Latest news with #Tūroa
RNZ News
09-07-2025
- Climate
- RNZ News
Mt Ruapehu ski fields busy over school holidays, despite underwhelming snow season
Whakapapa ski field, Mt Ruapehu, 2023. Photo: Supplied/ Ruapehu Alpine Lifts Mt Ruapehu's ski fields have still been busy over the school holidays, despite a bad start to the season with little snow. This will be Whakapapa's first season under new operator Whakapapa Holdings, while Tūroa is also now being run by a new company, Pure Tūroa , after Ruapehu Alpine Lifts, which oversaw both skifields, went into insolvency in 2022. Snow machines were keeping the learners slopes open at Tūroa and Whakapapa skifields after a wet June, which saw twice the amount of rainfall compared to the same time last year. But the chief executives of the new operations are adamant the best skiing is yet to come, and the lack of snow has not put people off. Chief executive at Whakapapa Travis Donoghue said the snow levels were lower than they would have wanted, but it was still early days. "[We've had a] bit of rain throughout June and up until now, probably would've rather had it fall as snow." He said the Happy Valley learners slope had returned to being fully operational on Tuesday, after heavy rain swept across the Central North Island last week. Despite the lack of snow, thousands were coming up just for sight-seeing trips on the Sky Waka gondola, he said. "Particularly these last few days, people have been showing up with gusto." He was confident the million-dollar investment in 10 new snow guns - making "whales of snow" on the upper moutain - was a worthwhile investment, and all that remained was a big dump of snow. "We're ready for it, and there's not much more we can do ... except look forward to it." On the south side of the moutain, Tūroa chief executive Jono Dean said they were tracking well, but still a "good storm or two away" from being able to fully open up. "You'd want to ensure every season starts with 2-3 metres of snow on the ground, and life would be great, but that's not the case every year, and that's something we have to adapt to - and have." He said plenty of people had been enjoying the manufactured snow on the learners slopes, but beyond those, the mountain was "still pretty barren". Like Donoghue, Dean said the season was long at Ruapehu - with the "best spring skiing in the world" to come. Meanwhile the Ruapehu District Mayor Weston Kirton said the area was humming with tourists, with the town of Ohakune "chockablock". "I can only go on what I hear, which is that there are a record number of people coming into the area." Ruapehu District Mayor Weston Kirton. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver MetService meterologist Oscar Shiviti said the average temperature for last month was lower than June 2024, and more days had forecast snow. However, he said rain in temperatures below 0 degrees Celsius did not necessarily result in snow. "Snow can still fall at slightly warmer temperatures, and rain can still occur at slightly colder ones - it all depends on the vertical temperature profile of the atmosphere." He said the temperature between the cloud and the ground determined whether rain would turn to snow. "If the freezing level is low enough and deep enough, falling precipitation has more time to pass through cold air, allowing raindrops to freeze into snowflakes before reaching the ground. "In this case, what starts as rain or snow aloft can reach the surface as snow." In contrast, Shiviti said a shallow freezing level would see the snow melt into rain on its way down. "Sometimes, this creates sleet or freezing rain instead of snow, depending on the exact temperature profile." He said in general, snow was more likely when the air temperature at the surface was 2 degrees C or lower, and if it were raining heavily for a long period of time, which could cool the air further. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
20-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Mount Ruapehu ski season officially opens this long weekend
Whakapapa ski field, Mt Ruapehu, 2023. Photo: Supplied/ Ruapehu Alpine Lifts Thousands of skiers, snowboarders and sightseers will head up Mount Ruapehu this long weekend, with both skifields now officially open. This will be Whakapapa's first season under new operator Whakapapa Holdings , and chief executive Travis Donoghue said 10,000 people were expected to take advantage of good weather and early snow. "For us, June is a bonus... particularly with Matariki weekend. Folks tend to start thinking of a winter way, so really start to come out in large numbers from today onwards." Meanwhile, Tūroa Ski Area was expecting more than 2000 visitors over the long weekend. Tūroa is also now being run by a new company, Pure Tūroa , after Ruapehu Alpine Lifts, which oversaw both skifields, went into insolvency in 2022. Both Whakapapapa Holdings and Pure Tūroa have been granted 10-year Department of Conservation (DOC) concession to run their respective skifields. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
18-06-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Iwi files court action against minister and DOC over Ruapehu ski fields
Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone A central North Island iwi has filed court action against Minister of Conservation Tama Potaka and the Department of Conservation (DOC) over concession made to the commercial operators of Tūroa and Whakapapa ski fields on Ruapehu. The iwi, Te Patutokotoko, alleges the Crown failed their legal obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi by failing to engage with them and actively protect their interests in their ancestral maunga by continuing to deal with private owners over them. Lead claimant Te Kurataiaha Te Wanikau Tūroa told RNZ the the iwi has been looking for a solution to the issue for years, but was "shrugged off no matter what plan we put forward". Tūroa said the iwi had spoken directly to the minister about their concerns. "We actually put in an interest for Whakapapa 18 months back, we got right to the end of it... the Crown just shut us off at the 12th hour. "It was a let down. But we didn't cry. We just carried on. That's what we're doing," Tūroa said. Earlier this year, Whakapapa Holdings Limited and Pure Tūroa were granted 10-year concession by DOC to operate the north and south sides of the maunga respectively. The previous owner went into receivership in 2022 and the successful bid by the private companies came as a relief to Ruapehu mayor Weston Kirton who said the ski fields were vital to the district's economy. Te Kurataiaha Te Wanikau Tūroa said he did not want the companies to be kicked off the mountain, but wanted the iwi to have more say on how the maunga was operated. "It's an activity that our people, and New Zealanders, and foreigners come to do. It just needs to be run better. "We still have no coexistence with iwi our people in this, and that's where the breakdown is," Tūroa said. In a statement, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka said it would not be appropriate to comment as the matter was before the courts.
RNZ News
31-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Countdown on for 2025 ski season as first operators begin to open doors
Mt Hutt is not ruling out opening next weekend if conditions play ball. Photo: NICOLE HAWKE The countdown is on for the 2025 ski season with a North Island ski field opting for a soft launch this weekend while snow guns are blazing down in the south. Staffing and accommodation shortages have hampered ski fields in recent years, but operators said their luck had turned around and scores of people had applied to work on the slopes. Nestled on Mount Ruapehu, Tūroa Ski Area was ready to open its cafes and offer snow play and sightseeing on Saturday. Chief executive Jono Dean said people could enjoy a day in the snow before the snow bunnies started hitting the slopes next month. "There's a little bit of snow in and around bottom of the mountain just in the base area, which is really exciting and it's a good precursor to what we think is coming next week, which looks like a nice, healthy storm to get the snow off and running for 2025," he said. "As we start to snow on the ground and snow on the forecast, we'll be progressively opening lifts and facilities over the coming month of June and we anticipate readiness for the 28th of June and the start of the school holidays." The ski area had almost 1200 applicants for 200-250 jobs and was fully staffed. "It's actually a real blessing against previous years where we have really struggled in our part of the world for availability of staffing and, of course, skilled staffing," he said. In the South Island, Cardrona Alpine Resort's new Soho Express chairlift opens this season, offering 150 hectares of new terrain. Cardrona and Treble Cone Experiences general manager Laura Hedley said they had been hard at work over the warmer months to get the ski fields ready. Speaking on Friday afternoon with snow falling outside her window, she was feeling positive for the season ahead, especially with a strong group of staff - half of whom were returnees. There was less pressure on finding accommodation as they had a 120-bed backpackers they renovated about three years ago to fall back on and rentals were not quite as hard to come by, she said. "We've got staff, they've got good accommodation and we've got all these upgrades. I'm touching wood that it's going to be a good season and that mother nature comes and helps us as well." Mt Hutt was expected to lead the charge and open its slopes on Saturday after receiving more than a metre of snow in April. NZSki chief executive Paul Anderson earlier said he was pretty confident it would stick around but those hopes were dashed by nor-wester winds. "The snow around the base area just wasn't enough to get access to the lifts so we wanted to give it every chance and we threw everything at it but that early season snow can disappear early," he said. Anderson was not ruling out opening next weekend if the conditions played ball, but said Mt Hutt could always fall back to its original opening date of 13 June. Further south around Queenstown, the picture was not looking so promising earlier in the week, but he said some good wintry weather had settled in so it could crack on with snowmaking. NZSki had invested in three new groomers, about $750,000 on improving its rental equipment, more 4WD buses in Queenstown and about a million dollars spent on snowmaking across the mountains, Anderson said. After a bumpy few years for staffing, it had a record staff return rate and plenty of newcomers which he put down to people feeling more confident travelling here with memories of border closures fading and tougher economic times meaning more people were looking for work. NZSki had previously taken the plunge into accommodation, buying a hostel and offering just under 100 beds. It had also built apartments for staff and planned to build another 12 in the coming years, he said. He believed some landlords might be getting tired of offering short term rentals and putting them back onto a fixed tenancy basis, which had also eased the pressure. Looking at the forward bookings, the Queenstown slopes were getting plenty of aroha from locals and Australians, he said. The Remarkables celebrates its 40th birthday this year, and Paul Anderson said there would be a 1980s themed party in late spring so people should prepare their perms, straight skis and retro ski suits. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
