Mt Hutt guests enjoying week of spring festivities

Methven, New Zealand - Visitors to Mt Hutt this week are enjoying great spring snow conditions and an exciting line up of events and entertainment as part of the annual Mt Hutt Spring Fling. Coinciding with the first week of the school holidays, the festival features entertainment and activities for all ages.

Mt Hutt Manager Dave Wilson said the Spring Fling was about celebrating the season and spring conditions and providing a programme of events that were fun for the whole family.

“We’re enjoying great spring conditions at the moment. There’s no better time to bring the family up to have fun in the snow and enjoy the range of excellent activities and entertainment on offer.”

The action packed week started today (Tuesday 30 September) with the Pro Format Jumping Dual Slalom event featuring head to head racing with a twist – competitors were challenged with two one meter drops built into the course. This was followed by the R18 Export Gold Big Dig, a challenging treasure hunt for those with a thirst for beer.

Meanwhile, the kids enjoyed an Obstacle Course featuring little jumps and other fun features on Highway 72 and a lollie scramble on the deck of Huber’s Hutt.

Celebrating speed at New Zealand’s “Capital of Speed”, expert skiers will be given the opportunity on Thursday to race the same course world champion racers train on in The Red Bull International Downhill Race Training Arena. Then the skis and boards are off in the Chinese Downhill Boot Race with a mass start to see who can get to the bottom of the hill first.

Due to postponement, Thursday is now Retro Ski Day and will feature the Mogul Competition originally scheduled for Monday (29 September).

The week winds down on Friday with the Pond Skim event promising lots of diving and gliding action for spectators and the hilarious Downhill Dummy event where teams create and enter crash test dummies on skis and boards. The best dummy will be judged on style, creativity and distance covered. 

The ever-popular Peak to Pub multi-sport race takes place on Saturday October 4 to wrap up the week’s festivities in style, ending at the Blue Pub in Methven.

Mr Wilson said the ski area was also offering fantastic holiday fun and learning for children with a number of development programmes catering to all ages.

The Junior Vagabond programme for 6-12 year olds provides kids with individual attention and feedback while more advanced skiers and riders, aged between 12-17 years, can enjoy more challenging terrain in the Max Vertical programme.

Parents with children under 5 years old can check out the Skiwi Pack programme for 4 and 5 year olds, or the crèche for children between the ages of 2 and 5 years.