.jpg)
Snow has blanketed Mount Ruapehu – now a hefty covering of school holiday fun-seekers is needed to help operators of the Whakapapa and Tūroa ski fields dig their way out of a $40 million debt avalanche.
Ruapehu Alpine Lifts chief executive officer Jono Dean says the season opening day on Saturday had been “pretty good”.
Visitors to Happy Valley, at the foot of the Whakapapa skifield, found a good covering of snow on their arrival on Saturday, while the white blanket also covered the ground as far as the now-closed Chateau Tongariro hotel.
Snow has finally arrived in New Zealand.
Poor visibility and weather conditions meant the Sky Waka Gondola was not able to operate on either Saturday or Sunday, which was disappointing – “but it’s looking promising from our perspective, with more snow forecast for later in the week”.
We will be progressively opening all the lifts throughout July.”
The Tūroa team are expecting to open all lifts, except for the Nga Wai Heke lift which is undergoing maintenance but may potentially open later in the season.
Ruapehu Alpine Lifts employs 65 permanent staff, however, those numbers usually swelled to about 500 employees on both ski fields at the peak of the season.
Day passes, Sky Waka and sledding passes were available online, while season passes will go on sale on Monday for a two-week period.
“Life Passes” will remain active and valid throughout the 2023 winter season, says Dean.
