was received. After a barrage of complaints and cries of “I’m not doing it!” I managed to negotiate him a spot in the adult class at 2pm. Phew!
Molly, who is still recovering from her recent ankle surgery was unfortunately unable to snowboard today. She had resigned herself to this before we came away so she happily soaked up the atmosphere, took lots of photos and stayed cosy in the cafe where we all popped in to see her through the day.
Once Ross had found his goggles, which he frantically searched for for several minutes, only to be told they were on his head, we ventured outside to enter the fray. If we thought Mt Hutt had been crowded, this was ridiculous! Bright snow jackets (mostly from Aldi) covered the hill, zig-zagging all over the mountain and the queues for the lifts out of control. All of New Zealand was here at Coronet Peak – no make that the entire skiing and snowboarding population of the Western World. They were all here, on this slope. It was chaos!
The beginners’ hill was like Pitt Street and Toby was determined to tackle it head on. The mammoth queues for other lifts went right across the learning area so we had to dodge bodies in every direction. I gave Toby some very basic lessons, making sure he knew how to do the all-important snow plough and the he was off! Maisy, Sam and Ross had a ball taking the quad chair together and swooshing down the Big Easy run. Ross was carving on his snowboard and Sam and Maisy were now seasoned skiers! There was so much beautiful, powdery fresh snow and it squeaked underfoot. I joined them for a couple of runs and Toby added to our number once he was out of his lesson. Having a little more confidence now, he was flying down the hill like a cannonball! I was worried he hadn’t quite perfected a turn yet but he reassured me: “don’t worry Mum, I don’t need to turn, I just go straight!”
We called it a day after the runs closed and then joined the queue for the shuttle bus back to our car. (We actually got on the wrong bus but that’s a long story!) Again we were advised that no chains were needed but the road was still very icy. It was great to get back to the safety of flat terrain!
Being school holidays, Queenstown is a hive of activity, especially at night when everyone is off the ski slopes. There were buskers on corners, twinkling lights in the trees and holiday makers everywhere, rugged up against the chilly minus two conditions. The footpaths were covered with a dusting of ice and snow and we were skating along with no grip on our shoes! Sam was flying along at great speed, somehow managing to remain upright! We made the classic rookie error of not booking anywhere for dinner and must have fronted up to just about every eatery in town only to be turned away, back into the cold with rumbling tummies. Even the Fergburger queue was an hour’s wait, minimum. Eventually we found a table for six, right next to the roaring fire, at the Lone Star and had a welcome, delicious feed.
