The summer has been a busy time at Roundhill, the benefits from which will be enjoyed by skiers and boarders this winter.
Extensive earthworks have involved moving 11,000 cubic metres of earth and shaping it into a series of small, medium and large platforms, rollers, table tops and three interestingly shaped ‘boxes’.

“The new terrain park will give our older children that make up the ‘Roundhill client family’ something more challenging and exciting,” says Christian Burtscher, owner and manager of Roundhill Ski Area.

It is also expected that the new development will attract a wider skier and boarder demographic to Roundhill and Lake Tekapo expanding the off season market to the region.

A lot of work over summer has gone into the design of the park to ensure it not only appeals to the experienced boarder and skier, but also provides plenty of options for intermediates and children, for whom Roundhill is very popular.

This season, additional snowmaking is also being trialled at Roundhill. The ‘air water’ snow-making machines are different technology from the existing fleet of ‘fan guns’. “With our focus on reducing energy use, these trial machines use a quarter of the power of a fan gun, with only marginal reduction in snow output,” says Christian Burtscher. Two different machines are being tested, one from Techno Alpin in Italy and the other from SMI USA, to determine which units best suit the conditions at Roundhill and produce the best snow.

Temperatures are dropping rapidly and snowmaking is now starting in earnest to ensure good snow coverage for Roundhill’s opening on 5th July.

Roundhill Ski Field: New snowmaking gun helps nature at Roundhill’s new terrain park