Treble Cone T-bar to go higher up mountain

Press, 6 October 1988, Page 36

Treble Cone T-bar to go higher up mountain

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Treble Cone’s bottom Tbar, commonly known as Tl, will be taking a hike next season — several hundred vertical metres up the mountain. The lift is being relocated to the saddle for the 1989 ski

season, thus at long last bringing the summit slopes into full-time play for skiers. The announcement by the dirctors of The Helicopter Line, Ltd, in Wanaka last month means that there will be an extra 275 or so vertical metres to ski next season. There is already a cat track from the existing top Tbar across to the summit saddle, and during the coming summer, the exit from the summit to the top of the double-chairlift will be developed. The new placement of the T-bar is only stage one of future development in the summit area, and all going well, there could be a chairlift up there by 1990,1 hear. The board has also approved investigation into the introduction of snow-making facilities for the existing learners’ and chairlift areas at the base day lodge, again it is hoped for the 1989 season. During this season, many Treble Cone skiers have already had a taste of the reliable snow on those summit slopes, getting up there either by way of a helilift or being towed behind a snowgroomer. I availed myself of the free groomer lift service from the saddle (the ride was built into the ordinary lift ticket price of $39) a couple of weeks ago. The experience of being towed, 19 a time, by groomer was certainly different and the ski run down most enjoyable; the snow was soft and a little heavy, but my weight was enough to provide momentum in a direct route down the fall-line, once the procedure was worked out. On that day, the service was supposed to be operating from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., but on only the third time up the hill the groomer cried enough. The snow was too soft for it to get traction. Fun wind-up With the snow disappearing rapidly from New Zealand skifields, the Cardrona ski area is billing its Spring Fever Festival this Saturday as “the last big bash for 88.” Among the assorted activities will be a mountain bike slalom, an obstacle endurance race and horse riding, the biggest splash of all being reserved for the water jump. The mountain biking

could make for an interesting collision or two with head-to-head competition down Cardrona’s dual race course. A barbecue lunch will be on offer with gluhwein to wash it down. Missing skier The efficiency of ski brakes means that runaway skis are a rare sight these days. On the slopes, the warning cry of "ski," with possible damage to one’s body and equipment impending, used to be as frequent as that of "fore" on the golfing fairways. One day at Mount Hutt recently, there was a variation on the theme as a stray ski hurtled past — with a very large ski boot still in place. The cry of "ski” was soon replaced by that of "boot,” amid general laughter. Watery end Getting wet was a basic requirement of contestants in the Movenpick Trophee New Action event at Treble Cone, Wanaka, last month. At the end of the final event, the glide (on skis) and ride (on mountain bikes) from the top of Treble Cone to Wanaka township, David Hiddlestone. from Queenstown, was the first to perform a somersault off the jetty. Most of the others followed suit, leaping or

riding into Lake Wanaka both on and off their bikes. Bad start Sepp Brunner, the likeable head coach of the New Zealand ski team, was almost, but not quite, one of those Austrian children who learnt to ski before they could walk. The latest ski-team newsletter reveals that Brunner did try the slopes at an early age, but the outcome could not have been more disastrous. At the age of three, little Sepp strapped himself into a handcrafted pair of wooden skis made by his father and took off down the hill. He promptly fell and broke a leg, getting an injury' which bothered him for years. Undeterred, he continued to chase the snow as a youngster and became an accomplished skier; one good enough to make the Austrian national team. The team report also notes that its two Mitsubishi four-wheel-drive vehicles have been getting extensive use this winter, with about 8000 km clocked up in the Pajero alone. Elite bid Patrick Cooper, a below-knee amputee from Ohakune, is trying to join an elite group of disabled skiers by qualifying for an F.I.S. start licence. Cooper has already proved in world class as a disabled skier, winning a slalom silver medal at the 1988 Disabled Winter Olympics in Innsbruck. Austria, last February. At a recent ski dinner, Cooper, aged 20, was awarded the Brian Todd Cup as the 1988 Disabled Skier of the Year. The national squad named at the dinner comprised Cooper, Ed Bickerstaff (Queenstown), Mark Edwards (Christchurch), Loraine Te Punga (Hawke’s Bay), Darryl Gill (Dunedin), along with the new members, Stuart Graham (Auckland), Kevin O’Sullivan (Methven), Angela Sew Hey (Dunedin), Devon Shanks (Dunedin) and Shane Campbel! (Christchurch). O’Sullivan is a three-track skier and Campbell a blind skier. All 10 squad members will be training for the 1990 world disabled ski-ing championships at Winter Park, Colorado.