Mt Hutt is ready to open with a little more normalcy this Friday, June 12, after New Zealand made the move to Level 1 last night.
NZSki CEO Paul Anderson says the team at Mt Hutt have welcomed the news and are stoked to be opening this weekend.
“Level 1 looks like a little more of a normal season for us operationally. We won’t have to manage physical distancing in lift queues or on chairlifts, and it gives our food and beverage more flexibility in their offering.
“At Mt Hutt it means we can run at capacity with around 3500 people on the slopes, rather than half of that under Level 2. With this, we can now confirm we will be open daily from July 1 once we have increased our staff numbers to allow us to operate with more people on the mountain.”
At Coronet Peak and The Remarkables, planned opening days and hours will largely stay the same at Level 1 unless demand increases. However, Paul confirms The Remarkables season will be extended to open daily during the October school holidays, with a new scheduled closing date of Sunday, October 11.
“Australians make up 30-40 per cent of our visitation in Queenstown so we’re still expecting a quieter season. If demand requires it or a trans-Tasman bubble opened up then we do have the ability to scale up our operations.
“Across all three mountains we will still be implementing enhanced hygiene standards, encouraging guests to check-in with the government COVID-19 app and have the ability to contact trace through our lift passes and RFID scanners,” Paul says.
To encourage more Kiwis to give snowsports a go this winter, the company is offering up a few new deals including extending their Earlybird multi-day lift pass sale, 10 per cent off when you book online, upgrading day passes to a ‘Queenstown Superpass’ and extending the ‘Kids under 10 Ski Free’ deal to all three mountains.
To celebrate moving to Level 1, the company is running their Earlybird multi-day pass sale through until Monday, June 15, giving people the opportunity to ski or board for less than $75 a day.
Day lift passes will be automatically upgraded to a Queenstown Superpass, giving guests more flexibility on days they decide not so ski and the ability to use part of the cost of their lift pass as credit for activities or dining around Queenstown.
To encourage guests to book online all lift passes and snowsports products will have 10 per cent off.
Finally, the company has decided to extend their popular ‘Kids under 10 ski for free’ deal to both Queenstown mountains. This gives kids under the age of 10 years old a free day pass with each adult lift pass purchased.
“We know Kiwis are looking forward to exploring their own backyard this winter, so we hope to see them up on the slopes taking advantage of these deals,” Paul says.
Ski area opening dates and hours are:
Mt Hutt
Scheduled opening: Friday, June 12, 2020
Scheduled closing: Sunday. October 11, 2020
Operating hours: Five days a week until July 1, then daily for the rest of the season.
The Remarkables
Scheduled opening: Saturday, July 4, 2020
Scheduled closing: Sunday, October 11, 2020
Operating hours: Daily for the first two weeks during July school holidays then weekends at a minimum. Daily during last two weeks during October school holidays.
Coronet Peak
Scheduled opening: Friday, June 26, 2020
Scheduled closing: Sunday, September 27, 2020
Operating hours: Daily, including First Tracks from 8am-9am, and Night Skis every Wednesday and Friday night in July and August.
