Roundhill Ski Area is a family owned and run

ski area A ski area is the terrain and supporting infrastructure where skiing and other snow sports take place. Such sports include alpine and cross-country skiing, snow boarding, tubing, sledding, etc. Ski areas may stand alone or be part of a ski resort. ...

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

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 ...

, in the

Two Thumb Range The Two Thumb Range (sometimes called the Two Thumbs Range) is a range of mountains in the Canterbury Region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located to the east of Lake Tekapo and has several peaks which rise to around . ...

near the town of

Lake Tekapo __NOTOC__ Lake Tekapo ( mi, Takapō) is the second-largest of three roughly parallel lakes running north–south along the northern edge of the Mackenzie Basin in the South Island of New Zealand (the others are Lake Pukaki and Lake Ohau). I ...

, 1.5 hours from

Timaru Timaru (; mi, Te Tihi-o-Maru) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to ...

and 3 hours from both

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 / ...

& Queenstown. The main runs are accessed by a 1.2 kilometre long

T-bar A surface lift is a type of cable transport for snow sports in which skiers and snowboarders remain on the ground as they are pulled uphill. While they were once prevalent, they have been overtaken in popularity by higher-capacity and higher-co ...

(T1) and a shorter T-bar (T2). The ski area caters primarily to beginner and intermediate skiers with extensive use of two snow grooming machines. The base area is at an elevation of with the T-bars reaching Roundhill 28

The "Heritage Express" rope tow was added in 2010. This is a steep 1.5 km long

rope tow A surface lift is a type of cable transport for snow sports in which skiers and snowboarders remain on the ground as they are pulled uphill. While they were once prevalent, they have been overtaken in popularity by higher-capacity and higher-co ...

rising to the Richmond Ridge''"New lift for Roundhill Ski Area"''
/ref> at , to give the field of vertical drop overall; the largest in New Zealand. This opened up a large ungroomed advanced area for skilled skiers and boarders. The Heritage Express is reportedly the longest rope tow in the world. Roundhill 29

The trails have a difficulty distribution of 35% advanced, 45% intermediate & 20% beginners.

References

External links

Roundhill Ski Area
official website
Trail map

''"Roundhill, For Mum, Dad & the Kids"''
review Ski areas and resorts in Canterbury, New Zealand Mackenzie District {{Ski-resort-stub