Treble Cone is the closest ski area to Wānaka, New Zealand. Treble Cone is the largest ski area in the South Island, boasting the longest vertical rise in the Queenstown Southern Lakes District. Treble Cone is most known for its views over Lake Wānaka and Mount Aspiring/Tititea and its intermediate to advanced terrain. The ski field has been the off-season training ground for the national ski team of Austria. History Founded by Rod Aubrey, Murray Raffills (Raffills Ridge namesake) and Ralph Markby in 1968, Treble Cone started out as a small club field managed by local ski enthusiasts. In 1975, Treble Cone was listed as a public company to raise funds for a high standard road, modest base building and ski hire facilities, constructed over the summer and opened in 1976. Development continued throughout the '80s and early '90s with the mountain's first double chair installed in the Home Basin in 1983, a T-Bar in the Saddle Basin in 1989 and the first permanent snowmaking facilities in 1991. Treble Cone received its next major upgrade in 1995/96 with the installation of New Zealand's first high speed, detachable 6-seater chairlift in the Home Basin. The double chair was moved to improve access to the Saddle Basin. There were also major extensions to the base building, a new car parking area was developed, and a snowmaking pond was installed. Earthworks dominated development in the 2000s (summers of 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011), improving the beginner and intermediate terrain in the Home and Saddle Basin and access to the Saddle Basin. In 2005, Treble Cone saw a new fixed grip quad chairlift in the Saddle Basin and Ski Patrol hut at the top of the Six Seater. In 2006 and again in 2007, further investment increased snowmaking across the Home Basin. Along with Cardrona Ski Area, Treble Cone updated its sales and ticketing systems in 2011/12, enabling the launch of OnePassNZ, a shared lift pass. The RFID ticketing system allowed guests with pre-paid passes to ski straight to the gate, as well as to track vertical and number of runs skied. In December 2019, the Commerce Commission approved the purchase of Treble Cone Investments Ltd by Cardrona Alpine Resort. In early 2020, Cardrona reported that they were working towards merging the operations and marketing of the two resorts. Winter activities Treble Cone is the largest ski area in New Zealand's South