New Zealand — After a snowy week, the newest chairlift in New Zealand is now open.
On June 28th, The Remarkables held its ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Shadow Basin chairlift. The opening ceremony included a special appearance from New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. However, it didn’t open to skiers and riders that day, as The Remarkables didn’t have sufficient snowfall to open it up for shredding.
Thanks to a major dump last week, The Remarkables was officially able to open Shadow Basin to skiers and riders. Due to early season conditions, they’re only recommending that tenured skiers and riders take it on at this point.
In honor of the occasion, they created a song about it. It’s honestly pretty bad, but my opinion may be impacted by it being stuck in my head for the past twelve hours.
This past offseason, The Remarkables replaced the 38-year-old Shadow Basin chairlift with a new Doppelmayr detachable high-speed six-pack. The old fixed-grip quad chairlift had a ride time of eight minutes and twenty seconds. This new chairlift has a ride time of 3 minutes 53 seconds. The uphill capacity has increased by 60%, going from 1,500 to 2,400 people per hour. The new chairlift has a vertical rise of 374m (1227 feet), going further up the mountain than the old chairlift. The new Shadow Basin lift provides access to 47 more hectares (116 acres) of terrain than its predecessor, including a new 183m (600.4 feet) Cushion trail and a 363m (1190.94 feet) expansion to the Calypso run.
In addition, snowmaking has been added to Shadow Basin for the first time ever. They’ve added 18 snowguns to this terrain pod.
This replacement is a game-changer for The Remarkables, making access to some of the best skiing on the South Island easier and more comfortable.
Now, please excuse me while I try to get that song removed from my head.
Image/Video Credits: The Remarkables