Ski fields notch up a '96 weekend

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 14, Issue 649, 13 August 1996, Page 9

Ski fields notch up a '96 weekend

Good numbers took to the Whakapapa and Turoa slopes on the weekend, despite some poor weather. Saturday was Whakapapa' s first weekend ski day this season, the delay thanks to the recent eruptions, and Turoa had good news for skiers and snowboarders with both the Bacardi High Noon T Bar and, on Sunday, the Jumbo T-Bar open. "We are taking each day as it comes," said Ruapehu Alpine Lifts representative Mark McGill. Whakapapa had a crowd of 1400 people on Sunday, while the skiing was cut short at 1pm on Saturday due to a storm. About 800 people took to Turoa' s slopes on Saturday and about 2500 on Sunday, when the weather was better. The Moro Race T-Bar is expected to open this week, depending on the weather. The good news for the ski industry followed heavy snowfalls earlier that covered the last eruption ash layer as well as the downgrading of the Science Alert Level to Level 2, which meant the exclusion zone could be reduced to 1.5km. Of concern was the sighting of a skier

climbing to the summit of Ruapehu on Sunday, hiking into the exclusion zone, because of the risks the climber would have placed rescuers if trouble had arisen. Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences vulcanologist lan Nairn reported last week that while the alert level had been lowered, it was important to realise that it did not mean the eruptions had ended. He said a return to a higher level could happen at any time. "With the magma column remaining at a shallow depth beneath the crater and continuing intermittent shallow seismic activity and moderate to strong gas emissions, further ash eruptions are expected," he reported. Tremor level on the mountain had remained at levels of very low to low-moder-ate since 1 August. Although Turoa was closed by ashfall on 1 August this was largely due to unfavourable wind conditions causing most of the ash from a relatively small eruption to fall close to the vent (on Turoa), he said. The last previous significant eruption 1 was on 26 July, with the last ejecting ballistic material being on 21 July.