Mount Potts is a specialist

backcountry skiing Backcountry skiing ( US), also called off-piste (Europe), alpine touring, or out-of-area, is skiing in the backcountry on unmarked or unpatrolled areas either inside or outside a ski resort's boundaries. This contrasts with alpine skiing, which i ...

base in

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. Unlike normal resorts, there are no fixed ski tows or chairlifts. Instead, vertical transport is provided by snowcats and helicopter. The ski area covers 660 hectares and includes, "steep faces, chutes, rocks to drop off, cornices, wide open powder bowls and gullies" Description of the terrain from area website
/ref> Mount Potts is an hour's drive from Methven, and two hours' drive from

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

; on site there is a modern lodge for accommodation. Although Mount Potts is on private land, it has an easy access point from the

Mount Somers Mount Somers ( mi, Te Kiekie) is a small town in Canterbury, New Zealand, nestled in the foothills of the Southern Alps. The population in the 2001 census was 2,307. Due to its scenic location, it has seen growth in the number of holiday homes ...

road. The area is becoming more popular with tourists, after the filming of ''

The Lord Of The Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...

'' trilogy. Of special interest to these tourists, is the small hill in the centre of the plain, called Mount Sunday, which was the home of

Edoras Rohan is a fictional kingdom of Men in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy setting of Middle-earth. Known for its horsemen, the Rohirrim, Rohan provides its ally Gondor with cavalry. Its territory is mainly grassland. The Rohirrim call their land the ...

in the films. A recently added trek route has been put in so people can walk up to Mount Sunday and even climb it in relative safety.

References

External links

*http://www.mtpotts.co.nz/

Potts Potts may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Doc Potts, animated television series *Tom Potts, Child ballad 109 * The Potts, said to be the world's longest-running cartoon strip drawn by the same artist Mathematics *Potts model, model of interac ...

{{Ski-resort-stub

See also

References

External links