Luckily, the journey is not always the destination. After all, 40+ hours of traveling in planes, trains and terminals can be quite exhausting in the long run. The only question that remains is whether it's worth the effort to go powdering in faraway New Zealand in the European summer?
New Zealand - Where dreams come true (Trailer) from Kai Stoeckel on Vimeo. It rarely snows all the way down to the highway here in New Zealand, and today this is the case. Fortunately, shortly after our arrival, an Antarctic low is on its way. Good conditions to pay a visit to the local club fields, the roots of skiing in New Zealand. "Access to Broken River Skifield", this road sign on the highway leads us straight into our first adventure. A single-lane gravel road, initially littered with potholes, later filled with snow and ice, winds steeply through the dense beech forest. Around 10 vehicles of like-minded snow fanatics are parked in the parking lot, a "busy day" according to the rest of those present!
Nutcracker
A stand elevator leads directly to the edge of the forest, where a handful of wooden huts are available as accommodation. A five-minute walk to the lift, the infamous Nutcracker lifts are waiting for us: a rope runs straight up the mountain along several pulleys mounted on supports, often powered by a discarded tractor. You clip the rope into the metal nutcracker, which is attached to a waist belt with a cord, and can be pulled up quickly and easily. What sounds simple in theory takes a few attempts in practice... Despite the enormous efforts of everyone present, we didn't manage to track all the runs. Positively impressed by the clubfield culture, we spend the next few days and weeks in Broken River, Craigieburn Valley, Mt. Olympus and Roundhill. The friendliness of the staff, the range of first-class terrain, the absence of groomed pistes, the vibrancy of the deep snow culture is first class. The few other skiers and snowboarders with whom you would otherwise have to share the snow are also very much to our taste. Ski resorts as they should be, reduced to the essentials!
World Heli Challenge
After the first two weeks, it was time to pack up our tents in Canterbury and make our way to Lake Hawea. Eric and Johannes are taking part in the World Heli Challenge there. Lots of top international athletes shake hands here, Travis Rice, Ane Enderud, Aline Bock, Andy Finch and many more spread their breakfast bread at the same table. The Lake Hawea Hotel is now our home for a week, extremely comfortable accommodation and a long-needed change from our mini campervans. The contest venue is reached by helicopter. The "Freestyle Day" is converted into a kicker session due to poor snow conditions, but the following "Extreme Day" takes place in slightly better conditions. While Johannes with start number 1 clearly had too little time to inspect the slope and therefore almost blindly put down a safety run, Eric delivered a performance worth seeing. To the astonishment of many of those present, the judges "only" awarded him seventh place.
Eric's run
Untitled from Kai Stoeckel on Vimeo.
The social program, on the other hand, made for happier moments! Whether it was surfing on the West Coast or the stock car rally, it was definitely a very fun few days with some very funny people! The trip to NZ has definitely been more than worth it. Text: Sebastian FischerPhotos: Kai Stöckel, Sebastian Fischer, Eric Zeller
