2018
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CONTENTS
CONTRIBUTORS
5
From the GM’s Desk
Geneviève Montreuil
Julie Warmington
6
Gallery
Jen Houltham
Amy Phillips
12
From Concept to Construction
Bridget Legnavsky
Tommy Pyatt
16
The Farm Road to the Sky
Nadia Ellis
Shay Williams
20
Brothers in Arms
James Mulcahy
Hamish McDougall
24
Eyes On: Zoi Sadowski-Synnott
Malcolm Hayes
Mitch Brown
26
Cardrona After Dark
Mark Clinton
Liz Carlson
31
Recipe: Snow Bunny Coffee by the Cardrona Distillery
Quentin Kenning
Robert Smith
Jason Beacham
Emil Vejlens
32
Recipe: Asian Chicken Noodle Soup
Julian Apse
Stef Zeestraten
34
Behind the Scenes
Danny Warley
Alex Kerr
36
Grassroots to Gold
Gareth Huston
Jen Langton
40
Geared Up
Simon Taverner
Charlotte Cretney
42
We Are Family
46
Meet Pengi – the Tawaki
48
Kids’ Puzzles
John & Mary Lee
50
Insider’s Guide to Summer
Graham Dunbar
54
2018 Events Calendar
Mat Woods
THANKS TO
Russ McIntosh Zoi Sadowski- Synnott In loving memory of Tom Campbell 1990-2017
C OV E R: JAC K S O N W E L L S & C A R LO S GA RC I A-K N I G H T BY M A R K C L I N TO N
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Alex Thom The Cardrona Distillery The Tawaki Project Snow Sports NZ
The Legnavsky family The Hedley-Dunbar family The Cohen family The Beaton family Alliance Print Warren & Mahoney The team at Cardrona Alpine Resort
FROM THE GM’S DESK BY BRIDGET LEGNAVSKY
Kia ora Medals & a stunning performance from our whanau at the Olympics just has to be acknowledged. What a way for us & New Zealand to be internationally recognised as a world-class snow destination with the facilities to produce excellence. Ngā mihi Zoi & Nico, & the whole NZ Olympic team… #proud. I think Cardrona is the best place to be, to work & to bring up a family. This drives us to make sure every person that experiences Cardrona, in whatever way, feels the same sense of belonging to the people & the place. Our growth & investments into our maunga over recent years have been noticed & talked about greatly. I want to make it crystal clear that none of this could happen without the capability of our whanau, our amazing guests, & the support of an incredible community. Without all this we wouldn’t have been able to achieve what we have, & so we know the answer to “He aha te mea nui o te ao?” – “He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata.”
Everything we do is committed to making sure all of our people have a ridiculously good time. Keep us real, make sure we’re nailing it & keep telling us your dreams for the future – our job is to work out how we are going to make them come to life. Aroha, Bridge
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NICO PIRAUD BY Q U E N T I N K E N N I N G
M A R K M AT T H E W S & EMMERSON WILKIN BY J A S O N B E AC H A M M O U N TA I N C A R T I N G BY J U L I A N A P S E
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G E O R G E P E N G E L LY BY M A R K C L I N TO N LINCOLN ELLIS & CALEB ALLAN BY DA N N Y WA R L EY S U N R I S E OV E R C A P TA I N ’ S BY DA N N Y WA R L EY
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NICK HYNE BY M A R K C L I N TO N
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MIGUEL PORTEOUS BY DA N N Y WA R L EY
HAMISH McDOUGALL BY DA N N Y WA R L EY
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FROM CONCEPT TO CONSTRUCTION BY G A R E T H H U STO N & S I M O N TAV E R N E R (Warren & Mahoney)
Cardrona provided the Warren & Mahoney design team with a brief that focused on maximising the guest experience & the unique mountain culture of the resort. This was to be achieved by reinterpreting & regenerating the existing buildings through a refurbishment programme staged over 5 years. Cardrona has a unique mountain culture which provides a distinctly Kiwi experience. Warren & Mahoney’s task was to build on this strong culture & enhance the guest experience for years to come. In order to do this, we had to view our work through the lens of the guest. To understand this culture, Warren & Mahoney held an initial creative planning workshop with Cardrona staff where we brainstormed ideas on what makes a great experience for guests who visit the mountain. We looked at the guests’ experience the moment they arrived until the end of their day. Customer experience is central to the project, so it was important that this was defined & then translated into the high-level design strategy which forms the basis of our work at Cardrona. Environmental sustainability was also a key consideration, & it was clear that reinterpreting existing buildings would achieve this requirement. In line with sustainable practices, the new buildings will feature upgraded glazing, insulation, LED lighting & sustainable materials such as rubber flooring. The five-year master plan allows a refurbishment & repurposing of the existing buildings with new décor & design, while respecting the existing design language & with minimal disruption to staff & guests.
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CARDRONA X WA R R E N & MAHONEY
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The Base Café & Mezz projects were scheduled for construction this summer, to be ready for the 2018 winter season. This follows the success of the refurbished Noodle Bar, the Lounge, Little Meg, the mobile Vista Bar & DJ booth, & the game-changing 2017 McDougall’s Chondola project. The Base Café on the ground floor is designed around a central service zone that will provide open plan self-service, supported by the popular Mountain Meals zone. To help with flow & minimise congestion, the Base Café will feature more checkouts & provide café court-type seating to cater to large groups. A recharge zone will bisect the main café & the former Juice & Java outlet. The Mezz, on the first level, will get a makeover to include contemporary private booths & restaurantstyle seating. This will provide guests with an à la carte dining experience that can support extended service for day visitors & overnight apartment guests. One of the biggest challenges for Warren & Mahoney has been to make sure we build on the strong culture the resort has carefully nurtured, & deliver this consistently over five years to make this a project Cardrona can be proud of throughout all phases. Making sure Cardrona’s business & guest experience remains consistent while we do this is one of our main priorities. The next phase of projects are already briefed & in concept design for the 2019 season, providing Cardrona’s guests with an exceptional resort experience, a contemporary Rentals facility offer, seating & lockers, & a weather-protected express lane to the slopes. We’ll be keeping you updated on our progress, so watch this space!
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Your Cardrona pick me up
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THE FARM ROAD TO T H E S K Y
In New Zealand, we take it for granted that if we want to go skiing or snowboarding, most of us will end up driving one of the country’s notorious ski field roads to get to the snow. It’s a part of our daily ritual – the queue of cars at the bottom of the road all putting chains on in the morning, is a good sign you’re going to have a powder-eating day on the slopes.
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It’s not often that we consider the story behind the road, and how & why it was built. We don’t think about the herculean efforts that go into building kilometre after kilometre of road in some of the world’s harshest environments… with precarious drops either side. As we drive up the Cardrona road, we see signs that name each corner & section of the road, but the tales behind how they got those names are not well known. So, we sat down with Cardrona’s founders, John & Mary Lee, to get the inside scoop on those names, & what happened 40 years ago. What made them think building a “high-quality farm road” up to a non-existent ski area was a good idea? Spoiler alert: not many other people thought it was… Cardrona wasn’t a ski area built by skiers; in fact, John Lee wasn’t a skier at all. “When I met John, I thought that was the end of skiing for me because he didn’t like it,” says Mary. Despite this, John hatched the idea to build a ski area when the Cardrona Valley lost its school bus when there were no longer enough children to sustain it. Lack of community resources was a major concern for the family. “Every farm had to pay 100 pounds & every family had to pay 50 pounds to keep the school bus going, & that wasn’t sustainable. So tourism was the answer to bring people to Cardrona. To get the school bus going, I decided to buy Mt Cardrona & build a ski field there,” says John.. “The other option was to make more children,” Mary jokes. The other reason to buy Mt Cardrona was to get a doctor to move to Wanaka. At the time, you’d be lucky to receive the medical attention you needed in time – it was a real issue for the community. John was introduced to Auckland Doctor, Dennis Pezaro, through mutual friend Pat Frengley. Dr Pezaro told John he would move to the small town if he could secure a piece of land near Wanaka. A 60ha spot of land up the Cardrona Valley was owned by Don Mackenzie, who also owned Mt Cardrona. John & Dennis secured that land while negotiating the Mt Cardrona purchase, & Dennis ended up practicing medicine in Wanaka for 40 years.
The road took almost five years to build. “I kept running out of money!” says John. At the time, many people told the Lees that they were fools to put another ski area in the same region. That attitude, along with John’s money woes, nearly halted the project. In the ‘70s an international engineer from Doppelmayr Austria visited Mt Cardrona. As he & John walked the ski field, the engineer told John that once in every three years around the world, he saw a piece of terrain that caught his eye. Cardrona was one of them. That gave John the confidence to keep going. John had a strong vision for the road. He knew that if he was to get tourists to Cardrona, they needed to come up in buses, so he designed the road with buses in mind. The result was a [comparatively] wide road with a very mellow incline.
H E K N E W T H AT I F H E WA S T O G E T TOURISTS TO CARDRONA, THEY NEEDED TO COME UP IN BUSES, SO HE DESIGNED THE ROAD WITH B U S E S I N M I N D.
Almost 40 years later the “farm road” is still going strong. Vehicles of all types head up the road John & his friends built together all those years ago, to send their occupants skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking, sightseeing & more. John & Mary’s quest to build something that would help their community is a spirit you see right through the resort today – a spirit of working together, whilst challenging conventional thinking.
Now proud owner of Mt Cardrona, John began to make his ski field dream a reality. A farmer could, as his right, put a road in on his own land back then. So John put the road in, & once it was done, he made an application to the council for resource consent for a ski field. They couldn’t look at the road as part of the application, because it was already there!
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19 TOW H U T C O R N E R / The location of the original rope tow lift hut of the Cardrona Ski Field.
20 S C U R R’ S C O R N E R / John Young
& Kevin Capell did a little bit of fenceshifting to fit the road in. A corner of the road ended up crossing Tim Scurr’s property. “Tim wasn’t worried… I don’t think he really knew!” says John.
YO U N G ’ S B LU F F / Named after road contractor, John Young – another precarious spot where the diggers teetered over the steep bluffs as they pushed the road through.
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M I ST Y C O R N E R / “There was always fog there, & we struggled to find the pegs I’d put in there because of it,” says John.
S P E E D ’ S ST R A I G H T / Named after John Young - his nickname was Speed! It’s the first real straight in the road, & Speed just wanted to keep going to get it completed.
10 11
S A L LY ’ S C O R N E R / Named after Sally Frengley (Pat’s wife). “She’d lost my pocket knife!” says John. “She was terribly upset about it so we called it Sally’s Corner!”
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H E L I C O P T E R F L AT / In 1978 the Lees operated heli-accessed skiing at Cardrona. Helicopter Flat was where the helicopter landed & where the skiers would ski out to at the end of the day. They made a profit that year – just $100!
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C E M E T E RY H I L L
3 .
LASSIE’S CORNER
6.
J AC K’ S C O R N E R
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E D D I E ’ S C AT T L E STO P ( on h ol d g ate )
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DA R K S I D E
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FO O L’ S C O R N E R
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PRINGLES CREEK
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F R E N G L E Y ’ S FO L LY
C A P E L L’ S B LU F F / Named after Kevin Capell of Hawea, one of the two contractors who worked on the road. The steep terrain at Capell’s Bluff was treacherous. Kevin’s skillful tenacity, & nerves of steel, pushed the road through.
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L A S S I E ’ S C O R N E R / Named after a horse called Lassie – not the only feature at Cardrona named after a horse (have you skied out at Captain’s lately…)!!
FO O L’ S C O R N E R / At the time, a comment was made that the road was going in the wrong direction – John, his surveyors & contractors were clearly fools! 3 5 4
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8
2
F R E N G L E Y ’ S FO L LY / Named after Pat
Frengley, who used to look up at the road & grumble about how the diggers hadn’t moved past the corner in days. Pat knew how much money they’d already poured into the road, & had no idea how they were going to fund the project going forward! 1
9.
H E L I C O P T E R F L AT
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C A P E L L’ S B LU F F
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M I ST Y C O R N E R
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S L I D E ST R A I G H T
1 0. P E Z A R O ’ S C O R N E R
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S P E E D ’ S ST R A I G H T
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CHUKKA CORNER
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TOW H U T C O R N E R
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YO U N G’ S B LU F F
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S C U R R’ S C O R N E R
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S A L LY ’ S C O R N E R
BROTHERS IN ARMS For a small NZ town, Wanaka has produced an uncanny number of talented freeskiing brothers who are all achieving big things on the world stage. Meet the Wells, Porteous & Bilous brothers.
THE WELLS BROTHERS Jossi, Byron, Beau-James & Jackson
Possibly the most famous freeskiing brothers in the world, the Wells boys were practically raised at Cardrona. Their parents, Bruce & Stacey, started working at the resort in the 1990s & the boys learnt to ski as toddlers. Before long they were regular faces in Cardrona’s pipe & park & quickly rose in the world rankings. The brothers have represented NZ in World Cups, X Games & the Winter Olympics. All four brothers are freeskiing all-rounders, with oldest brother Jossi having achieved massive results in halfpipe, slopestyle & big air. When Jossi won an X Games gold in slopestyle in 2016, Cardrona celebrated by launching the Jossi Wells Invitational event – which is back for a third year in 2018. Byron & Beau-James are both major competitors in halfpipe, while youngest Wacko (Jackson) gravitated to slopestyle/big air. Wacko was the first skier in the world to land a quad cork, at Cardrona in Winter 2016. He also took home bronze in Big Air at X Games Norway in 2017. All four Wells brothers were selected to represent NZ in PyeongChang. Disappointment followed for Jossi who had to withdraw his slopestyle entry due to a niggly knee injury. Jackson went on to represent the family on the slopestyle course. After the top rail section didn’t go his way, Wacko paid tribute to Jossi with a run of zero-spins. Byron & Beau-James qualified 4th & 5th respectively in the halfpipe qualifiers. In one NZ’s most heart-breaking Olympic moments, Byron broke his patella in practice. The unflappable Beau-James took on the final in true Wells fashion, putting down an absolute banger of a run that saw him narrowly miss out on the podium in 4th place. The Wells boys are such a dominant force in world freeskiing – they are an inspiration to an entire generation of skiers! We can’t wait to see what they bring next.
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THE PORTEOUS BROTHERS Miguel & Nico
The Porteous brothers have been on the up & up over the past couple of years, with both brothers achieving some HUGE results as they compete with & against each other in freeski halfpipe. Miguel & Nico started training at Cardrona when they were wee groms, getting early recognition in the NZ Junior Nationals. Nico blasted into the freeski spotlight when he became the youngest person to land a triple cork 1440, at Cardrona in 2016. Later that season he was picked up by Red Bull, becoming the first freeski athlete on the NZ Red Bull Team. Not to be outdone, Miguel secured a last-minute entry in the 2017 X Games in Aspen as an alternate in halfpipe, surprising everyone when he took away the silver medal on debut.
all expectations, including his own. His second run score of 94.8 in finals shot the 16-year-old to instant stardom as he walked away with the bronze – New Zealand’s first ever male Winter Olympic medallist! Nico & Miguel are two Kiwi sporting talents to watch out for – you definitely haven’t heard the Porteous name for the last time!
The boys made the decision to focus on halfpipe in preparation for the 2018 Winter Olympics. The move paid off when Nico qualified for finals in 11th & went on to defy
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THE BILOUS BROTHERS Hank & Finn
With their lineage, you’d imagine that out of all the freeski disciplines, the Bilous boys would be top freeride skiers. Their dad, Pete, is one of New Zealand’s foremost mountain guides & has been taking his two sons on backcountry missions from a very early age. When your dad’s a heli-guide, “take your kid to work day” takes on a whole new meaning… Oldest brother Hank has followed the freeride path, last winter claiming victory in the North Face Frontier 4-star Freeride World Tour qualifier & continuing to podium throughout the 2017/18 Northern Hemisphere qualifying tour. Younger brother Finn took a different route, opting to compete in slopestyle. He was one of three Kiwis to qualify for PyeongChang in freeski slopestyle, & just missed out on qualifying for finals by 0.6 of a point! These two brothers are making a big impact in their chosen disciplines – keep an eye out for them both in the next few years.
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EYES ON
Zoi SadowskiSynnott
In February, all eyes were on 16-year-old Zoi SadowskiSynnott as she became New Zealand’s first Winter Olympic medallist in 26 years, claiming a bronze medal in women’s big air. We had a chat to the young Cardrona team rider about her career so far, & her hopes for the future.
Age: 16 Started snowboarding age: 8 or 9 Regular/goofy: Regular Disciplines: Slopestyle & Big Air Sponsors: Red Bull, Von Zipper, Nitro, Union, Rad Gloves, Cardrona Alpine Resort Favourite Trick: Front 3 or back 1
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Tell us about your early childhood memories of snowboarding in Wanaka: I went for a lesson up Snow Park NZ with my sister during night riding & that was probably my earliest memory. What’s the scariest thing that’s ever happened to you on the snow? I caught toes on the take-off of a front 7 on the third jump at Cardrona (so a really big jump), & pretty much superman front flipped over & landed on my shoulder which was really scary! How’d you get into competitive snowboarding? My first competition was in Whistler, Canada. I won a phone at the comp because I was the only girl & it was a spot prize, so that was really cool.
What was the craziest thing about winning a bronze medal for New Zealand? Probably not realising it was the first medal for New Zealand in 26 years, & how much of a big deal that was. I wasn’t expecting the reaction. How do you deal with the pressure of high-level competition? I don’t feel any pressure when I’m snowboarding – I just do me. When I’m snowboarding I don’t worry about anyone else. Who do you look up to in & outside of snowboarding? In snowboarding I look up to my coach, Mitch Brown. Firstly he’s got the best style, & then he just knows what to do in every situation – in competition & out of competition, he just knows what it’s like. He’s a good role model & I’m really lucky to have him as a coach. Outside of snowboarding, I look up to my parents & my siblings.
Which of your achievements outside of snowboarding are you most proud of & why? I don’t have much of a life outside of snowboarding! I’m proud that I’ve made it this far in school – I didn’t really expect to still be in school. It’s really hard to get through it all so I’m proud of that. What are your goals from here? I’m definitely looking at China in 2022. Then my goal is just to keep having fun & staying healthy so hopefully I have a long career.
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CARDRONA AFTER DARK BY LIZ CARLSON
@youngadventuress
Nothing beats a bluebird powder day on your favorite mountain in New Zealand. The familiar sound of our skis whipping through the fresh snow, the laughter & pure joy can only come from a perfect winter’s day on the hill. Followed up by aprés-ski by the fire with friends as the sun dips behind the mountains, it’s easily a feeling that gets under your skin & brings us back to places like Cardrona again & again. As we head home, tired but filled with happiness, on the surface it might seem like the mountains are also calling it a day. But I’ll let you in on a little secret: when the sun goes down, the party is only just getting started & that’s when things really get interesting. The surrounding mountains turn gold then red before sinking into darkness as the last stragglers of the day wind their way down the dirt roads to the valley below. The bright stars & planets begin to shine, illuminating a whole new world few get to see. But now’s your chance. Last year Cardrona lifted the curtain on one of New Zealand’s most iconic mountains, giving visitors a rare glimpse into the hive of activity that can only happen when the crowds
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have gone home to bed. If you think that only the groomers get to see the stunning show that is the Cardrona Valley night sky then you are sadly mistaken because you now can too. Zip up the winding road at sunset & have a comfortable dinner with friends as the stars begin to show their faces. After that, you can join in on one of the incredible new stargazing tours & learn everything you couldn’t even imagine about the heavens. You can even stay the night on the mountain in the apartments.
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BY DA N N Y WA R L EY
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It was unusually warm in town below but I knew I had to bundle up for the last stargazing tour of the winter season at Cardrona last year. While it felt weird to swap back from jandals to boots & from a cap to a beanie & mittens, I was stoked to head back up my local hill for my first stargazing tour in New Zealand. While an avid photographer & amateur admirer of the night sky here, I knew little about what made these distant planets tick & what constellations went where. I can’t even be relied upon to find the most basic of stars or even the Southern Cross. Time to change that. In between cups of hot tea & biscuits, I finally was able to expand my knowledge of the stunning night skies here, peering through a world-class telescope & looking for nebulae or the moons of a planet. In total darkness with a million stars above you that are both an unimaginable distance away & an age you can’t begin to wrap your head around, it’s easy to feel small & insignificant & really feel the true power of the wild land here in New Zealand. I can promise you’ll climb into bed afterwards tired, probably a bit cold, filled with wonder & a cheesy grin on your face that’ll take days to disappear. So much work goes into prepping the mountain for us day folks to enjoy. It’s easy to not notice as you whip down your favourite runs with friends, but a lot of sweat & effort after dark goes into to keeping Cardrona tidy & pleasant for us lot to relish in when the sun’s up. Even though the lifts stop at 4pm, that doesn’t mean that the mountain goes quiet. While everyone headed to bed after stargazing, I stuck around Cardrona with Ski Patrol, riding around with the groomers all night in the snow & learning what really makes Cardrona’s heart beat after dark.
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While the trickiest bit might be climbing into the groomer without falling on your face, it’s really impressive how they manage to make all the tracks pristine after dark in time for us to enjoy the next day. Speaking as someone who got yelled at continuously as a kid for not mowing the lawn in nice neat rows, it seems an impossible task, especially in the dark. But with state of the art technology to help along with plenty of radio banter with the team, there’s a community spirit after dark at Cardrona that’s hard to even put into words. They’re folks who love their job, love the snow & love the mountain, which so many of us can relate to. After all, what more could you want?
Snow Bunny Coffee •
45 ml Rose Rabbit Orange Liqueur
•
130 ml fresh hot black espresso
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50 ml double cream
•
Orange peel for garnish
Combine coffee and Rose Rabbit Orange in your serving glass. Lightly whip the cream, ensuring it is still of pouring consistency. Pour cream over the back of a spoon close to the surface of the coffee, allowing it to spread across the surface. Garnish with a thin sliver of orange peel and three coffee beans. Energise yourself before or after hitting the slopes with the contrast of strong hot coffee and zest, sipped through cold velvety cream.
w w w. c a r d r o n a d i s t i l l e r y. c o m Located in the beautiful Cardrona Valley, the Cardrona Distillery offers 3 exquisite handcrafted spirits; Rose Rabbit Orange Liqueur, the reid Single Malt Vodka, and the Source Pure Cardrona Gin. Open 7 days witb daily tours and seasonal cocktails on offer all year round, along with antipasto platters, the distillery is well worth a visit or two. H E A RT O F G O L D 31
ASIAN CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP
BY CARDRONA EXECUTIVE CHEF ROB SMITH
BROTH – Serves 5-6: 1kg chicken carcasses ; 1/2 white onion, peeled & roughly chopped ; 1 medium carrot, peeled & roughly chopped ; 2 garlic cloves, peeled ; 40g ginger root, peeled & roughly chopped ; 1 cinnamon stick ; 5g dried whole chillies ; 5g star anise ; 1/4tsp whole black pepper corns ; 1/2tsp whole coriander seeds ; 2L water ; 1/2 lemongrass stalk ; 5g dried shiitake mushrooms ; 5g salt
– Roast the bones in the oven at 200°C for 30mins until golden brown – Fry the vegetables off in a large pan with a touch of oil on a medium heat – Dry roast the spices in the oven at 170°C for 4mins on a flat tray – Add the spices to the vegetable & stir for 1min on medium heat – Add the bones to the pan & stir everything for 1min – Add the water & bring to a simmer – Add the lemongrass, shiitake & salt to the pan – Simmer gently for 2 hours, skimming the foam from the top of the pan every 10mins – Strain stock through a fine sieve into a separate medium sized pan
PER BOWL: 100g soaked vermicelli noodle ; 100g shredded cooked chicken ; 20g spinach ; 20g shredded carrot ; 20g bean sprouts ; 1/2 shredded spring onion ; 1tbsp roughly chopped coriander
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– Place all of the ingredients in a warmed bowl – Pour over 250ml of boiling hot broth – Serve immediately
Good times Good times Queenstown, nZ Queenstown, nZ
Freeskier / Badass Shepherd: Pete Oswald Photographer: Dan Power
Freeskier / Badass Shepherd: Pete Oswald Photographer: Dan Power
Great tap beer, and epic stories, at Captain’s all winter long
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Behind the SCENES
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It’s a memorable moment in New Zealand sporting history: Monday 15 March 2010, Vancouver, Canada. New Zealand skier Adam Hall holds an impressive two second lead over the field in the men’s Para alpine skiing slalom at the Paralympic Winter Games. The gold medal is all but in the bag, then, disaster strikes. A few gates from the finish & Hall loses his edge, skids on to his side & looks, to all intents & purposes, to have slid right out of medal contention. But, as the saying goes, you can’t keep a good man down, & especially not a man with a decade-long dream of winning that medal.
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Hall scrambles back up & crosses the finish line with a 0.57s lead. In the words of the TV commentator: “But he still wins it, unbelievable!” Check it out on YouTube, it’s a lesson to us all on never, ever giving up. Warning: it’ll also bring a tear to the eye. Eight years on – at the time of writing, summer 2018 – & Adam Hall is preparing to compete at his fourth Paralympic Winter Games alongside sit-skier Corey Peters – silver medallist at the 2014 Sochi Paralympic Winter Games – & Para snowboarder Carl Murphy – X Games & multiple World Cup medallist. New Zealand Para snow sports athletes have been ranked amongst the best in the world since the Paralympic Winter Games began in the 1980s. We won our first medals at the 1984 Games in Innsbruck & have been adding to the trophy cabinet ever since. Cardrona is proud to have played our own small part in the growth & success of Para snow sports as one of the first resorts in New Zealand to establish & fully embrace an adaptive programme, & we are honoured to be the home resort of the NZ Adaptive Snow Sports Team. The team trains at Cardrona five days a week throughout the NZ winter & if you’re an early riser – on the mountain for first lift – you’ll catch them in action.
GRASSROOTS TO GOLD ADAPTIVE SNOW SPORTS AT C A R D R O N A
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As well as providing world-class training & racing facilities for elite athletes, Cardrona is the perfect place for purely recreational, as well as first-time, skiers & snowboarders to enjoy the freedom of the mountains.
for every individual’s needs. You’ll see modified skis & snowboards, sit-skis, frames, outriggers & more out on the Cardrona slopes with our adaptive guests.
Our Adaptive programme, supported by the national sports organisation Snow Sports NZ, is the biggest in the country & caters for beginners right through to experts, ensuring people with physical, sensory & cognitive impairments enjoy their time on the snow. Guests come from throughout New Zealand & all over the world to ski & board with our specially trained instructors, & enjoy easy lift access to our terrain. The term “adaptive” comes from how the programme adapts both the sport & the equipment to cater
We also have an amazing team of volunteers on hand to help out in lessons, with equipment & to assist guests on the mountain. “I have been skiing at Cardrona for over 20 years,“ says Adam Hall. ”Everyone up there is really friendly & will do their best to help you have the best experience up on the mountain.”
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THE LATEST BURTON GEAR IS HERE
AT THE CARDRONA GENERAL STORE H E A RT O F G O L D   39
GEARED UP 1 2 3
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Our retail team’s tips for looking extra suave on the slopes this winter! If you’ve left something at home, or just want some fresh threads… from head to toe, we’ve got you covered! 40 H E A RT O F G O L D
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EVERYTHING featured here is available to purchase at Cardrona Corner or the on-mountain Cardrona General Store. 1. Women’s L.A.M.B. x Anon Aera Helmet / $169.99
8. Anon Hooded MFI Clava / $79
2. Oakley Flight Deck XM / $259.99
9. Men’s Anon Raider Helmet / $129
3. Burton Women’s Chuteout Anorak / $389.99
10. Dragon NFX2 Goggles – Jossi Wells / $300
4. POW Women’s Stealth Gloves / $179.99
11. POW Men’s Royal GTX John J Mitt / $169
5. Burton Women’s Party Sock / $44.99
12. Burton Men’s Hilltop Jacket / $399.99
6. Burton Gloria Pants / $349.99
13. Men’s Mercury High Paris Moonboot / $369*
7. Women’s Monaco Low WP Moonboot / $359*
14. Burton Men’s Party Sock / $44.99
* Only available in the Wanaka store
15. Burton Men’s Reserve Bib Pant / $399
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WE ARE
family Cardrona has a big reputation as a family-friendly ski area. Something a lot of people don’t know is that this extends behind the scenes – at Cardrona our kids come to work with us! You’ll find them in our offices before the mountain opens, in Ski Kindy meeting new friends, or honing their skills in local kids’ programmes, Parks Squad or the Cardrona Alpine Ski Team. We got their parents to interview them to see what they really think about life at Cardrona, what Mum &/or Dad really does for a job & more!
DYLAN H E D L E Y- D U N B A R ( 3 ) Mum: Laura Hedley, Cardrona People & Performance Manager / Dad: Graham “Spy” Dunbar, Cardrona GoldX Events Manager
What do you want to be when you grow up?
What do you think Mum & Dad do for work? Mum plays & Dad jumps & drives his snowmobile.
The new Pengi.
What do you like best about Cardrona? I like the skiing. That was the awesome bit. What do you like best about skiing? Jumping & I like my instructor Caleb. We shoot aliens.
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Firefighter / Spider-Man. Who’s your favourite – Pengi or Frosty? Who do you want on your team in a snowball fight? Dad & Mum & Goosy & Zuzu [Legnavsky]. What’s your favourite thing to eat at Cardrona? Pizza!
G U S TAV ( 1 2 ) & Z O R A ( 7 ) L E G N AV S K Y
OLIVER (12) & MIA (10) COHEN
Mum: Bridget Legnavsky, Cardrona General Manager / Dad: Pete Legnavsky, Cardrona Parks Squad Programme Director
Dad: Wes Cohen, Cardrona Ski Instructor
What do you think Mum & Dad do for work? Gustav: Mum keeps the whanau together & makes things as cool as they can be. Dad looks at the future & helps kids achieve their dreams. Zora: Mum basically skis down the mountain & helps everyone. For short she keeps everything in balance. Dad coaches kids to be the best they can be.
What do you like best about skiing or snowboarding?
What do you want to be when you grow up?
What do you think Dad does for work? Oliver & Mia: Dad is a ski instructor. Oliver: Being in the snow. Mia: I like to ski & snowboard because I like to play in the snow & I like to challenge myself in different terrain. What do you want to be when you grow up? Oliver: A animal airport employee in London. Mia: A dance teacher or a skiing instructor.
Gustav: A professional freestyle skier. Zora: I want to work at Cardrona & have a shop with ski fashion.
What’s your favourite thing to eat at Cardrona?
If your mum/dad didn’t work at Cardrona, where would you want them to work?
If your dad didn’t work at Cardrona, where would you want him to work?
Gustav: Can’t think about it. It would be hell. Zora: Zara. Dad can work in the men’s department.
Oliver: If Dad did not work at Cardrona I would like Dad to work at Patagonia the ice cream shop. Mia: At Base 2.
Who’s your favourite staff member at Cardrona?
Oliver & Mia: Polenta fries & pizza at Captain’s & noodles from the Noodle Bar.
Gustav: Tom Campbell…. & the ginger ninja in lifts with the pit vipers. Zora: Carol. She brings light to my day.
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K AT E ( 1 2 ) , A N G U S ( 1 0 ) & A R C H I E ( 3 ) B E AT O N Mum: Fritha Beaton, Cardrona Nursery & Ski Kindy Supervisor
Angus: A snowboard instructor. Archie: I don’t want to do any work.
What do you think Mum does for work? Kate: She makes sure that the Kindy is running smoothly & she’s in charge of all the teachers, & she’s pretty awesome. Angus: Teacher. Archie: Mountain work.
Who’s your favourite – Pengi or Frosty?
What do you like best about Cardrona? Kate: I like its attitude & how it’s fun. Angus: Park & the chairlifts are comfy. Archie: Lyn (one of the Kindy teachers). What do you want to be when you grow up? Kate: A doctor… maybe I could be a medic up the mountain.
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Kate: I can’t choose because it would hurt one of their feelings… but maybe Frosty because he snowboards. Angus: Pengi. Archie: Frosty because I love making snowmen. Who’s your favourite staff member at Cardrona? Kate: The funny Scottish guy on the snow phone. Angus: T but I think he’s called Tiare. Archie: Mum, actually I mean Lyn.
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nguin species in the world
pe Tawaki is the third rarest
us – there are thought to be There aren’t very many of ding pairs of tawaki. between 2500 & 3000 bree
We’re the closest penguin species to Cardrona One of our breeding spots, Harrison Cove in Milford Sound, from the slopes of Cardrona!
We hang out between Heretaniwha Point on the West Coast, all the way down to Southern Fiordland, as well as
We sure love to swim! We tawaki penguins spend up to 80% of our time at sea. The Tawaki Project team have attached GPS dive loggers & our deepest recorded dive so far is 100m, but we’re working on showing them we can go further!
My birthday is in September… just so you know… Tawaki come home from winter migration in June & July to pair up & establish nests – chicks hatch in September.
Fush n’ chups bro! Our favourite food is
rest of our diet.
We need help! warming. There’s still so much you humans don’t know about us, so the best way
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M S K I P Z S N O W E G
E J J C C R T M Y M H R
M W G H W P E N G I J H
O V S A C A R D R O N A
U L N I Z Z M E U C Y L
N E O R O C A H A P C F
T S W L O A S C B W S P
A S B I B F R O S T Y I
I O O F B E G L A T C P
N N A T F O T F K L J E
R S R Z E G O N D O L A
V W D G P F O M Y X E Y
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INSIDER’S GUIDE 50 H E A RT O F G O L D
FIRST RUN OF THE DAY? Cut a lap on Sweet As & find your flow. It may only be a green trail but it’s suuuper fun for all levels!
NZ’S ULTIMATE PICNIC SPOT… Take a short hike from the top of McDougall’s Chondola & soak in the views from NZ’s most accessible summit… you can even buy a fancy picnic lunch to take up with you!
GET MORE BANG FOR YOUR BUCK Every Friday of summer we’re open till 8pm – that means your Friday afternoon half day pass gets you on the lifts for 6.5hrs, for the same price as a regular half day pass! It’s the best deal aaaall week…
IF YOU’RE NERVOUS Book a one-on-one lesson with our qualified, friendly mountain bike instructors & sharpen your skills on the trails so you can tackle them with confidence. We also have bikes to hire on the mountain so you know you’ve got something perfect for our trails & your ability.
TAKE ON THE PEAK TO PUB! Ride one of NZ’s longest downhill trails, feel the burn & quench your thirst at the bottom with a cold drink at the iconic Cardrona Hotel as you pat yourself on the back.
TRY NZ’S ONLY MOUNTAIN CARTS Explore the mountain, race your mates, & have a blast with this unique NZ summer activity! The 3-wheeled, alpine-specialised carts are designed for performance, comfort & safety… you’ll be whooping & hollering the whole way down the mountain!
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STAY THE NIGHT! Have a different experience in your summer playground – watch the sun go down from an on-mountain apartment & score a delicious dinner at the Mezz… you won’t be disappointed!
GET INSPIRED Explore the galaxy with our incredible Stargazing experience. Learn how to navigate by the stars & gaze in wonder at Saturn’s rings & the moons of Jupiter through our Celestron telescope. Add on a 3-course dinner before you head out for the ultimate night-time alpine adventure!
CHECK THE WEBCAMS Is it gloomy down in town? Check the webcams at cardrona.com, we’re often sitting pretty above the clouds!
FEELING PARCHED? Exploring the mountain can be a thirsty affair… come & visit us in The Lounge & take your pick from our huuuge selection of craft beers & wines!
RENT IN TOWN! Stuck for time & want to stay down in town? Rent a bike from our Queenstown (37 Camp St) or Wanaka (20 Helwick St) shops & explore the region at your own pace.
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MOST TERRAIN MOST VERTICAL MORE TO REMEMBER
WITH ACCESS TO 11 MOUNTAIN RANGES AND OVER 600 RUNS, SOUTHERN LAKES HELISKI CAN MAKE YOUR POWDER DREAMS COME TRUE
Book now at Cardrona Ticket Office or Cardrona Corner, Wanaka heliskinz.com T: +64 3 443 6410 E: info@heliskinz.com
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ON THE MOUNTAIN
2018
Summer 17/18 23
Rocky Roller Rhythm & Speed
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Dirtstar Downhill
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Cardrona Mega Avalanche 2018 was the fourth annual Cardrona Mega Avalanche! It was an incredible race with 96 competitors racing in 3 divisions. Conor Macfarlane took top honours in the men’s “hares” division, with Melissa “Mops” Newell taking it out for the ladies.
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Racers Edge Fast Fridays Social Series: Round 1
16
Racers Edge Fast Fridays Social Series: Round 2
nov. dec. jan.
feb. feb.
23-25 feb.
28
feb.
New Zealand National Mountain Bike Championships
2
Racers Edge Fast Fridays Social Series: Round 3
3
Dusty Divas – Ladies Welcome Day
4
Crusty Demons – Masters Welcome Day
9
Racers Edge Fast Fridays Social Series: Final
11
Gravity Enduro
mar. mar. mar. mar. mar.
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Altherm Window Systems NZ Mountain Bike Nationals
Winter 18 9
Welcome to Winter Snow Jam
16
Cardrona Opening Day 2018
jun. jun.
21-24
Real Journeys Queenstown Winter Festival
11
Park Attack Junior Slopestyle #1 – Lil’ Bucks
15
Pīki Maunga Rangatahi (Big Mountain Youth)
21
Park Attack Junior Slopestyle #2 – Antlers Alley
1-4
FIS Tech Series
jun. jul.
jul. jul. aug.
6
Otago Southland Secondary School Champs
9
Special Olympics
aug. aug.
10-11 aug.
12
aug.
Dynastar Ski Masters Cardrona Junior Interfields
14-16
FIS Contintental Cup – Slopestyle & Halfpipe
24-8
Audi quattro Winter Games NZ This year’s Winter Games NZ includes Junior World Champs for Big Air, Halfpipe, Ski & Snowboard Cross, & Slopestyle, as well as a FIS World Cup Big Air event. Watch the Kiwis take on the best in the world!
11-14
Monster Energy Jossi Wells Invitational One of our most highly-anticipated events of 2018 – the third annual Jossi Wells Invitational is set to be another incredible display of the world’s best skiers & snowboarders!
15-16
South Island Secondary School Champs
aug.
aug. sep.
sep.
sep.
18
sep.
Upper Clutha Primary School Champs
22-23
FIS Spring Tech Series
27-29
New Zealand Youth Series
sep. sep.
1-4
NZ Junior Ski & Snowboard Nationals
6-7
NZ Ski & Snowboard Open
oct. oct.
8-21 oct.
14
oct.
High Performance Spring Camp The Fun Never Stops & Cardrona Closing Day 2018
Events calendar is subject to change. Check out cardrona.com/events for current event information. H E A RT O F G O L D 55
CARDRONA.COM
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