Summer skiing small but successful

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 12, Issue 569, 17 January 1995, Page 7

Summer skiing small but successful

This summer' s skiing on Ruapehu wasn ' t the surpri se boon of 1992 but it was still worthwhile for both Whakapapa and Turoa ski fields. Whakapapa' s Scottie Barrie said they had 100150 people a day on average through December and up to 8 January when the skiing closed. New Year's Day was popular with about a thousand people taking to the slopes for the first runs of 1995. He said the field being open right through December probably meant the no velty of Christmas skiing wasn't quite there, meaning they didn' t get the large crowds like 1992-93. However he said it was

worthwhile and that the company would certainly consider repeating it each year. This was the third summer ski season for Whakapapa. Visitors didn't get to ski the runs they had hoped, with a hot December "sucking a lot of the snow away", as well as warm, heavy rain storms. "We could see it running offthehill." "But the snow held up remarkably well and wegot some fine clear weather." Lifts skiable were the Knoll Ridge, Valley and Far West T-Bars until just before Christmas when they lost the Far West. Then they lost the Knoll Ridge just before New Year.

"We had to work pretty hard to keep the T-bar lines and the trails intact," said Mr Barrie. After the skiing had finished the mountain was still busy, with around 300 visitors each day, taking rides to the Knoll Ridge Chalet cafe, plus many taking the hike to the Crater Lake. Half the visitors were New Zealanders and half overseas people, said Mr Barrie. Turoa The southern slopes fared well tpo, with 200-300 people, most days through their summer season, from 27 December to 8 January. "We were lucky most days with fine weather," said general manager An-

gus Grimwade. He said the company wasn't out to make money with the exercise but that it was good promotion for skiing in general, for Turoa, and for Ohakune as a summer holiday destination. They made the national television news and the front page of the Dominion.

About a third of the visitors were sightseers, he said, which was encouraging. The new High Flyer Quad Chair, Australasia's highest chairlift, provided skiing. Unfortunately the track for the High Noon T Bar was washed away by Christmas rains making that lift unskiable.