“I don’t know if I’m mad or what it is, but anyhow, I enjoyed the challenge,” says Foote.
Foote’s dream started from a falling out.
“I was involved in running a club field and I had a bit of a raw deal,” says Foote.
“That made me pretty determined to get my customers back on my side - I thought, ‘righto - I’m going to start my own ski field’,” he adds, still with a defiant tone more than 50 years after the fact.
“Call me pig-headed or determined - whatever it was, but nothing was going to stop me,” he adds.
View of Mt Dobson Ski Area near Fairlie in the South Island. The ski field is for sale. Photo / Supplied
Foote is making his way up the ski field access road when he pulls over to take my call on a bluebird day in late autumn.
“Part of the thrill of the place is the views. It’s a million-dollar view being able to see from Mt Cook right down the Mackenzie - and turn around and see right out to the coast. It really is amazing,” says Foote.
He knew that when he found it in 1970 – after flying over the basin of Mt Dobson with a local farmer.
“Comparing it with other areas, I thought this is the place for a ski field.”
The access road Foote has pulled over on is the road that he built on a $2000 bulldozer – the road that began a 45-year journey.
“I surveyed the road myself and walked up with my brother and established this line,” says Foote, looking back at his handiwork.
After four years of seeking permission from the Land and Survey Department (it was Government land) the “bureaucrats”, as Foote refers to them, signed off on his plans and the real work began.
“I hopped on my bulldozer in 1976 and started building the road up to the ski field. That took us three years.”
A mechanic by trade, Foote knew his way around the sort of machinery needed to do the job – but it was literally a mountain of work, requiring a figurative mountain of cash.
“We didn’t have any money - just hand-to-mouth stuff. I’d do some dozing and go away and earn some money with the dozers doing other jobs and repairing tractors and come back and do some more,” says Foote.
By 1979, he’d reached the top. He sold off a bulldozer and installed a rope tow.
The chair lift at the Mt Dobson Ski Area. Photo / Supplied
“In 1980/81 we borrowed a lot of money at 26.5% interest and installed the T-bar, the platter lift and learners’ slope and that got us going.”
The cash injection had made Foote’s dreams a reality – but the crippling interest rate threatened to cut them short. Two bad years in 1987 and 1988 almost closed the fledgling ski field – but the following year was a bumper.
“We paid off our debt and I thought ‘I’m never going to borrow money again’. So from there on all our development has been done from revenue from the skiing.”
By then, there were 15 staff, but it was always a family-built business.
“My wife [Shirley] was the mainstay, she was amazing. Without her input and her personality, it wouldn’t happen. She would make my lunch every day and put love notes in occasionally and keep me going.”
When the doors opened, Shirley became even more hands-on with the business.
“She did all the administration. We used to get quite a lot of schools and she’d organise all that, all the GST, all the phone calls and she did it with great enthusiasm. She was pretty amazing.”
Shirley died in 2001.
“When she passed away, I thought the sky fell down,” says Foote.
Foote put his ski field on the market shortly after – with “a lot of interest” but the family kept it. They’ve looked at selling it a few times since, and now Foote has the business back on the market.
“My sons are in their 50s and they say they’ve had enough and at my age I’ve just got to move on.”
The carpark at Mt Dobson is New Zealand's highest at just over 1700 metres elevation. Photo / Supplied
At 82 he says he’s reached the end of a road that took him to the highest carpark in New Zealand.
“Our base area is the highest in the country at 1740 metres at the car park area.”
He believes the location of the ski area means they rely less on snow-making.
“The basin itself seems to hold the cold air, so it seems to hold snow better than some ski areas. We’re renowned for our dry powder snow,” says Foote.
He proudly boasts that in the past 45 years, “we’ve never missed a season through lack of snow”.
Foote no longer skis. A mishap on a ski-doo a few years ago damaged his knee. He’s wary of undoing the repair – but he’s still active in maintaining what he’s built.
“My sons and myself do most of the grooming. We’ve got the current model groomers, so we can produce a product that’s on a par with the world’s best.”
Bluebird day at Mt Dobson. Photo / Supplied
Foote still speaks with the passion he started the project with – but he says it’s time to do other things.
“It’s a young man’s game - a pretty exciting game to be in, really. You get a break for two or three months in the summer but during the winter it’s pretty full on. It’s certainly an amazing occupation to get involved in.”
As he looks back at what he’s achieved over the past 50 years, you can hear the pride and humility in his voice.
“It was a challenge, but people have given me a great pat on the back for doing it. I really appreciate what we’ve done, I’ve had a lot of pleasure.”
The next adventure for Foote has more rivers than roads.
“I’ve done quite a bit of jet boating. There’s a few places that I haven’t jet boated yet that I’d like to.”
