Temple Basin Ski Area

Temple Basin is an amazing ski and snowboarding area in the middle of the NZ’s Southern Alps, surrounded by the beauty of Arthur’s Pass National Park. It’s club-based which means it has a relaxed atmosphere but all are welcome to ski and ride it. People come to meet others, enjoy the wonderful snow and fantastic terrain. Most leave raving about the best skiing and boarding experience of their lives. In fact, many international boarders rank it as one of the best areas in the world.

It’s not just for the extreme either, it’s a friendly field open to everyone (including kids – with popular supervised ski weeks too) and not far from Christchurch. It’s not for the faint- of-heart because it’s a bit of a hike up the hill from the main highway, but the thrill of staying at a comfortable lodge, with chef, high up in the Main Divide and then waking up, on what feels like the top of the world, is well worth it.

The ascent to 1400 metres

Since the club was founded in 1929, getting goods and equipment up the hill has been an arduous task. In the beginning, people backpacked everything up, including building material. In 1954 the jeep track was approved for construction which went one third of the way up from the road. From then on it was back to chucking gear on your back and trudging up on foot to reach the top.

Nowadays we have it easy with the goods lift which was opened in 1962. The walk doesn’t seem so daunting when you think that at least you’re not burdened with all your ski gear. And for those dedicated to TB, the walk is affectionately known as the ‘Range Rover filter’, leaving cafe shredders at the bottom.