Stephanie Jagger achieved a staggering 12,000 vertical metres at Cardrona Alpine Resort and over 15,200 vertical metres at Treble Cone Ski Area as she descended what she rates as her favourite New Zealand ski areas. And Stephanie Jagger was blown away by the success, stating that results like this could usually only be expected from North America and maybe Europe. The skier says: “Hopefully, my trip will serve as a reminder that any one person can achieve what they want to and end up living a dream in a town as beautiful as Wanaka, even if it’s just for a week. […] Treble Cone and the people in Wanaka are true salt of the Earth. Loved it!”

Stephanie has already skied for two months and will continue around the world in the next eight months to achieve her goal. Next on her list are the New Zealand ski areas of Broken River, Porters, Temple Basin and Mt Hutt. Brown Bear reckons we can only congratulate such a New Zealand fan and ski-holic with her achievements!

Several top names amongst the US and European mountain skiers came to Mount Ruapehu’s Whakapapa Ski Area to compete for places on the Freeride World Tour and big prize money. However, at the 2010 Export 33 Xtreme two New Zealanders took out the women’s and the men’s titles of the Mother Snowboard Challenge. Kiwi Maria Kuzma was followed by Malin Lindroos from Finland and Adeline Gervais from France. In the men’s section the competition finished with an all-Kiwi podium of Callum Goodwin first, Jordan Decker second and Scotty Heale third.

The finals of the Export 33 Xtreme had to be interrupted due to bad weather and results from the first two rounds had to be taken. This left New Zealander Nicola Evens in first place, followed by Sophia Mitteregger from Austria and Caroline Jeandet from Switzerland.

The open men’s event was dominated by Swiss skier Romain Bellom, with Fabian Lentsch from Austria and New Zealander Sam Smoothy coming second and third. “We were really impressed with the calibre of big mountain skiers and boarders who took part in the event,” says Mount Ruapehu Marketing Manager Mike Smith. “The quality of skiing and boarding was exceptional, and we’re extremely proud to know the Kiwis did really well.”

The Mother Snowboard Challenge and Export 33 Xtreme both took place at Whakapapa Ski Area with New Zealand’s best alpine athletes and top international skiers and snowboarders competing for the titles. In the Mother Snowboard Challenge New Zealand managed to take out both the women’s and men’s top spots. Maria Kuzma won in the women’s section, with Malin Lindroos from Finland and Adeline Gervais from France coming second and third. In the men’s competition New Zealand owned the entire podium with Callum Goodwin coming first, Jordan Decker second and Scotty Heale third.

New Zealand also featured strongly in the opening rounds of the Export 33 Xtreme skiing event. At the moment Austrian Fabian Lentsch is followed by Kiwis Sam Smoothy and Geoff Small. In the women’s competitions, Mt Ruapehu local Nicola Evans is in the lead, followed by Sophia Mitteregger from Austria and Caroline Jeandet from Switzerland. The finals of the Export 33 Xtreme will be held tomorrow, and of course Brown Bear keeps his paws crossed for all competing Kiwi skiers and snowboarders!

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.

The BASE Triple Comp begins with the POW Banked Slalom in Treble Cone’s Saddle Basin. The course is designed to test precision and speed. The next competition is the Bern Express Session, a great opportunity for snowboarders and skiers to show off their creativity over a section of natural terrain.

In the afternoon, the Rossignol Big Air will take place at the Saddle Air of Treble Cone Ski Area. Of course the jumps and tricks will be accompanied by music and MCs, and so it’s bound to be a great snow party. $2,000 in cash and products will be up for grabs at the BASE Triple Comp which will be awarded at the prize giving ceremony at Mint Bar in Wanaka. The ceremony will start at 7pm, with a great after-party lined up as well.

BASE Triple Comp: 11 September 2010

Austrian freeskier Lorraine Huber (currently ranked seventh in the world on the Nissan Freeride World Tour 2010) was filmed on the snow and then her technique and stance was analysed by two of Treble Cone’s top coaches. Lorraine Huber says: “I found the lessons hugely beneficial, especially the video analysis.”

Treble Cone’s Private Intense Programme is a two-hour ski technique lesson and includes verbal assessment, filming by a second instructor and a full video analysis. The second hour moves outside to put theory into practice on the diverse slopes of Treble Cone Ski Area. The Private Intense Programme costs $280 and can be booked online or at the Snow Sports office at Treble Cone.

Lorraine Huber Ski Lesson

The event is expected to attract more than 1,000 elite athletes from all over the world to New Zealand’s Southern Alps. In 2009 the inaugural 100% Pure New Zealand Winter Games made history by producing the first winter sports event of its kind outside of the Olympics. The Winter Games also combined able-bodied and adaptive athletes – a real novelty! In 2009, a stunning ten Olympic and seven Paralympic medallists competed at the New Zealand event.

For 2011 the provisional programme has been expanded with the Adaptive Super G and Super G alpine skiing events now planned to be held at Mt Hutt. Further snow competitions will take place at Coronet Peak, while Dunedin will be the focus for ice sports such as speed skating, figure skating and ice hockey, and the curling programme will be held in Naseby. Snow Farm Ski Area is scheduled to host the able-bodied and adaptive cross country competition and the brand-new Winter Triathlon, while Cardrona Alpine Resort will host the free ski and snowboard halfpipe and big air competitions alongside the snowboard and ski cross racing. Finally,the  snowboard and freeski slopestyle competitions will take place at Snow Park NZ.

100% Pure New Zealand Winter Games 2011: 13 – 28 August 2011

On Saturday the Freestyle Ski Cross competitions of the 2010 FIS Junior World Championships took place at Cardrona Alpine Resort. In the women’s section Fanny Smith from Switzerland took out the title after a fierce final, with Katrin Ofner from Austria and Yulia Livinskaya from Russia coming second and third. Fanny Smith said: “It was a great race and very tough. I didn’t start as well as I could have but I came here to win […] and it worked!

The men’s race was just as thrilling: Norwegian Didrik Bastian Juell came first after qualifying in third. His team mate Morten Ring Christensen and Georgy Kornilov from Russia rounded the podium. Didrik Bastian Juell couldn’t believe that he actually won the title: “It’s amazing and I never expected this – it’s quite a shock!”

On Sunday the centre of the action was Cardrona’s massive 22-foot halfpipe with the Freestyle Ski Halfpipe competitions taking place. The start of Sunday’s FIS Junior World Championship competitions were delayed as the superpipe had to be emptied after heavy snowfall. But from 1pm everything ran smoothly – especially for Noah Bowman from Canada and Britta Sigourney from the USA who took out the titles.

In the men’s section Walter Wood from the USA and Kristopher Atkinson from Canada came second and third. However, the men’s finals had to be decided on just one run due to dense fog which was disappointing for New Zealand skier Byron Wells who didn’t land his first run.

In the women’s Freestyle Ski Halfpipe competition the finals also reverted to a one-run final. Here, Hannah Haupt from the USA came second and Devin Logan earned bronze. At the end of the competition the USA received the Nations Trophy as the most successful nation in the freestyle ski disciplines.

The final event of the 2010 FIS Snowboard & Freestyle Junior World Championships will take place tomorrow. The Champs will end with live music, the Snowboard Big Air and the official closing ceremony.

Noah Bowman from Canada

Freeski Ski Cross Women's Final

Freeski Ski Cross Men's Final

Olympic medal-winning skiers from top-countries such as Germany, the US, Norway and Russia all flocked to Cardona Alpine Resort to set up camp during the Southern Hemisphere winter. The New Zealand High Performance Centre Women’s Team has undergone world-class training with many of the ski racing medal winners from the Vancouver Winter Olympics! And the international competition has certainly pushed Kiwi skiers to some great results. Lucie Tait-Jamieson, for example, has won the first three FIS events, and Taylor Smith recorded her first ever podium finishes.

Some of the top names training at New Zealand’s Cardrona Alpine Resort are Julia Mancuso and Bode Miller from the US, Viktoria Rebensburg from Germany and Aksel Lund Svindal from Norway.

The ski and snowboard stars took on the 40 foot big air jump in Treble Cone’s Saddle Basin, showcasing flips, tricks and big air with stunts ranging from Rodeo 5s and corked spins to 1080s. In the men’s ski competition Wanaka local Hamish McDougall came first and his brother Fraser McDougall second, while snowboarder Jim Dabbadrie topped the podium in the men’s snowboard section. New Zealander Hadley Boyle came third in the snowboard section, and Daniela Darilova from Slovakia claimed the snowboard title for the women’s competition. Amongst the young’uns ten-year-old Finn Bilous and twelve-year-old Hank Bilous stood out, achieving third and fourth overall in the men’s ski competition.

The second Racers Edge-Volkl Big Air is scheduled for Saturday 4 September and it’s definitely worth coming. Last weekend there were plenty of giveaways for the crowd and great music, and Brown Bear is sure it’ll be just as good in two weeks’ time.

Second Racers Edge-Volkl Big Air: 4 September 2010

Men's Ski Winner Hamish McDougall