summer sledding

So, winter has come. Nights drop below freezing as flakes dust the surrounding peaks (literally dust, with enough snow to make anxious ski-legs ache, but not enough to save skies from deeply etched battle wounds given by rocks without mercy). Regardless of the inches, we were determined to find and fully enjoy a New Zealand winter in June… Off to Mt. John we traveled, to the beautiful Lake Tekipo, where there were no sleds, skies or other snow toys to rent. We had touched the snow and were not giving up, so we improvised, each with a mission to find a “sled.” Both the sheet of metal and the plastic sign worked like a dream, sending us ripping down the most beautiful sled hill in the world. There is something about playing in the snow that makes me feel like I'm cheating…its cold yet I'm out loving life, and in late June the same winter thrill exists! It was wonderful.

My sledding adventure was followed up by a ski trip! I drove up to Mt. Hutt, which basically driving ¾ up a mountain, where a ski field exists above the tree line, fully exposed to all the wind and all the weather New Zealand can deliver. Apparently, it hadn’t delivered much snow lately, but the views from the top of the peak far outweighed the freshest and deepest of powder (maybe?). From the peaks tip I could see all the southern alps on one side and the Canterbury plans (extremely flat farmland), the ocean and up and down a few hours drive along the island. It was unbelievable. Seeing the ocean from the ski hill is something I never knew was possible. New Zealand never ceases to amaze me.