Season of the shovel

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 10, Issue 454, 22 September 1992, Page 5 (Supplement)

Season of the shovel

From page 3 At present the Giant chairlift is jacked up to full capacity and the Parklane chair is nearly at full extension. So what if Turoa gets another big dump of snow? "There'll be more digging," Mr Finlayson said, "we've got quite enough snow thank you very much." The weather in general is supposed to be warming up as a result of the greenhouse effect but it's actually getting colder so Turoa doesn't know what to expect, he said. "We had no idea the snow levels would be as

they were this year." Staff morale Holiday skiers aren't the only ones frustrated by the lack of good skiing days. Many of the seasonal mountain staff come to work at Turoa because of the opportunity to ski more often. "The staff have had a tough time of it this season," Mr Finlayson said, "because of the number of closed days they haven't had much work and also haven't had a lot of skiing." Turoa staff are paid a minimum of two hours per day when the mountain is closed, and get 48 hours

guarantied minimum pay a fortnight. Despite the conditions Rob Finlayson said Turoa haven't had a big turnover in staff this year. He said skifields generally have high staff tumovers. It's tough work shovelling piles of snow off buildings just so other staff can get in the doors. The buildings aren't designed to support such a weight.