Gloriavale skiing: Women from West Coast community enjoy a day at Porters ski field

Members of the Gloriavale community on the West Coast have been seen skiing at a Canterbury club field.

A local woman who saw them skiing said the group appeared to be enjoying themselves at Porters ski area.

“We were really surprised to see them skiing. Their clothing obviously makes them pretty distinctive.”

The female skiers were wearing the long, blue dresses that are their uniform.

“Someone in our ski group lives near Gloriavale and he recognised them – it was him who told us they were from the community.”

The Gloriavale Christian Community is located a two-hour 20-minute drive from Porters ski area, the first skifield in New Zealand to use artificial snow-making machinery.

Members of the Gloriavale community hit the slopes at Porters ski area in Canterbury. Photo / Supplied

“It looked like the young women were having a great time on the snow, which is lovely because I think people from outside the community mostly presume their lives are pretty drab and joyless.

“They were laughing and seemed to be having a blast in the snow.”

The woman said the Gloriavale skiers appeared to be using older skiing gear, with long skis that were more common decades ago.

“In terms of how good they were, I’d say they looked to be about beginner-intermediate level skiers. There were a lot of snow ploughs and a lot of laughter.”

Members of the Gloriavale community prepare for their day of skiing at Porters in Canterbury. Photo / Supplied

She said one member of their group appeared significantly more advanced in their skiing technique.

“There was one older woman who apparently came out here from Europe years ago. We could tell she had good skills despite the old ski gear – she was on ancient, tall, skinny 205 skis.

“We saw her on the ski jump, it was like a scene from The Flying Nun.”

An exhibition of paintings, photography, drawings and model aeroplanes created by members of the Gloriavale community went on display in Greymouth in April.

Gloriavale has been the subject of public scrutiny in recent years, with Children’s Commissioner Dr Claire Achmad calling for the community’s school to be closed and leader Howard Temple resigning from his role as Overseeing Shepherd after being convicted of sexual offending.