27/07/2023
Latest update along with plenty of new snow! 😁
Here is the latest update from Travis.
Kia ora,
It has been a great four or so weeks at Mt Ruapehu. During the school holidays, we saw a huge demand from first-time snow seekers, and we were very pleased to get some lifts going for skiing and riding, earlier than what has been possible in the last few years.
At Whakapapa, we started some upper mountain riding on July 15th with the Valley T-Bar and the Delta joining on July 22nd. It's also been great to have the snow down low, allowing us to run the Double Happy in the beginner's area for the first time since 2021. At Tūroa, both the Movenpick and Parklane were out of the gate early, and The Giant made its debut on the 15th too. In some areas, at the start of this week, we were starting to look a little light on snow again (the storm that arrived Tuesday night looks to be fantastically timed though), and we've also had to contend with some big de-icing missions.
On the timing of lift openings, it is worth me touching again on the size of our 2023 team, and commending this lean team for the mahi they have been putting in. The pinch in resource is being most keenly felt in lift ops (including de-icers) and maintenance. There are lifts we absolutely would have liked to have opened sooner but have had just out of our reach. This in part comes back to the timing of storm cycles, but really, it mostly comes down to how well we were able to hire against a changing backdrop and an 11th-hour approval to open the season. Recruitment is ongoing, particularly in the pinch areas mentioned above, and we have paid advertising underway to give us the best chance of reaching relevant people and encouraging them to apply. If we can keep staffing up, we will see our goal of maximum terrain and lift up-time become easier and easier.
The next lifts we would expect to see are the Knoll Ridge T-Bar (which will be ready on or before this weekend) and the High Noon Express (which may open Sunday). We thought we should let you know now that the Noon won't be ready for Saturday, as much as it pains us to say it and as much as we would love it to be. But if a few things go our way, we should see it Sunday.
From there, at Whakapapa, we head West, with trails and T-lines already underway (the earliest we have been able to do this in about 5 years). We are now watching for the opportune weather window to install the haul rope on the Far West T-Bar. At or around the same time, we will welcome back the West Ridge Quad - again for the first time since 2021. At this point, all planned lifts will be underway on both sides of the mountain. At Tūroa, the Nga Wai Heke remains out of plan and inactive- for now.
So please, spread the good word and come out and see us. Have some fun and support the Ruapehu community. Snow is currently falling and in line with the above, we are now moving in to “winter proper”, with twelve weeks of the season still ahead of us.
Nga mihi nui,
Travis Donoghue
Chief Operating Officer
Ruapehu Alpine Lifts
📸 De-Anna Studer
