The not-for-profit Snow Farm is in a race against time to raise money for a new base before next winter.

The internationally-renowned cross-country ski area in Wānaka’s Cardrona Valley will be required to leave its current base this October, before handing it back to building owner and neighbouring business, Southern Hemisphere Proving Ground.

The Pisa Alpine Charitable Trust (PACT), which owns the Snow Farm, needs $1.7 million to build its new home and is seeking help from funding partners and charitable foundations to ensure the Snow Farm has its own, permanent base.

This next major focus for PACT follows the successful launch of the 36-bed backcountry Musterer’s Hut, which was officially opened yesterday (July 23) by Snow Farm patron, the Right Honourable Helen Clark.

Entirely funded by community grants and with the support of many volunteers, the $750,000 Musterer’s Hut project is the latest milestone towards the community facility’s future-proofing efforts. The Snow Farm – New Zealand’s only cross-country ski area – hosts more than 15,000 user days annually including community groups, 33 schools from Christchurch to Invercargill and the growing Olympic sport of Biathlon.

“The Snow Farm is a world-class facility which offers so much to so many – people wanting to learn about alpine ecology and snow caving, school students on cross-country ski camps and of course the Olympic sport of Biathlon,” PACT chair Samuel ‘Q’ Belk says.

“We could never have built the Musterer’s Hut or paid for our groomer without the support of community trusts and lotteries grants and we are eternally grateful for their help. Now, as our time at the old Snow Farm base building draws to a close, we are calling out for help once again, to ensure we have space for all the needs of our communities, and to provide a functional home for Biathlon New Zealand and the sport of cross-country skiing.”

PACT is close to lodging its resource consent application for the new building, which is intended to be built over two stages – stage one costing $900,000 and stage two costing $800,000.

“We need to start building in October and to complete stage one over summer, so we are ready to go for winter 2023. We can’t not have a base facility. We are at a critical point in the Snow Farm’s history and we need as much help as we can get,” Belk adds.

More than 100 people attended the opening of the Musterer’s Hut in Tranquility Basin on Saturday, including Snow Farm founders John and Mary Lee.

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