Cardrona ski area has announced plans to extend its ski area over its existing boundaries to include the terrain currently used by a cat skiing operation and thus create the new 'biggest ski area in New Zealand.
Cardrona's ski area will more than double in size when it incorporates the existing 500 hectares of cat skiing terrain of Soho Basin Ski Area to create a ski centre with 900 hectares of runs, overtaking New Zealand's current biggest, Whakapapa on Mt Ruapehu on the country's North Island.
How fast the two areas will merge operations is not entirely clear. Cardrona is mid-way through an approved existing five year development plan and it seems there are no immediate plans to build new lifts into Soho Basin until that period has finished.
However Cardrona report that all necessary approvals are now in place to commence the staged development of ski area facilities in the Soho Basin and the development of the ski area and supporting facilities once the current Cardrona masterplan is completed.
It will however be possible to access the Soho Ski Area will be from the top of the recently installed McDougall's Chondola with cat skiing continuing to be offered.
"This has been something we've been looking at for some time and we're both extremely pleased that we can work together to build a world class ski area with integrated facilities and amenities that will be both New Zealand's largest mountain resort and a truly world-class ski destination," said Cardrona's owners Real Journeys Group Chief Executive Richard Lauder.