Five club ski fields in the Arthur’s Pass and Craigieburn regions provide affordable alpine adventure; all within 2 hours drive from Christchurch. These are Broken River, Temple Basin, Craigieburn Valley, Mt Cheeseman and Mt Olympus.

Broken River has all the club field lifestyle attributes that skiers and boarders could desire and begs the question ‘How good does it get?’ There are uncrowded slopes and chutes, three powder filled basins, challenging off-piste, night skiing, bush line alpine lodges and a friendly atmosphere.

The field is administered by the Broken River Ski Club and operates from June to October. Snow ratings are 15% beginner, 50% intermediate, 35% advanced and the skiable area is 60 hectares with the highest point at 1,783 metres. Lifting is by 5 rope tows, with the top tow giving access to several challenging zig zag descents off Nervous Knob.

Broken River is less than 2 hours from of Christchurch on Highway 73. The access road winds 6 km through native beech forest to the car park. A goods lift carries equipment from here while skiers walk up a graded bush track for 20 minutes to ski lodges just inside the bush line. The base of the ski lifts is a 10 minute walk above the lodge area.

Facilities include a comfortable day lodge, sundeck and canteen, and three accommodation lodges that are centrally heated. Lyndon Lodge has all food and service provided. Broken River Lodge has food provided but guest duties are required. White Star Chalet is on a self cater and self-service basis. Multi-day all-inclusive packages including group instruction are available for any length of stay. Night skiing under lights is offered when conditions permit. It is possible to ski from Broken River to Craigieburn Valley in two hours in suitable snow and weather conditions. The return journey takes around one hour.

Broken River offers good old ‘back to basics’ fun in the snow with ski and snowboard packages at unbeatable rates.