Mt Ruapehu skifield visitors should stay inside the designated areas unless they have the skills, experience and equipment to be self-sufficient in the back country, police warn.
The message follows an incident last week in which police had to use a helicopter to rescue two people, unprepared for back-country conditions, who had ventured past skifield boundaries.
With big weekend crowds, boundaries could be difficult to monitor. So many people flocked to ski Mt Ruapehu in Saturday's dazzling weather that the road to the Whakapapa ski area had to be closed. There were 5000 people at the Turoa ski area, and 4600 at Whakapapa that day, Ruapehu Alpine Lifts marketing manager Anna McLaren said.
"Skifield areas are staffed by ski patrols, and they put a lot of effort into making sure there are appropriate safety measures in place," said Constable Conrad Smith, of National Park Police.
"This includes roping off cliffs, ensuring there is adequate avalanche control and providing first aid and rescue responses for people who need it."