After a day of making the most with the ski conditions at Porters ski area we decided to go check out Mount Cheeseman Ski Area. There was a rumor that they were going to open the upper slopes. Our plan was to ride as much powder as we could before the place got tracked out.
As we drove up the road towards Mount Cheesemand ski area we were excited. We didn’t see any other cars heading up and the snow looked to be really good with the potential of the weather clearing.
As we made it up to the ski hill you could tell it had a moms and pops vibe. We were excited as the place had a much more laid back vibe than Porters. As we waited for the T bar to open we were happy that our license to chill passes worked with Mount Cheeseman ski area.
I was suprised when we loaded the T bar and there was nobody there. Here was great powder snow and a handful of people. The car park only had 9 cars and it was a powder day. If there is one thing to know about the place it’s that it never gets crowded.
Throughout the day we had powder lap after powder lap. In the end it would be one of my top 5 riding days of the season. The clouds would come in and and but we could see as we did hot laps.
You could tell that Mount Cheeseman ski area also had great backcountry. It was well worth returning to as it had the highest Parking lot in the Craigieburns.
Hiking the Sidecountry of Mount Cheeseman Ski Area
Once the easy access powder was gone I just started hiking up to the high point with a handful of people.
From the summit of the peak called Mount Cockayne after a pioneer of the area I’d lap the good snow. With a 10 minute hike you were riding right back down to the lower T bar.
It was a full day making the most out of the snow conditions. I hadn’t expected the day to be that good but Mount Cheeseman ski area delivered.
It was such a fun and low key ski area within the Craigieburn Range. The cool thing about all the ski fields is that each one has a different vibe. Mount Cheeseman ski area is known as the family oriented resort but that doesn’t mean there isn’t great riding possibilities out there.
Thank you for reading and If you enjoyed reading this and want to see more ski tours within New Zealand check out this link