Up and down the mountain - 25 times

Turoa road attendant Nick Heffer, 23, from Britain, said he enjoyed helping drivers off the mountain. Picture / Greg Bowker

It was a long but satisfying day for 23-year-old Turoa skifield worker Nick Heffer who helped more than 25 stranded skiers and snowboarders get down from Mt Ruapehu.

Hundreds of skiers and snowboarders at the Turoa and Whakapapa fields were snowed in on Thursday after a huge dump of snow blanketed Mt Ruapehu.

Mr Heffer drove more than 25 cars down Turoa's Mountain Road for people who did not feel comfortable driving on the treacherous road out themselves.

Each time, he caught a shuttle bus back to the top of the mountain to help more people. "I actually enjoyed helping everybody out," he said.

Mr Heffer, who has been working at Turoa for four weeks, said he drove more than 25 cars down during a seven-hour period.

"I was mainly driving cars for people who didn't feel confident in the conditions or who had limited experience," said Mr Heffer, who is in the country on a working holiday from England.

"There were quite a few families and mums with children who wanted to be extra careful.

"The cars all had chains on them ... but it can be quite scary driving in the snow when the road is slippery and especially when it starts getting dark."

Mr Heffer's day began at 7am on Thursday morning.

"I started helping cars get down around 1pm and finished work about 9pm. But it was a real team effort with everybody from the skifield pitching in to help.

"There were guys from ski school helping out, the caf people, everybody.

"The guys putting the chains on cars were amazing too."

He said the mood on the mountain had been good and people were patient despite the delay.

Turoa was closed yesterday while snow was cleared and avalanche threats were checked.

The skifield area manager Chris Thrupp said yesterday that crews had been working through the night to clear the snow. "In the last 18 hours about 55cm of snow has fallen, which is enormous for Mt Ruapehu in such a short time.

"It's absolutely going to be a bumper season this year."

Turoa skifield glistened in the late-morning sun yesterday as piles of fresh powder lay untouched as far as the eye could see.

Diggers worked busily to clear the snow. Near the top of the skifield, outdoor tables were buried in snow and the Terrain Park had all but disappeared. But people were out enjoying the snow despite not being able to go skiing or snowboarding.

On Mountain Road, children were having snow fights and building snowmen on the side of the road.

Seven-year-old Ryan Evans, from the Bay of Islands, yesterday proudly showed off the snowman he created.

He said he didn't mind missing the skiing. "I've been having snowfights, making snow angels and building the snowman. He's wearing my scarf."