The snow sports club is about snowboarding, skiing and having fun in the mountains with other uni students.
We run events throughout the year in town and at Temple Basin, our club field in Arthur’s pass where we OWN a lodge! We also arrange carpooling to the mountains every weekend, but our main events are the big party weekends up at Temple. At only $130 for a full weekend including 2 days lift passes, accommodation and food, it’s great value, and it’s much more fun staying a night or two in a ski lodge and chilling with other students than just driving to a field for a day.
Joining the club gives great value prices on the mountain plus entry to all our events and carpooling. If you’re keen to join up, email snowsportsclubuc@gmail.com
About Temple Basin
Temple Basin Ski Area is a club ski field on the main divide of the Southern Alps at the heart of Arthur’s Pass National Park in the South Island of New Zealand. The ski area is one of the best backcountry ski locations in the country and a wonderful environment to meet like-minded people who love the outdoors, the mountains and leaving the Mt Hutt latte drinkers behind.
Temple is a pretty laid back ski field. It has a good variety of runs from mellow learner slopes to spine-tingling chutes and cliff-drops. If you’re into tricks you can build a kicker or a rail wherever you want. Out in the easily accessible backcountry there are tons of nice 1-3m cornices and rocks to jump off, and the ungroomed snow is nice and soft so it’s pretty safe even if (like me) you can’t land a jump. The field covers a great variety of terrain spread over four separate basins. Massive terrain is accessible with just a short hike. If you’re equipped with an avalanche transceiver, snow shovel and probe then you will get fresh tracks all season, guaranteed. But its not all extreme riding, the main runs and beginner slopes get good snow too, and since it’s not too crowded there are often fresh lines to be had by the lifts. Because there’s rarely more than a hundred people on the hill at a time, you’ll often get to know the other people riding the tows, and you can generally dump your gear by the tow without worrying about it getting stolen. The social atmosphere up there is great too, sometimes we even have a band or DJ up at the mountain for a party.
There are two modern lodges offering bunk room style accommodation for 120 people, only metres from the tows. Ski and snowboard hire, and expert instruction are all available on the mountain.
You do not have to belong to Temple Basin Ski Club to ski or snowboard there and stay in the lodge, but membership does give you definite advantages. Fees for both accommodation and lift passes are lower for members, and participation in volunteer activity and the social life of the club is great fun.
The Canterbury University Snow Sports Club is proudly sponsored by:
