Skifield finds favour with first time visitor

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 2, Issue 25, 20 November 1984, Page 16

Skifield finds favour with first time visitor

I had just a morning to sample the snow, the sun and the terrain of Turoa skifield in late October. It was not nearly enough. What I saw was a wide open expanse of dips, hollows and bluffs, smooth slopes and moguls. Three hours could in no way 4o it all justice. Not to mention it was the first time I had been on skis this season and co-ordination was proving somewhat elusive ... Still it was a brilliant day and there were hardly any people on the mountain. Skiing was still down to the second chair and the tow queue had disappeared by the time you'd adjusted your boots or put some more nose cream on. There was plenty of snow, still hard from the night before but beginning to soften up by late morning. About lunch-time it was just right, not quite the late afternoon slush of spring skiing. I was impressed with the openess of the field and the places such as the glacier where you could go to get away from the crowds — not that I had that problem, but

I can see the attraction of it in the middle of the August holidays. Everyone on the field seemed to be having a good time, the people on the chairs gleeful at their good fortune after a bad Labour weekend, proclaiming skiing on week days was the only way to go. The atmosphere was friendly and relaxed, these people were out to enjoy themselves and Turoa had obviously come up with the goods. Most of them were extremely loyal to the field, liking what it has to offer and coming back each year for more. I didn't have the time or the expertise to make a judgement on the "challenge" or otherwise of the field. I do think, however, it has a lot to offer skiers of varying ability — the best can take themselves off the beaten track and find their own enjoyment in places such as the glacier and the waterfall, the "average" skier can have the run of the whole field without getting out of depth and the learner can progress gradually without being confined to one or two runs.

Skifield staff are often accused of being unhelpful and a bit arrogant, something that does nothing for the tourist market. Perhaps the Turoa staff had had lessons in PR, perhaps they were well chosen or perhaps they just liked the kind of life work on a skifield enabled them to live, whatever it was the ones I encountered were friendly, helpful and without the condescending "here's another loopy" attitude. The best PR ad, however, was the Turoa PR manager himself. Andy Chapman, who organised the day for me, has an infectious enthusiasm for the field and you find yourself carried along with his praise. There's no hard sell, he's obviously genuine and as such an asset to Turoa. I didn't want to leave when it got to 12 o-clock, but I had a great morning — thanks to the people who made it so — and I went away full of recommendations ... and a sunburnt nose because there hadn't been time in the queues to put suncream on. Margaret Baker