Mt Ruapehu skifields

[nzoomed]

Such a shame to see how things have turned out there. This ski season was a bit of a lemon, but covid didnt help things either with the last 2 seasons.
I bumped into an ex-RAL employee on the lift last month and she said they had even 2 worse seasons than this in the late 80s. I was surprised how much snow Whakapapa had compared to Turoa.

If the govt does bail them out, it may be a good thing if we see RAL administered by the likes of DOC or something.
the 20 million dollar gondola on whakapapa didnt help their situation either as they were counting on that paying off with tourists returning, it does lend well to summer activities though even though skiers hate it.

[Lilith7]

There was mention on the news of snowboarders perhaps being able to use it, didn't catch all the item though.

[nzoomed]

Well they are still using it until the 24th when the season ends I think.
Tuora is the biggest concern for me, thats where I mostly go to snowboard.
There has been talk of a new lift going in there where the old jumbo t-bar was, but still has been delayed.
Most boarders prefer Turoa, its got better terrain.

[harm_less]

Maunganui (private) skifield on Egmont only got a single day of skiing in this season (a week or two back) which isn't surprising considering the general warming that climate change is bringing. I spent my youth mountaineering on Egmont (50+ summits) and the annual lodge birthday on Queen's Birthday was always a lottery as to whether a 4WD was able to get to the lodge at 5,000' in early June. Often not possible but I've watched this trend away in the past decades with 4WD access being possible almost continuously right through the winter just gone.

Ruapehu has better snowfall reliability but as CC worsens it will become increasingly marginal and any ongoing investment in skiing infrastructure must be wary of this.

The other effect of low snowfall is that it provides meltwater which goes towards New Plymouth's water supply. If this summer warms up I'm forecasting problems that will likely result in municipal water restrictions.

[Oh_hunnihunni]

Maunganui (private) skifield on Egmont only got a single day of skiing in this season (a week or two back) which isn't surprising considering the general warming that climate change is bringing. I spent my youth mountaineering on Egmont (50+ summits) and the annual lodge birthday on Queen's Birthday was always a lottery as to whether a 4WD was able to get to the lodge at 5,000' in early June. Often not possible but I've watched this trend away in the past decades with 4WD access being possible almost continuously right through the winter just gone.

Ruapehu has better snowfall reliability but as CC worsens it will become increasingly marginal and any ongoing investment in skiing infrastructure must be wary of this.

The other effect of low snowfall is that it provides meltwater which goes towards New Plymouth's water supply. If this summer warms up I'm forecasting problems that will likely result in municipal water restrictions.

I remember being snowed in at the uni hut on Ruapehu back in the 70s. It was fabulous fun...

[harm_less]

Maunganui (private) skifield on Egmont only got a single day of skiing in this season (a week or two back) which isn't surprising considering the general warming that climate change is bringing. I spent my youth mountaineering on Egmont (50+ summits) and the annual lodge birthday on Queen's Birthday was always a lottery as to whether a 4WD was able to get to the lodge at 5,000' in early June. Often not possible but I've watched this trend away in the past decades with 4WD access being possible almost continuously right through the winter just gone.

Ruapehu has better snowfall reliability but as CC worsens it will become increasingly marginal and any ongoing investment in skiing infrastructure must be wary of this.

The other effect of low snowfall is that it provides meltwater which goes towards New Plymouth's water supply. If this summer warms up I'm forecasting problems that will likely result in municipal water restrictions.

I remember being snowed in at the uni hut on Ruapehu back in the 70s. It was fabulous fun...

I remember being snowed in on the weekend we were moving out of Canada headed to NZ. It looked like this on the way to Halifax Airport. And 'fun' wasn't really an apt description.