Great opening for ski season

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 1, Issue 2, 14 June 1983, Page 7

Great opening for ski season

Turoa Skifields, who had on Thursday decided that there was insufficient snow to ski, planned to open up the chairlift facilities for •htseeing only over the ekend. But the heaven sent (!) fall of snow on Thursday night changed all that . . . a decision was made on Friday morning to open the skifield (which had a base of 45 cm of snow) on Saturday. The decision was a popular one as evidenced by the attendance figures. On Saturday the Ohakune Ranger Station recorded 1328 visitors using the Mountain Road with another 2282 on Sunday with the balance on Monday making up a total of nearly 5000 visitors. Of those 4760 visitors Turoa Skifields estimate a •al of about 3500 skiers :d the facilities provided — the first and second chairlifts, the Valley beginners tow and the three cafeterias. A 'couple of hundred' non-skiing visitors also used the chairlift for sightseeing.

"It was a really great start for the Turoa ski season both for visitors and staff," said Turoa's marketing manager Terry Drayton. The warm spring-like weather meant that visitors could relax and enjoy the combination of snow and sun and it also meant that the Turoa staff operating the facilities — many of whom were new to the job — had a pleasant conditions in which to work. "It was the first time in the history of the Turoa Skifield that there had been so much snow at this time of the year," said Terry Drayton, "and the most snow that has fallen on Mt Ruapehu in early June, since 1977." "This, coupled with perfect weather over the entire 3-day holiday period, made it an ideal weekend for all concerned with lots of people visiting the snow for the first time," he said. Because of the limited facilities operating at Whakapapa many package tour people were diverted to Turoa and many of the confirmed "Whakapapa skiers" who were forced to come round to Turoa for their skiing on this occasion admitted to being impressed and would probably be

returning later in the season. Visitors were surprised at the extent of the snow and the spectacular scenic drive up the Ohakune Mountain Road. Chains were required above the 9 km barrier all day Saturday and Sunday but this restriction was lifted on Monday afternoon. "The only unfortunate thing about the weekend was the misleading report put out about the weather and skiing conditions by some sections of the media" said Terry Drayton. "By lumping Whakapapa and Turoa under the same 'Mount Ruapehu' snow report heading people are led to believe that conditions are always similar on both skifields," he said, "but the fact is that conditions on both sides of the mountain are very often the exact opposite." He urges the news media to distinguish between the two skifields. The only way fo ensure an accurate report about conditions on the Turoa Skifield, said Terry Drayton, is to phone the Turoa Information Centre on Ohakune 456 or the respective ranger stations at either National Park (for Whakapapa) or Ohakune (for Turoa).