Treble Cone Ski Area is known for its steep challenging terrain. To locals it’s just known as TC. As a resort and business it’s had a chequered history. With minimal facilities and little to offer first time skiers, Treble Cone is not the first stop for the Australian beginner ski tourist! Locals love it. For over forty years ski bums have moved to Wanaka and lived in caravans and broom cupboards, just to spend their southern winter on its slopes. Many have stayed on to make Wanaka their home. Each winter when Treble Cone opens, they dash up the mountain and greet their neighbours as long lost family. Treble Cone is a surrogate village square, it servers as what American sociologist, Ray Oldenburg termed as Third Space. The People of Winter Project is about the people for whom Treble Cone is their third space. Some find jobs on the mountain and survive by trade or cunning between winters others have created an income in Wanaka just so they can be near the mountain. Many have a powder day clause written into their employment contracts. (The “if it snows don’t expect to see me at work” clause) This project aims to explore some of the village folk but not just how they interact with the mountain but also their alter ego, the other life they lead between the powder days.
