By Stu Waddel
Mt Dobson has started well for 2021. The snow fall last week brought plenty of snow through the whole ski area and Two Thumb Range. We traveled south from Christchurch on Sunday, late June, as part of setting up for the Chill pass, saying g'day, and obviously getting the legs and ski stroke going.
Pete Foote greeted us in the car park, and was quick to share both a smile and a good message of the snow we’ve just had. “Stu, I’ve been in these mountains for 60 years and this was the biggest snowfall I have ever seen. It took me three days to get into the ski area, with the place frozen over. “
It’s always great to see Pete, he’s a bit of a hero with my two girls. He’s also wearing a new pair of overalls this season and as usual looks the part. It’s approximitely a 3 hour drive from Christchurch and we arrived around 10am. Dobson is a superb ski area for learners and intermediate skiers. As a whanau with two children we like to start on the platter. It sits below the sunny face and is the first to warm up on the mountain. We then move to the T-bar and when it’s open the Chairlift. For little legs (children) there is plenty of skiing, lots of terrain and a variety of fall lines and changing slopes. The groomers are a piece of magic on the cold mornings, with on-piste skiing the place to be. I’d watched my girls grow into skiing here and they enjoy skiing over the whole mountain.
We had a blast, sunny morning skiing and around mid-day a southerly storm rolled in, eventually closing the mountain. It was our first experience skiing in the snow together, covering us from head to toe. Yes, a little cold but before we knew it, the Tbar was closed and we were the only ones left.
The good-byes today were sweet, a fun day finishing with a Farlie pie at the Foote Rest Cafe. The season is looking good @ Dobson.
Tips
- Stay in Farile at Pinewood or Kimble @ Dobson Motel for affordable accommodation
- Dobson has ski and snowboard hire
- Take a lesson with a local ski instructor
- The coffee is good...as well as the pies.