Mount Dobson is the common name for Dobson Peak as a result of being used for the name of a ski resort near
Fairlie in
South Canterbury
South Canterbury is the area of the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand bounded by the Rangitata River in the north and the Waitaki River (the border with the Otago Region) to the south. The Pacific Ocean and ridge of the S ...
,
South Island
The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...
of
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
. There is an official Mount Dobson being high at the northern end of the South Island in
Marlborough District
Marlborough District or the Marlborough Region (, or ''Tauihu''), commonly known simply as Marlborough, is one of the 16 regions of New Zealand, located on the northeast of the South Island. It is administered by Marlborough District Council ...
between
Blenheim and
Picton, and an unofficial Mount Dobson in the
Southern Alps
The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) are a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand, New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The n ...
at only a short distance due west. Accordingly confusion could arise.
Dobson Peak
The peak after which the ski field is named, is officially called Dobson Peak, and rises to just north of the ski field.
It is to the southern end of the
Two Thumb Range
The Two Thumb Range (sometimes called the Two Thumbs Range) is a range of mountains in the Canterbury Region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located to the east of Lake Tekapo and has several peaks which rise to around . . The semi-
schist
Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock generally derived from fine-grained sedimentary rock, like shale. It shows pronounced ''schistosity'' (named for the rock). This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a l ...
of the
Torlesse Composite Terrane is basement in the area,
and to the peak's east are the lower traces of the Fox Peak faults which may have been last active just before European settlement.
The higher reaches about the mark or outside the ski field are essentially a boulderfield.
Recreation
Ski Resort
Mt Dobson ski area is located near
Tekapo, in the southern Te Kahui Kaupeka Conservation Park, and features four lifts being a triple
chair lift
An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers. They are the primary on-hill tran ...
, a
T-bar, a
Platter lift
A surface lift is a type of cable transport for mountain sports in which skiers, snowboarders, or Mountain bike, mountain bikers remain on the ground as they are pulled uphill. While they were once prevalent, they have been overtaken in popularit ...
and a beginner's ski tow, serving 14 trails over an area of .
The resort caters primarily to skiers of intermediate ability, with a 1:2:1 ratio of beginner/intermediate/advanced slopes.
The resort is situated in a wide treeless bowl, facing south west between
Fairlie and
Tekapo. Other features include a natural half pipe, and groomed main trails. There is no accommodation at the resort, and visitors are directed to nearby
Fairlie.
History
Construction of the access road to the ski basin started in 1976 and the Mt Dobson Ski Area opened in 1979.
It operated under a special licence from the New Zealand Department of Conservation until 1987 and then under concessions.
The ski field was put up for sale on the 22nd of October 2014, but ownership continued with Mount Dobson Ski Area Ltd who had access to via lease and recreation permits.
A concession license reduced this to in 2021.
Hunting
To the south of the ski field, and distinct from it, but accessed via its access road, is a area of tussock, shrub and mountain totara forest at low elevations and snow tussock and alpine herb fields higher of the Te Kahui Kaupeka Conservation Park available for hunting.
Red
Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...
and
fallow deer
Fallow deer is the common name for species of deer in the genus ''Dama'' of subfamily Cervinae. There are two living species, the European fallow deer (''Dama dama''), native to Europe and Anatolia, and the Persian fallow deer (''Dama mesopotamic ...
,
chamois
The chamois (; ) (''Rupicapra rupicapra'') or Alpine chamois is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope native to the mountains in Southern Europe, from the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Apennines, the Dinarides, the Tatra Mountains, Tatra to the Carpa ...
,
tahr
Tahrs ( , ) or tehrs ( ) are large artiodactyl ungulates related to goats and sheep. There are three species, all native to Asia. Previously thought to be closely related to each other and placed in a single genus, ''Hemitragus'', Genetics, ge ...
and
wallabies
A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and som ...
may be hunted with a permit.
Ecology
The mountain top boulderfield is virtually unvegetated except for occasional alpine
cushions of
speargrass species, being the native source of
hebes such as ''
Veronica pinguifolia'',
vegetable sheep,
South Island edelweiss, and
scree willowherb (Epilobium porphyrium, E. pycnostachum) amongst other alpine plants.
species, the mountain
strap-leaved daisy,
sedge
The Cyperaceae () are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as wikt:sedge, sedges. The family (biology), family is large; botanists have species description, described some 5,500 known species in about 90 ...
and hebes are found on the higher ski runs.
Tall tussockland is largely confined to between on the western side of the peak but is more extensve on the north-east facing slopes between .
Low alpine herbfields with a wide variety of native New Zealand species are found on the lower slopes where there is water seepage and adjacent to the draining streams.
Below the ski field there are areas of montane exotic grassland and native shrubland and woodland.
This includes habitats occupied by the introduced mammals mentioned in the hunting section and other pests such as opossum and hares.
Kea
The kea ( ; ; ''Nestor notabilis'') is a species of large parrot in the Family (biology), family Strigopidae that is endemic to the forested and alpine regions of the South Island of New Zealand. About long, it is mostly olive-green, with br ...
were found until about 1990. It is likely that the insect and lizard communities are representative of those studies have found elsewhere in the Two Thumb Range.
Exotic weeds keep being introduced along the access road and such like
thistle
Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterized by leaves with sharp spikes on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the planton the stem and on the flat parts of the leaves. T ...
,
gorse
''Ulex'' (commonly known as gorse, furze, or whin) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are na ...
or
lodgepole pine
''Pinus contorta'', with the common names lodgepole pine and shore pine, and also known as twisted pine, and contorta pine, is a common tree in western North America. It is common near the ocean shore and in dry montane forests to the subalpin ...
need to be managed by active eradication.
References
External links
Mt Dobson Ski Field
{{Ski areas and resorts in New Zealand
Dobson
Dobson