Grooming up a storm on Ruapehu

Ruapehu Bulletin, 3 August 1993, Page 4 (Supplement)

Grooming up a storm on Ruapehu

The pristine ski trails of Mt Ruapehu's Whakapapa Skifield are no accident; no freak of nature. Rather, it is through the skill and labour of the ski field' s snow grooming staff and fleet of snow groomers, that the field has eamed the reputation as the 'magic mountain' . Whakapapa grooming supervisor, Murray

McCurlick, said he is constantly amazed at the metamorphosis that snow undergoes at different temperatures, referring to it as "the strongest, and weakest force of Nature". This constant state of change poses a continual challenge for the grooming staff who operate under five different "game plans", dependent upon the snow conditions. Sixty percent of the

time is allocated to grooming; the remainder is spent pushing snow to give good coverage. Approximately 75% of skiers stick to the groomed trails, he said. "A lot of people don't realise the amount of work that goes into preparing the field", said Murray. "One group thought the wind groomed the snow during the night."

Working in shifts, the team of seven snow cats do the majority of the work at night The snow is bladed flat, then tilled by means of a rotary shaft with teeth and finally combed for a smooth finish. High winds can create problems for the snow grooming team who are out on the slopes 99 percent of the time, even during extreme blizzard

conditions. During the 1992 ski season there were just three days that grooming staff were unable to work the slopes. The mountain' s notoriously unpredictable conditions are monitored continuously by the crew who are equipped with avalanche transceivers and in full radio contact. All groomers have com-

prehensive avalanche training and are wellequipped to handle most situations. Groomers maintain the same 10-hour shift throughout the season - a system that makes sense, when it is understood that the average person takes five weeks to adjust to a different work/sleep pattem. While it may cramp the

social life somewhat, Murray McCurlick - a Whakapapa devotee since 1987 - insists that it is the job for him. An aesthetic consideration must undoubtedly be the magnificent sunsets but there 's also a variety and interest in the work that keeps him coming back year after year. "It's a different world up there", he said.