Many people can’t go to work just yet and people are discouraged from travelling to Christchurch’s cordoned-off city centre. Brown Bear reckons it might be good to breathe in some fresh mountain air and get away from the city and the aftershocks. A trip to Canterbury’s ski areas will take your mind off things for a while and emergency services will be able to work faster with less people around to obstruct the clearing process.

Mt Hutt Ski Area, for example, just opened the Australia New Zealand Continental (ANC) Cup which will run until 11 September. More than 125 of the world’s top ski racers will attend the event to be held in Mt Hutt’s Red Bull International Race Training Arena. The ANC Cup is part of the Continental Cup Series which is just one level behind the World Cup! Come along to watch competitions in Super Combined, Super G, Slalom and Giant Slalom.

Whether you come and watch the ANC Cup, go for a long walk in the snow or head to the freestyle terrains and steep chutes of Canterbury’s ski areas, a trip into the snow is bound to be a welcome change after a very scary weekend.

Spring accommodation deals, from backpacker to luxury resort, gear rental and travel specials provide good value holidays to encourage visitors to the mountains. With internet bookings, great last minute deals and more direct flights to the Southern Lakes region, spring ski trips do not need to be planned too far in advance.

Consistent natural snow falls, pre- and early season, and cool winter temperatures have provided all the mountains with good solid snow bases offering excellent conditions through to the end of the season. Mountain patrol at Cardrona Alpine Resort have recorded 185cm of accumulated snow fall for the season to date with the average over for the last 10 years standing at 160cm for the whole season.

Tiered ticket pricing for day passes at Treble Cone and Snow Park NZ provides great value skiing and riding during the off-peak month of September with adult day passes as low as $65 at Snow Park and $89 at Treble Cone. Both mountains have also launched a Spring Pass from the 1st September costing $399 at Snow Park NZ and $389 at Treble Cone.

Night skiing on Tuesdays and Fridays (5pm-9pm) at Snow Park NZ continues through September with lift passes only $35 for adults. The dedicated 1km-long sled run, the first of its kind in the southern hemisphere will also operate through to October, with sleds rented out by the hour and access via the Snow Park NZ chairlift.

A lively and fun selection of events will be staged across the region during the coming months, including: The Billabong Bro Down (28-29 Aug) at Snow Park, a quarter pipe and big air event, Ski Sail Race (10-12 Sept) at Treble Cone and on Lake Wanaka, the Eukanuba NZ Dog Sled Championship (31 Aug-4 Sept) at Snow Farm, the popular Mountain 2 Mountain (12 Sept) multisport race and the Cardrona Kids Festival (30 Sept-2 Oct). The 100% Pure New Zealand Winter Games is running throughout the region until 30 August.

James Helmore, general manager of Lake Wanaka Tourism believes spring is an excellent time to visit Lake Wanaka, “Visitors get the best of all seasons and can enjoy a variety of activities on and off the mountain. Skiing and snowboarding in the morning to wine tours and or a game of golf in the afternoon, the climate makes for a well rounded trip,” he said.

For September deals in Lake Wanaka, visit www.skilakewanaka.com.