Communities ‘in limbo’ as Mt Ruapehu’s slopes stay quiet

Peggy Frew says Ohakune has a life of its own but the ski season is the glue that binds it together. Photo / Bevan Conley

The managing director of a ski, board and bike shop says “everyone is in limbo” as the future of Mt Ruapehu’s Tūroa and Whakapapa ski fields remains up in the air.

There would normally be a massive influx of people coming into town at this time of year in preparation for the upcoming season, TCB Ohakune’s Ben Wiggins said.

Instead, people were stuck waiting.

“It has a huge ripple-on effect for everything. If hotels don’t have bookings they don’t hire staff and bars and restaurants don’t get extra staff on.

“Pretty much the entire Central Plateau relies on winter tourism. Everyone is in limbo, waiting for any sort of news.”

Ruapehu Alpine Lifts (RAL) went into liquidation following a meeting with creditors this week.

The preferred option was to sell the ski fields to the Whakapapa Holdings and Pure Tūroa companies, while the other was a proposal from the Ruapehu Skifields Stakeholders Association (RSSA).

Neither got enough traction and RAL was returned to its directors.

Ruapehu Mayor Weston Kirton said his council was split on the options.

There had been arguments over who should be the “rightful bidder” and how the community had been affected.

Ultimately, he used his casting vote for the preferred option.

“It was hard fought to get to that point. I didn’t make many friends around the table but in my view, we had to do that,” Kirton said.

“I guess we’re down but not out in terms of opening up in the near future. One would hope we can do that in good time.”

He said the council was a stakeholder, with $500,000 invested into the Sky Waka gondola around five years ago.

“That’s the least of our concerns when you consider the bigger picture and how it’s affecting people’s lives and the economy.”

Ruapehu Mayor Weston Kirton.

Wiggins said the process from here would probably unfold in “the typical Kiwi way” - everything would happen at once and everyone would be in a panic to get things done in a short space of time.

One positive was already having staff on Mt Ruapehu.

“Preparation is already done and the maintenance people have worked tirelessly over the summer,” he said.

“The bit that’s scary for them is whether they have a job or not. The same can be said for all these people around town.”

Pipers Ski Lodge owner Wayne Lee said his business was being kept afloat by school groups coming through.

It is located at National Park.

“Since last year or the year before we haven’t made any money. We just survive,” Lee said.

“I think all the businesses want something to open up soon but it’s out of our control. There’s nothing we can do.”

Lee said smaller lodges in the area were doing it even tougher.

“They don’t have any customers at all, especially in June.

“There’s no income but they obviously still have to pay expenses. They are just waiting for the winter to come. If the ski field doesn’t open I think half of them might have to close.”

Kirton said he was “getting hell from all directions” but currently, the council wasn’t privy to any further negotiations.

“Liquidators will be looking at the options, including negotiating a deal with whoever. It could be with all three for all I know.”

There were a whole host of reasons why people were anxious to see something over the line sooner rather than later, he said.

“People are bleeding from previous years, through lack of snow and Covid-19.

“It’s quite devastating for some but there is still a glimmer of hope that we’ll get something resolved.”

Happy Valley - part of the Whakapapa ski field - on Mt Ruapehu. Photo / Ruapehu Scenic Shuttles

Ohakune Carrot Adventure Park development team member Peggy Frew said the town had a life of its own but the ski season was the glue that bound it together.

“The horticulture industry is huge but the ski field is the cream, or the snow, on top.

“We want to keep our supermarket and our restaurants and you have to have that ski field going.

“Of course, it doesn’t matter how much arguing and voting they do - if there’s no snow then it’s all a bit academic anyway.”

Frew said at present there was hardly any on Mt Ruapehu - “certainly nothing you could do anything with”.

“A lot of people have already booked their ski holidays in the South Island rather than coming here because usually, you can count on snow in South Island.

“Ohakune will continue without a ski season but it won’t have that vibrancy and it won’t have that excitement that comes from those big ski weekends.”

Frew’s husband, longtime Ohakune farmer and market gardener Ron Frew, said 40 years ago the snow would already be in place and a decision on the ski fields’ future would have to be made quickly.

“When the ski season regularly kicked off in July, the town buzzed right through to September.

“Progressively, those season starts have got later and later. Right now it’s mild here and there’s hardly any snow on the mountain at all.”

Wiggins said there were a lot of unhappy people when the watershed meeting came to an end.

“At least we know that Pure Tūroa and Whakapapa Holdings are still trying to save the season and the Ruapehu region.

“They are saying ‘We’re here and we’re good to go’.

“It’s just a matter of getting the ducks in a row and making it happen.”

A Ngāti Rangi spokesperson said the iwi wasn’t taking any media interviews.