Qualla: Coronet Peak https://qualla.com/coronet-peak en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:28 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/r/8/p/b/coronet-peak-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Coronet Peak https://qualla.com/coronet-peak Coronet Peak: Introduction https://qualla.com/coronet-peak/ Photo credit Sgroey, CC BY-SA 4.0. Bill Hamilton is famous for inventing the jet boat, but before he revolutionized watercraft, he built a rope tow. In 1947, aviation pioneer Harry Wigley of Mount Cook Airlines looked at the southern slopes of a 1,649-metre peak seven kilometres west of Arrowtown and saw reliable snow, proximity to Queenstown, and a view across Lake Wakatipu that would sell itself. He commissioned Hamilton - then an engineer with a knack for making things work in remote places - to design and install a rope tow that would haul skiers up the mountain. It was a 1,000-metre-long contraption, rudimentary by any standard, and it transformed a high-country sheep run into New Zealand's first commercial skifield.

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Image: Sgroey | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/r/8/p/b/coronet-peak-wp/r8pb-coronet-peak-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Coronet Peak: Pioneer Spirit on a Rope https://qualla.com/coronet-peak/ Photo credit Yun Huang Yong from Harbord, Australia, CC BY-SA 2.0. Those early seasons at Coronet Peak bore little resemblance to modern skiing. The single rope tow served ungroomed terrain under natural snowfall, and skiers accessed the mountain on rough roads that required a certain commitment to the cause. There were no base lodges to speak o...

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Image: Yun Huang Yong from Harbord, Australia | CC BY-SA 2.0

]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/r/8/p/b/coronet-peak-wp/r8pb-coronet-peak-pioneer-spirit-on-a-rope.mp3 0:06 2 full Coronet Peak: The View That Competes https://qualla.com/coronet-peak/ Photo credit Pierre André Leclercq, CC BY-SA 4.0. Coronet Peak's terrain spans everything from gentle beginner slopes on the Big Easy to the expert Back Bowls and the steep Exchange Drop, with intermediate favorites like M1, Greengates, and Shirtfront offering well-developed piste skiing that draws comparisons to European alpine...

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Image: Pierre André Leclercq | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/r/8/p/b/coronet-peak-wp/r8pb-coronet-peak-the-view-that-competes.mp3 0:06 3 full Coronet Peak: Changing Hands, Growing Up https://qualla.com/coronet-peak/ Photo credit Phillip Capper from Wellington, New Zealand, CC BY 2.0. Coronet Peak's corporate history mirrors the consolidation that has reshaped ski industries worldwide. The Mount Cook Group, connected to the same airline business that Harry Wigley had built, operated the mountain for decades alongside The Remarkables across the valley. In 2002,...

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Image: Phillip Capper from Wellington, New Zealand | CC BY 2.0

]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/r/8/p/b/coronet-peak-wp/r8pb-coronet-peak-changing-hands-growing-up.mp3 0:06 4 full Coronet Peak: After Dark on the Mountain https://qualla.com/coronet-peak/ Photo credit Bernard Spragg. NZ from Christchurch, New Zealand, Public domain. Coronet Peak is one of the few ski areas in New Zealand that offers night skiing, and the experience is unlike daytime runs in ways that go beyond visibility. On Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday nights from July through mid-September, floodlights illuminate the slopes and the moun...

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Image: Bernard Spragg. NZ from Christchurch, New Zealand | Public domain

]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/r/8/p/b/coronet-peak-wp/r8pb-coronet-peak-after-dark-on-the-mountain.mp3 0:06 5 full