Skyline Queenstown has announced details of a new mountain bike trail as it launches its season pass prices and information for 2013/14.
Starting at the midway clearing and gradually flowing through Queenstown bike park, the new $75,000 trail is going to complement the steady gradient of Skyline’s other green trail Hammy’s, providing riders of all abilities with an alternate option to the base of the gondola.
Skyline General Manager Lyndon Thomas said he was “delighted” to be able to offer local riders and visitors a new experience.
“For many bikers in Queenstown, New Zealand and even Australia, we’re the location of choice, so we’re really pleased we can increase the number and range of trails we offer and provide these riders with more thrills and the same convenience factor of a gondola ride back up the hill,” he said.
“Since access to these trails first opened, we’ve seen the continued growth of mountain biking as a sport, creating a significant economic benefit for many businesses throughout the region.
“This is a burgeoning market and Skyline quickly realised the importance of additional investment for both the company and for Queenstown tourism.”
Work will commence shortly after the season opens on Thursday 26 September 2013.
Skyline Queenstown is home to the Southern Hemisphere’s only gondola-assisted bike lift, providing direct access to 13 world-class mountain biking trails and varying terrain for all abilities in the Queenstown Bike Park.
The 2013/14 pass prices and dates have been released on www.skyline.co.nz/queenstown/mountain-biking/
This year, in an initiative to harness the growing interest among youngsters, Skyline Queenstown is offering Season Passes to local Wakatipu High School students at a special rate of $249.
The mountain biking season is scheduled to close on Sunday May 4 2014.
Prices for an adult half day pass start from $60 and there are full day, multi day, season and half season passes available. Details are available on the website or by calling +64 3 441 0101.
Mountain Bike Lift Prices | Adult | Child | |
| Mountain Biking prices valid 28 Sept 2013 to 4 May 2014* | |||
| Half Day Pass (10am – 2pm) | $60.00 | $35.00 | |
| Half Day Pass (2pm – 6pm) | $60.00 | $35.00 | |
| Full Day Pass | $85.00 | $45.00 | |
| 3 Day Pass (used in a week) | $199.00 | $95.00 | |
| Season Pass | $699.00 | $329.00 | |
| Half Season Pass (9 Jan – 4 May) | $559.00 | $279.00 | |
| Open 10am daily – dusk. Season dates are 28 Sept 2013 – 4 May 2014. *Bike access via Gondola closed from 25 Dec – 8 Jan & 18 April – 21 April. Bike rental & equipment not included. | |||
$60 for a half day pass! Bonkers… it was $40-45 i seem to recall 2 seasons ago and beyond this new trail above, there has been little to no investment in the park trails over that time… beyond a bit of patching up here and there. How it can be justified i don’t know… i can’t afford / don’t ride enough to warrant a season pass, but now i suspect i won’t even be able to afford a half day pass for my days off…. thank goodness for the great work of QMTBC… i place my trust in them for the future of QT mountain biking access and trail development.
Im with Pirate Builder…..QMTBC all the way.Does everyone realise that the trails are on public reserve land. Whats with the rip off lift passes exploiting the enjoyment to be had on the adjoining land.
Pretty sure there’s still a public access road you can ride up to access all of the trails for free…. your pass is paying to use the Gondola, not to ride the trails. It was only a few years ago that the road was the only way up and there were still plenty of us riding there then. IMO the lift rates are well worth the convenience for rapidfire runs or using a big bike, still way cheaper than you pay a couple of hills over for some pretty average snow…
pretty average snow, but a staff of hundreds, massif infrastructure, multiple lifts, millions invested in annual improvements, safety and patrol on site, etc, etc. Possibly not fair to compare ski operations to an existing gondola that is extremely profitable before the bikes even get put on, that uses a park that is essentially built for them.
thats so expensive for a day! jesus christ. unjustifiably so.
Starting to take the piss Skyline. It is not a ski resort, 1 existing gondola paid for many moons ago by tourists. If you are going to jam your prices up like this you can jam another lift in and really grow your bike park and spread the expenditure over the long term – call it an investment in the future. $75K is chicken feed, the boys can build real tracks way better than this for the cost of beer and tools. Don’t be arrogant ^&*%s remember in Europe the average price of the best bike parks in the world is 20euro, about $30 NZD, don’t kid yourself Skyline, you are competing with the rest of the world, heck flights from Australia to Paris can be had for $1300 bucks, and flights to Queenstown direct are around $1000 return, i know where I would rather ride my bike!
I hear there is really good mountain biking in Paris… Much better than in Morzine or Chatel
Well that seals the deal. I won’t be in any hurry to drive over the hill with the kids to ride Skyline anymore. Taking the piss for sure now. Last summer was bad enough. Just as well there is plenty of free-riding in other places that’s better.
One thing to watch will be the QMTBC website. Last year, joining them for $40 reduced the season pass price to $566.10 and contributed to the local mtb club, while also giving visitors like myself discounts at the local stores.I am still keen to purchase a season pass (especially if this deal is still in place); living in Nelson we have some amazing trails, but variety leads to a spicy life. Just means I need to spend more days down there to “pay off” the cost of the pass – which can’t be a bad thing!
couldn’t find the “locals price” anywhere… I too, hope this still exists.
I think that the current day pass price is a step in the wrong direction. According to many front line staff that sell activities around Queenstown, the Gondy was popular because bike hire, safety gear and lift ticket all came in at a competitve price, so people would have a go. We may have just lost that audience. I will get a season pass, even tho it’s questionable value, i am an overly passionate bike nutter so i don’t represent the mass bike population debating the value of the pass, but it has just became a whole lot more difficult for me to lure and tempt friends and punters into the fun that Gondy runs provide. I have enjoyed spreading the word and building the “gondola culture” over the last few summers, these prices make that a less likely approach. Bit of a shame that in the excitement of all the ‘growth of mountain biking’ someone at the sharp end of the company structure has forgotten what has built this bike interest and how to nurture it. There are so many other great bike options for the visitors here for a week holiday and i think that perhaps a “special treat day on the Gondola” for one of those days will be the approach more than “get up there most days” approach of previous years. Disappointing, so much missed potential for short term financial gain. I hope that there are discussions on how to create ways to offer better value and incentives in the future, so that the growth and management of this facility is aligned more realistically with its audience and immense potential.