Your guide to what’s on this season at Cardrona (Winter '23)

Get ready for a full season of fun. Winter ’23 sees more food and beverage options, heaps of events, and your favourite skiing and riding all season. 

Welcome to Winter ’23! This season we’ll have a heap of exciting events, 8 eateries feeding you all kinds of treats, and your favourite mountains delivering top skiing and snowboarding.

Opening Weekend 

This Saturday (17th July) is opening day for Cardrona, and we’re so ready to see Cardrona full of excited skiers and riders, first timers, and long-time locals.  

While it’s been incredibly cold in the past couple of weeks, we’re not at the snow levels we’d like for a full opening, so this weekend we will open the Beginner’s Area and McDougall’s Chondola only, with select runs. That means first chair can still be claimed! Who's gearing up to bag themselves a t-shirt?   

You can keep updated with what’s open and when from our snow report. This season it’s also going to be a useful source to find out how many day passes and multi-day passes are available on the day.   

This weekend will also have: 

• The long-awaited re-opening of Noodle Bar, so get your noodles in! Also open for delicious feeds this weekend are Base Cafe, The Mezz and Vista Bar.  

• Monday will see Base Café, The Mezz, The Lounge and Vista Bar open.  
• Drop by for a DJ session up at Noodle Bar from 1-3pm on Saturday and Sunday.  

Events  

Winter ’23 has a bumper stock of events for you to get involved with or spectate. We’ve picked our favourites below: 

June 25: Mountain Bikes on Snow. A hectic race where mountain bikers try and get down Cardrona on their bikes in one piece. It’s a spectacle. 

July 9: Race Ya Mates. A Great way to dip your toes into the world of ski racing.  

July 16: Pīki Maunga Rangatahi (Big Mountain Youth). A freeride comp for kids 15 and under.  

August 25 – September 9: Winter Games NZ. Check our ski and snowboard slopestyle, Big Air and halfpipe qualifiers and finals.  

September 30 – October 7: Cardrona NZ Freestyle Nationals. Athletes from all over NZ compete to claim freestyle champion.  

October 14: Minipipe World Champs. Open to all ages, it’s one of the final chances in the season to master the minipipe.  

See our full calendar of events.  

Food and Beverage 

The cherry on top of the Cardrona experience is the mountain of treats found in our food and beverage outlets. This year we've got 8 delicious eateries ready to feed every appetite. Reach our breakdown of each offering: 

• Noodle Bar Is back! Find: ramen, pad thai, laksa, dumplings, and chow mein 
• Little Meg Is also back! Find it by the Valley View car park, a swift stop for barista coffee, paninis, sweet treats and local beers 
• Base Café is the ol’ faithful. Get grab-and-go breakfast, ‘Mountain Meals’, local pies, hot chips, sandwiches and salads.
• Base Bar is our award-winning meat-free and allergen-conscious outlet: raw treats, healthy cabinet food, and less healthy coffee and local tap beer 
• The Mezz is the crème de la crème: A la carte, table service restaurant with a seasonal and locally sourced menu – open for breakfast, lunch and dinner 
• Vista Bar has your views and Mumm Champagne. A match made in heaven. Plus, ganache hot chocolate, mulled wine and light bites 
• The Lounge Barista offers coffees with a view, a cabinet full of sweet and savoury treats, mulled wine and local wine and tap beer 
• Captain’s Pizzeria is the one-stop shop for pizza, barista coffee, and local tap beers, right on the slopes 

Retail 

This year, our retail store The Cardrona Corner returns to all its glory, and you’ll find it back opposite the Base Café. Pop in to get kitted out from head to toe with this season’s gear. Find everything from Dragon to Mons Royale, and Icebreaker to The North Face.  

Treble Cone 

Treble Cone’s opening follows in a week’s time, Saturday, June 24. We seriously recommend paying a visit this season. If you haven’t caught it already, we released a short film about conquering the beast that is the TC summit. Watch below: 

Terrain Parks 

We’re excited for a season full of those trying the parks for the first time, and those achieving world-firsts. Wherever you land, our Parks Crew have something in store for you.  

Opening weekend should see a cheeky couple of rails installed, but we expect to see the parks firing from all stations soon.  

Not sure what goes into building one of the Southern Hemisphere’s best parks? Our Moving Mountains film goes behind the scenes with the motley crew that is our Parks Team and follows them as they build and test the beast of our 85ft+ Big Air jump. Watch below: