Invincible Snowfields is a private
ski resort
A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In Nort ...
near
Glenorchy in the
South Island of New Zealand.
The area is about one hour's drive west of
Queenstown and is close to
Lake Wakatipu
Lake Wakatipu ( mi, Whakatipu Waimāori) is an inland lake ( finger lake) in the South Island of New Zealand. It is in the southwest corner of the Otago region, near its boundary with Southland. ''Lake Wakatipu'' comes from the original Māori n ...
. Although it is a commercial operation, the field has few facilities and is run like an old fashioned
club field, with its main drawcards being the backcountry terrain and feel, and it is targeted at advanced riders looking for natural chutes and gullies.
[ There are no groomed trails. The field has a single 750m "nutcracker"-style ]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-c ...
, installed in 1996, powered by an old Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
tractor.
Access to the field is by helicopter from a site close to Glenorchy.[ The only accommodation available is a 10-person ]hut
A hut is a small dwelling, which may be constructed of various local materials. Huts are a type of vernacular architecture because they are built of readily available materials such as wood, snow, ice, stone, grass, palm leaves, branches, hid ...
equipped with a wood fire and gas stove.[Invincible Snowfields]
Accessed 18/5/7
The field is part of Rees Valley Station, a 7290ha high country sheep station. Extensive snow cover on this property led to the development of both heli-skiing
Heli-skiing is off-trail, downhill skiing or snowboarding where the skier reaches the top of the mountain by helicopter, instead of a ski lift.
History
In the late 1950s, helicopters were used in Alaska and Europe to access remote terrain. The i ...
and the Invincible Snowfields operation.[
Visitors to the field need to fend for themselves, carrying ski-touring equipment to ensure their own safety. This includes staying in a group and wearing an ]avalanche transceiver
An avalanche transceiver or avalanche beacon is a type of emergency locator beacon, a radio transceiver (a transmitter and receiver in one unit) operating at 457 kHz for the purpose of finding people buried under snow. They are widely carri ...
(beacon).[
]
References
External links
Company website
Ski areas and resorts in Otago
{{Ski-resort-stub