A once-in-a-lifetime ski trip outside of New Zealand’s Queenstown will be available to book on Uber tomorrow, in celebration of ten years of Uber in New Zealand. The luxury ski experience features a private mountain (Soho Basin), breathtaking views, superb off-piste skiing / snowboarding, and a fine dining experience by celebrated winery Amisfield. Oh yeah — and the $2,000 experience is absolutely free.
In 2014, Uber was so new in the country that then country director (now managing director) Emma Foley used to encourage drivers to sign up at petrol stations. Some 200 million trips later, it’s safe to say Uber has made itself home.
“Over the last ten years, almost half of the country’s population have relied on Uber to earn, go from A to B, or have their meals and groceries delivered to their doorsteps,” Foley said. “We’re delighted to have helped everyone get around easily, and to have contributed to the livelihoods of thousands more. During this special milestone, we want to show our appreciation to the people of Aotearoa by providing a uniquely Kiwi experience that hasn’t been done anywhere else in the world.”
The day starts off at the Rodd & Gunn lodge in Queenstown, where you’ll be picked up by a luxury transfer and taken to Soho Basin, a private ski field adjacent to Cadrona.
After some morning refreshments and a quick safety briefing, you’ll be taken up the mountain via an Uber Snowcat (no chairlifts here) to ski the pristine powder only Queenstown’s off-piste mountains can offer. Lunch on the snowfields will be catered by local luxury winery Amisfield, before hitting the powder in the afternoon sun and finishing off with an après ski drink back at Rodd & Gunn.
“If you think about Uber, it’s in our DNA to change the way people move and get almost, almost anything,” general manger of Uber Eats New Zealand, Andy Bowie, told PEDESTRIAN.TV. “And ten years is a huge milestone, so of course we’re going to do something huge and a once-in-a-lifetime experience. And the most iconic place in New Zealand, where you can jump on a mode of transport, that isn’t very accessible, and have a phenomenal dining experience in such a unique location felt like the right decision.”
Soho Basin offers snowcat access to 177 hectares of skiable mountain terrain, making it a dream skiing experience for intermediate to advance skiers and snowboarders. (Beginners, this might not be the best experience for you.) Guides will take you on a day of first tracks after first tracks, with powder so deep you won’t even feel it if you stack. (For legal reasons, this is a joke.)
The day usually costs around $2,000 per person with around 20 people, so the Uber One offer is really about getting that luxury experience without rounding up 19 friends with a decent level of skiing ability and some cash to burn.
Making the experience even more bitter sweet is the news that this is Soho Basin’s last year in operation, as Cardrona will be taking over the slopes and putting in chairlifts from 2025. And while that’s great news for us plebs who can’t hire out an entire mountain for our ski days, it does mean this one-off luxury experience is truly once-in-a-lifetime.
How To Book The Uber One Exclusive Ski Experience
Uber will be releasing availabilities on the app from 10am AEST on Tuesday, 20 August. There’s just 60 spots available, so you’ll need to get in quick if you want to make it. The booking is only open to Uber One members, and yes, you can book for you and a plus one — just make sure they know their pizzas from their French fries (iykyk).
The bookings will be available for three consecutive days:
- Saturday 24 August
- Saturday 31 August
- Friday 6 September
The only trick for nabbing a spot? “Sign up to Uber One,” Bowie said. May the odds be ever in your favour.
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