The event was won by Ernie Maluschnig, who was narrowly beaten into second last year by Peter Andersson from Sweden. British orienteer Peter Truner was second.
While the forecast wasn't flash, the day actually turned out OK, with plenty of blue sky and not too much wind. Rain the day before and a solid freeze overnight made the snow conditions very difficult. While there was good cover, and the groomed trails were great, off piste consisted of a thin glassy crust over a very soft base. Travel on skis was slippery and then impossible if you broke the crust, travel on foot was worse !!
Some slow times are a testament to the nature of the snow. Many came back with grazed shins from breaking through the crust and there was a bit of blood and carnage. However, everyone came back smiling and pretended to have had a good time !!
Big thanks to Julie (Grant) and Fran (Cunninghame) for setting the courses, to Nick Church for controlling and mapping, to Colin Hope for all his work in mapping (using GPS then OCAD) and producing a brilliant and clear colour map, to Annie Grant for helping with the start desk and also to the Waiorau Snow Farm and Outside Sports Queenstown for prizes and support.
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