Skiers and snowboarders at Cardrona Alpine Resort will be able to explore a lift-accessed Soho Basin by winter 2025.

Work on a long-awaited chairlift to unlock access to the 150ha Soho Basin will begin this summer, Cardrona Alpine Resort has confirmed.

“New skiable terrain in New Zealand is incredibly rare, and we’re so stoked to finally be able to give people the news they want – Soho Basin is officially happening,” Cardrona and Treble Cone general manager experiences Laura Hedley said.

Soho Basin’s skiable terrain is the equivalent of 150 rugby fields and increases Cardrona’s lift-accessed skiable terrain by 24 percent. 

This will take the skifield from 465ha to 615ha, making it the biggest commercial ski area in New Zealand.

Soho Basin is located behind Captain’s Basin, directly below the Queenstown Return Trail.

It features a mix of intermediate terrain as well as more technical, advanced lines.

Foundations for the high-speed, six-seater Dopplemayr chairlift, to be named ‘Soho Basin Express’ will begin in February 2024.

The towers and stations will be installed the following summer between December 2024 and May 2025, just in time to open for the 2025 winter season.

The Soho Basin Express installation is part of a multi-year commitment to development at Cardrona that has included a redesign of the resort’s base buildings using existing infrastructure, the McDougall’s Chondola, and the first steps into Soho in 2021 with the Willow’s Quad chairlift.

To support the additional guest capacity the Soho Basin Express will attract, Cardrona is upgrading other facilities over the next couple of years, Laura said. 

This summer, the Valley View carpark will be extended, and the on-mountain Rentals department will be upgraded.

“We’ll be upgrading our snowmaking, food and beverage, retail, and other carparking offerings to make sure we continue to deliver a great experience at Cardrona with the addition of Soho Basin,” Laura said.

“After a challenging few years, it’s so exciting to continue along our vision for Cardrona to be a truly world-class ski and snowboard destination, right here in New Zealand.”

Before work begins on the new lift, Cardrona will undertake steps to look after the landscape, flora and fauna in Soho Basin, Laura said.

IMAGE: Supplied