Remarkables new 6 pac lift on the way

Anyone who has skied The Remarkables beyond cruiser level knows the place has some great terrain but mostly the original lifts didn’t access too much of it – but finally that will change with the new Curvey Basin 6 pac express lift that (praise the lord!) will also start from the carpark area saving the hike or beginner lift ride next season.

Following years of planning, the first diggers and workers from Base Contractors arrived at the beginning of this week to start an extensive earthworks programme.

Working alongside the NZSki team, they have started clearing old lift bases, snowmaking equipment and snow fences to make way for the development.

NZSki announced  in October this year that it was investing heavily in the new six-seat, high-speed detachable Curvey Basin chairlift at the ski area, alongside increased snow making capacity, expansion of the learners’ area, new trail development and the re-alignment and expansion of its car parking.

The new 1.2km Curvey Basin lift will begin at the bottom of the expanded learners’ slopes at 1600m and rise to a top terminal at 1900m above sea level, just below the ridgeline at the south head of the Rastus Burn, known as Curvey Basin.

The Remarkables ski area manager Ross Lawrence said the weeks before Christmas would be spent digging in the first 20 of 52 snow gun hydrant ‘pits’ on new trails and installing an underground pipe that will draw water from Lake Alta to a new pump house above the existing Alta Chair top station.