Consents have been sought to build a dry slope up the mountain and Olympic gold medallists Nico Porteous and Zoi Sadowski-Synnott have both filed supportive submissions for the proposal.
A dry or artificial ski slope is one that mimics the attributes of snow using materials to enable people to ski or snowboard all year.
The proposed facility would be built on an 82ha block of land owned by Cardrona Valley Farms.
It would be built in an outstanding natural landscape area, away from the Cardrona skifield and a ski-area zone.
The development would include the construction of ramps, inflatable landing bags, contained run-in and an 8m-high tower with other proposed towers up to 4m.
Snowsports NZ chief executive Nic Cavanagh said access to a dry-slope facility was the international standard for elite park and pipe athletes.
"Extending the training season in New Zealand and generating year-round high performance training opportunities allows our athletes to stay at home within their family unit for a larger portion of the year. This benefit extends to staff, too," Mr Cavanagh said.
Mr Porteous and Ms Sadowski-Synnott’s submissions echoed Mr Cavanagh’s thoughts about the importance of having a dry slope.
Mr Porteous said quarter-pipe bags and landing bags had been crucial for his progression.
"They were an integral part of me learning right and left 1620s, two tricks which were a considerable part of my success over the last few years (X Games gold medals, world champion, and Olympic gold medal)," he said.
"Moving the landing bag and the other air bags down to the valley would be of huge benefit to the snow-sports community, giving a year-long training facility. Having this facility would also allow the next generation of athletes to stay and train at home rather than having to spend months in the northern hemisphere away from family, education and support networks."
Ms Sadowski-Synnott said using landing bags to transition tricks from the trampoline to the snow had allowed her to understand and solidify movements required to land a trick in a safe environment.
"I am excited for the landing bag to be moved down into the valley so I can get more training hours in New Zealand and continue to work hard to stay at the top of women’s snowboarding globally.
"All other dominant snow-sports nations already have these types of training facilities so in order for Kiwi athletes to stay at the forefront of the sport we need access to one, too."
Fire and Emergency New Zealand made a submission expressing concerns the application did not address wildfire risk and was seeking further information.
Kati Huirapa Runaka Ki Puketeraki’s submission opposed the application, highlighting issues around the development’s impact on the ecological landscape and cultural values.
Submissions have closed.
