Ruapehu Alpine Lifts’ former boss bids for Whakapapa skifield again

Former RAL boss Dave Mazy wants to ensure the survival of Whakapapa skifield. Photo / Ruapehu Alpine Lifts

By RNZ

The former head of Ruapehu Alpine Lifts will be putting in a bid to take over a central North Island skifield.

The Whakapapa skifield was left out of a deal made this year to grant Pure Tūroa a 10-year concession to operate the skifield at Tūroa.

Its previous owner, Ruapehu Alpine Lifts (RAL), which used to operate both the Whakapapa and Tūroa fields on Mt Ruapehu, went into voluntary administration.

RAL former chief executive Dave Mazey wants to ensure Whakapapa’s survival. The skifield remains under the ongoing management of RAL’s receivers.

Whakapapa Holdings, led by Mazey, previously tried to buy the Whakapapa skifield, but withdrew because of concern over its viability.

Mazey believed the long-term future of the skifield was critical for central North Island communities and the ski market.

“A lot of people get a whole lot of benefit and value out of being able to enjoy these sorts of opportunities on the maunga,” he told Morning Report.

“Whakapapa has produced and delivered what you call an operating surface, pretty well consistently, for 70-odd years. I believe that opportunity is still there and, if we can get the model right, the formula right and get back the scale of business that was traded through up until the 2019-20 year, I think it’s got a strong future.”

Anyone wanting to buy Whakapapa would need a concession or licence to be able to operate on the mountain — the concession was restricted to a 10-year term with the Conservation Act allowing a maximum available term of 60 years.

“I also think that there’s real value in taking the first five years of that sitting around the table with all of the various stakeholders, but particularly the key iwi groupings, and over that five-year period endeavouring to develop a stronger understanding of what are the opportunities for the longer-term future for this place.”

In March, RAL received its fifth multimillion-dollar bailout.

Newshub on Sunday reported Auckland businessman John Sandford was also registering an expression of interest in Whakapapa with other New Zealand businesses, and that an expression of interest to the receivers was also imminent from Ngāti Hikairo.

Debt and climate

One of the issues raised by Mazey previously was that any new owner would have to take on a large debt associated with the construction of the Sky Waka Gondola in 2018-19.

“You’ve got to take on that $14 million of bond and debt associated with the Sky Waka, you’re going to have to make some $1.5m to $2m of payments that are unpaid from prior to RAL going into administration,” he told Morning Report.

“But we still believe with what’s available and what’s on the table now in the context of this initial short-term 10-year licence, once we get through that and get a clearer picture of what a longer-term future could look like, it’s a commercially viable business.”

It would not be possible to honour the life passes for the Whakapapa skifield though, he said.

“I don’t think any commercial operator is going to have an ability to honour the life passes as they were sold and purchased historically.

“I’m sure there will still be an offer on the table that will offer them a discounted scheme for a period, as we saw with PTL [Pure Tūroa Limited] in Tūroa, where for a fixed fee they get access to lifts for the next three years.

“Somewhere in there, there will be something on the table, but it clearly won’t be access to all lifts at Whakapapa for no charge for the balance of people’s lives.”

Mazey acknowledged there was also the challenge of climate — with variable snow over the years — but there were workarounds for snow management techniques.

“We just have to be smarter and better at utilising the cold air and the snow that does come naturally than we may have had to do in the past.”

– RNZ