High winds trap skiers on Mt Hutt

Skiers cram one of the cafes at Mt Hutt skifield after powerful gales made it impossible for them to leave. Photo / Matt Hooker

About 1200 skiers - including several hundred schoolchildren - remained trapped on Mt Hutt early today after gales of more than 200km/h closed the only road off the mountain.

The weather blast on the South Island skifield was a precursor to a wild front expected to strike the rest of New Zealand today and tomorrow.

One skier last night described conditions in Mt Hutt's packed cafe as "chaos on a stick".

The ski resort - which has had a string of incidents this year, including three deaths - was hit by winds so strong that cars were shaken violently and people venturing outside to use toilets were blown over.

Skiers told the Herald they were called in about midday yesterday as the high winds suddenly hit.

The gales, which caused whiteout-like conditions, closed the only access road to the skifield.

Mt Hutt and MetService staff had said the winds were unlikely to ease, and late last night the trapped skiers were making themselves as comfortable as they could in the resort's cafes.

However Mt Hutt assistant manager James McKenzie this morning said there was some good news for them to wake up to.

The latest forecast shows a substantial drop in the wind by 9am and people should be able to start making their way down the mountain.

Last night Skifield manager David Wilson said: "People are being awfully good. Everyone's looking after each other and they're bedding down in the cafes, one upstairs, one down."

Among those packed into the facilities were 300 children in school parties and other youngsters accompanying parents on winter-holiday trips.

Mr Wilson said Mt Hutt had plenty of food and everyone had been given $2 meals - pizzas, chicken noodle dishes and chow mein - to mark the occasion.

After their meal, the skiers entertained themselves with impromptu quizzes.

High winds had been forecast yesterday, but one staff member said they weren't expected on the mountain until much later in the day.

The speed at which they arrived had been unusual.

Aucklander Matt Hooker, on his first trip to the mountain, said the winds were so strong that people were not allowed to leave the cafe.

Those who did have to venture out to use the toilets had to hold on to ropes, and young children were carried to the bathroom.

"The wind apparently has been gusting at around 206km/h at the peak and they have to wait until the wind is below 100km/h to get people down around the base area."

The 24-year-old said he had been sitting in a car - one of many in a queue at the carpark - waiting to see if the road would open, when the weather deteriorated even further.

"The wind lifted the car right up on its suspension, which was a bit scary.

"It was really shaking all the vehicles ... They moved everyone into the cafe after that."

Another skier told Radio New Zealand he was expecting a sleepless night.

"It's certainly not a dorm. Add to that the fact this place is full of Year 7s from the local school and you've got chaos on a stick."

Skifield management said conditions would be monitored constantly, and the road would be re-opened if there was a break in the weather.

Last night, MetService forecaster Andy Downs said he was expecting little reprieve from the bleak conditions before this morning.

"We're not really expecting the winds to ease until [today], so it looks like they will be stuck there for the night.

"The main reason for that is we're getting a broad trough of low pressure, and ahead of that trough we have a strong moist northerly flow.

"That will give us severe gales through to [this morning ]."

Mr Downs said the strong northerly flows would bring heavy rain to the ranges and the West Coast of the South Island overnight.

"Trampers will need to be aware of rising rivers, and the headwaters of rivers feeding into Otago and Canterbury will be getting some reasonable falls."

The front would target the northern part of the South Island, particularly the higher parts of Nelson and Richmond, Mr Downs said.

"There'll be some reasonably good falls even in lower-lying areas there, so there'll be water on roads. That will add to the sodden conditions of this area, which has already received a fair amount of rain recently."

The Mt Hutt closure follows several months of bad luck for the skifield. Three people have been killed and one seriously injured in skiing and snowboarding accidents.

On Tuesday, the field was closed after an avalanche which partially buried several skiers. No one was injured.

- ADDITIONAL REPORTING: NZPA, NZ Herald staff