Snow problems welcomed!

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 9, Issue 397, 30 July 1991, Page 1

Snow problems welcomed!

Whakapapa has problems - but no one is complaining. The problems are caused by the metre of snow that fell on the field during last week's bad weather. "There's up to three

metres of snow to clear at the Far West T Bar," said marketing manager Scott Lee. 'The cable is on the ground but no one's complaining - it's a good problem to have." A week of bad weather

that dumped a metre of snow on Whakapapa has left skiers and ski area operators smiling now the weather has cleared. The skiing is now superb - the best in 10 to 15 years according to skier's reports.

"The Rock Garden is wonderful," said a Whakapapa spokesperson. The field now has a base of 157cm compared to 98cm at this time last year - which was the best season since 1980. On Sunday 3500 skiers took to the Whakapapa slopes to enjoy the new snow. There were difficulties on the mountain road - a tour bus slipped and blocked the road for half an hour and the problem was compounded with hundreds of

cars at the Chateau level severely restricting the uphill flow. At times the road was very marginal and was restricted to four-wheel-drive vehicles with chains at one stage. Avalanche control work also slowed things up and closed the National Downhill area all Sunday while ski patrol staff blasted dangerous slopes. Although not spectacular, the biggest slide for several years Turnpage2

Snow problem

Frompagel was set off at the Valley Headwall on the weekend. At Turoa 3300 people visited on Sunday and there too avalanche work and de-icing slowed the start-up of the lifts. All facilities except the Moro Race T Bar operated, though the Jumbo was not operating until mid-afternoon. De-icing crews worked all day to clear dangerous ice from towers. In the early stages loading at the M6venpick Chair was stopped while staff dug a track across a ridge where the loaded chairs were coming too close to the snow. The beginner ski programme "Let's Go Skiing" began on the weekend with hundreds of people taking advantage of the offer to ski for a day, with a lesson and ski hire, for $15. Whakapapa had about 250 and Turoa about 200 participants each day.