Comparison

Cardrona vs Treble Cone: which has more reliable snow?

Cardrona or Treble Cone? Natural snow month by month, at the village, mid-mountain and summit, from eleven winters of weather data.

Month by month

CardronaNew Zealand · 1,670–1,860 mTreble ConeNew Zealand · 1,200–1,860 m

Each cell is one month: the share of days with 30 cm or more of modelled natural snow at mid-mountain over the last 11 winters, from brown (often thin) to deep blue (snow-sure). Blank means almost none.

The short answer

Treble Cone has had the more reliable natural snow: mid-mountain was snow-sure in 3 months of the year, against 2 at Cardrona. Month by month, Treble Cone has the edge in July, October and November.

Month by month

June: Cardrona 1 of 11, Treble Cone 1 of 11 snow-sure winters (12% and 17% of days).

July: Cardrona 2 of 11, Treble Cone 5 of 11 snow-sure winters (34% and 72% of days).

August: Cardrona 10 of 11, Treble Cone 10 of 11 snow-sure winters (96% and 91% of days).

September: Cardrona 11 of 11, Treble Cone 10 of 11 snow-sure winters (100% and 92% of days).

October: Cardrona 6 of 11, Treble Cone 9 of 11 snow-sure winters (82% and 82% of days).

November: Cardrona 0 of 11, Treble Cone 6 of 11 snow-sure winters (17% and 72% of days).

A snow-sure winter is one where mid-mountain had 30 cm or more of modelled natural snow on at least 90% of that month’s days.

Height and terrain

Cardrona and Treble Cone are 27 km apart as the crow flies. Cardrona first, then Treble Cone: Village 1,670 m against 1,200 m; Mid-mountain 1,765 m against 1,530 m; Summit 1,860 m against 1,860 m. Mapped downhill runs: Cardrona 37 km, Treble Cone 30 km (OpenStreetMap).

In August, the village had 30 cm or more of natural snow on 89% of days at Cardrona and 88% at Treble Cone.

Questions

Which has more reliable snow, Cardrona or Treble Cone?

Treble Cone has had the more reliable natural snow: mid-mountain was snow-sure in 3 months of the year, against 2 at Cardrona. Month by month, Treble Cone has the edge in July, October and November.

Which has better snow down to the village, Cardrona or Treble Cone?

In August, Cardrona: its village had 30 cm or more of modelled natural snow on 89% of days, against 88%.

Does this include snowmaking?

No. These are modelled natural snow figures only, from ERA5 weather. Groomed pistes with snowmaking often ski better than this.

Snow is modelled from eleven winters of ERA5 weather data, natural snow only. It ignores snowmaking, grooming and wind, so use it to compare places, dates and heights, not as a guarantee. Always check local avalanche bulletins before going off-piste.

Weather and live snowfall: Open-Meteo (ERA5, Copernicus). Terrain: AWS Terrain Tiles. Basemap: OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles. Ski areas, pistes and lifts: OpenSkiMap, © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Satellite view: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0).

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