Temple Basin is a club skifield in Arthur's Pass, in

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 ...

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 ...

. Operated by two clubs, the Temple Basin Ski Club, and the Canterbury University Snow Sports Club, the ski area has 3

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 ...

s, two on-site lodges, two shelters and a ski school and ski shop. The tows cover an elevation range of 1326–1753 metres, for a skiable domain of 320

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...

s. Its natural terrain has been highly recommended by adventure skiers on several occasions. Temple Basin is home to the New Zealand Snow Safety Institute. The New Zealand Snow Safety Institute runs a series of courses throughout the year on aspects of mountaineering and mountain safety. These courses are aimed for climbers, skiers, snowboarders and trampers. The lodges at Temple Basin allows for students to stay on field and watch the snow pack evolve over time aiding the learning of these skills. Temple Basin is approximately 2 hours 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 / ...

by car, followed by a 45-minute walk. Like many

club field In New Zealand, a club skifield is a small ski resort run by a ski club to provide affordable skiing to its members. While members of the public can ski, members of the club receive heavily discounted rates, in exchange for a yearly membership fee ...

s, a good portion of the skiable area is accessible only by hiking, including some hiking between lifts. The field consists of 4 main basins. Cassidy Tow accesses a smooth open basin with beginner and intermediate terrain. Temple Tow accesses an intermediate slope. Between Cassidy and Temple tows a stream gut offers rock faces and snow traps. A short walk from the top of Temple Tow brings users to Downhill Basin and the fields highest Tow. Downhill consists of a wide open bowl with Blimit and Mt Temples peaks above. A traverse and/or hike from the top of Downhill Tow gives users access to Bills Basin, an intermediate basin with a collection of chutes at the bottom. From the top of Downhill tow one can also hike to the peak accessing the Mingha Valley over the ridge. The Mingha, whilst not patrolled, is commonly used by backcountry skiers and snowboarders. This field is just on the Western side of the Southern Alps and so receives significantly more snowstorms than those areas further east.

References

External links

Temple Basin official websiteCanterbury University Snow Sports Club websiteNZ Snow Safety Institute website
Ski areas and resorts in Canterbury, New Zealand Geography of Canterbury, New Zealand {{Ski-resort-stub