Sun SnowSport
thewanakasun.co.nz
Finn Bilous looks forward to ski season Daisy Watford
newsdesk@thewanakasun.co.nz
Freestyle skier Finn Bilous arrives back in Wānaka for a “big season of ski training” after his recent trip to the Northern Hemisphere. Despite “a whole new set of challenges” due to Covid 19, Bilous said that he enjoyed spending time in Colorado and Switzerland for the 2021 winter ski season. According to the 21 year old, the team has even more time to focus on skiing this season, due to current travel restrictions. “We have a cool group of people in the team which made it plenty of fun.” The most challenging part of the season was returning to the mandatory 14 day isolation in New Zealand, he said. The skier also posted on Facebook that his decision to leave New Zealand during a global pandemic wasn’t an easy one. “By sticking to bubbles and using copious amounts of hand sanitiser, as a team, we did our best to minimise our exposure and risk to others throughout our travels, training and competitions,” he said. After missing the first World Cup slopestyle in Austria due to a broken collarbone, Bilous joined the New Zealand team in January where he secured a silver medal for the Freeski Slopestyle at the Copper Mountain
PHOTO: Cardrona
The opening of Cardrona has been waylaid for a few days.
Hiatus in Cardrona opening - but snow will come! Pat Deavoll
editor@thewanakasun.co.nz
PHOTO: Snowsports NZ
Finn Bilous is ready for a season of training before he returns to the Northern Hemisphere at the end of the year.
National Championships in Colorado, followed by 7th place at the Silvaplana World Cup in Switzerland. Upon arriving in New Zealand in April, Bilous spent some time exploring the North Island before heading back to Wānaka where he will spend the majority of the winter season. The upcoming season will mostly consist of training at Cardrona Alpine Resort and Treble Cone, along with
highly anticipated competitions including The North Face Frontier, he said. Bilous plans to return to the Northern Hemisphere in October for another season. “I’ve always felt privileged for the position I’m in and very grateful to those who make this lifestyle viable. However, this past year gave me a deeper understanding of this privilege and the opportunities I’ve been able to grasp through skiing. My greatest teacher.”
Cardrona Alpine Resort won't be open to skiers and snowboarders on Saturday as originally planned; instead, the opening day looks like it will be June 18. There isn't quite enough snow to open quite yet, says Manager Bridget Legnavsky. “However the mountain will be open this weekend for sightseeing gondola trips, meals in the restaurants and all the shops will be open,” she said. “Then the mountain will close again from Monday until Thursday with snowmaking a priority – then Friday it will be all go!”
Legnavsky said it has been too warm to operate the snowmakers on the mountain but that Tuesday next week was looking promising with temperatures projected to drop. And with only about a 15 cm snow base on the mountain, snow groomers were unable to operate because they would “mix dirt into the snow.” “Temperatures are looking much colder from early next week and we should be able to get a decent amount of snowmaking done to open for skiing and snowboarding next Friday,” she said. “At the least McDougal’s and the Magic Carpet will be open on Friday.” “One thing we do know is that the snow WILL COME.”
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Peak of Possibility
24 Leeches
Made in Aotearoa
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Airport Wall
Par For The Course
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When Glaciers Go
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