Roundhill Ski Area was originally opened in the early 1960’s as a club field by local farmers. In 1963 The Waters family took over from the Tekapo Ski Club to run the hill for the next 10 years.
Karl & Audrey Burtscher took over Roundhill in 1973 and ran it as a commercial ski field. Through the 70’s and 80’s the ski field was known as Tekapo Ski Field. It was a busy time. In 1974 the road was widened and in 1976 the new chairlift was operational along with the new café and ticket office. The seasons continued until Karl & Audrey closed the skifield in 1990.
In 2001 after an 11 year closure the next generation, Christian Burtscher and Karoline and Oskar Rieder reopened the ski field calling it Roundhill Ski Area. There were major changes made such as introducing a comprehensive snowmaking system and installing the 1.2km T-Bar surface lift. In 2008 we opened a terrain park with jumps and boxes.
A major development for the 2010 winter was the installation of the Heritage Express Rope Tow at 1473m long it’s the world’s longest rope tow. The Heritage Express has a top elevation of 2133m and a slope of 26 to 32 degrees and gives Roundhill a total vertical drop of 783m, the biggest in Australasia. The Heritage Express tripled Roundhill’s skiable area bringing it to a huge 550ha. This lift provides access to chutes, bowls and plenty of steep ungroomed terrain that will appeal to the advanced and adventurous!
In 2012 another T- Bar was installed in the back basin, opening up more terrain.
Since 2012 Roundhill has been owned and operated by the Rieder family and with our team we look forward to welcoming you to Roundhill!
