Winds drop but skiers still stuck

Ski area manager Dave Wilson pictured at the Mt Hutt skifield following Tuesday's avalanche. Photo / Simon Baker

Conditions are still too dangerous for hundreds of skiers stranded on Mt Hutt to leave the mountain.

High winds closed the skifield earlier today, with around 1200 people stranded on the mountain from 12pm.

At around 7pm, Mt Hutt assistant manager James McKenzie told Newstalk ZB wind gusts had dropped from 200km/h to around 160 km/hour along the ridge line, but it was still too dangerous to allow people to use the road down the mountain.

About 1200 people were holed up in the base buildings, and staff were in the process of dishing up an evening meal, he said.

Mr McKenzie said the lodge wasn't designed for overnight stays so if there was a break in the weather, people would be able to leave, but he was happy there was enough room to accommodate everyone who's stuck for the night.

At 7pm the skifield's information line reported the access road remained closed because of the high winds and low visibility.

The skifield said conditions would be monitored constantly, and the road would be reopened if there was a break in the weather after dark.

"Groups of around 15 vehicles would be allowed down at a time with a pilot vehicle. Chains would be needed for the downhill journey.

"Safety is our primary concern."

Beth Andrews, a stranded skier, told TV3's Campbell Live the weather was "pretty rough".

"There are winds of 206kph at the top of the mountain, and down in the car park there are winds of 190kph, so it was a bit difficult to put chains on the wheels," she said.

Ms Andrews added it was very cosy in the Mt Hutt skifield cafe, where those stranded people were waiting for positive news.

"I'm not sure what it's going to be like at midnight when the worst weather is predicted to come through.

"Mt Hutt have been very good and have put on a $2 meal for us, but we're still waiting for the wine to come," she said.

Skifield manager Dave Wilson earlier said the field was closed shortly after noon because of the conditions and driving down the access road was not an option due to poor visibility.

He was hoping the weather would improve enough to allow people to drive down but now darkness has fallen.

Mr Wilson told 3News at 6pm he still hoped to get people off the mountain tonight, even though darkness had fallen.

A trapped skier called gromitt has been tweeting from the mountain. Her latest tweet, at around 7.30pm, was "Still ere, still bored."

An hour earlier she tweeted: "Pork strog and wedges for tea by the fire. They might try to get us down in an hour if there is a break in the weather."

Earlier gromitt lamented the lack of beer, coffee or mulled wine.

Speaking from the packed mountain cafe, one of the trapped skiers described the winds to Radio New Zealand earlier this evening:

"You have trouble standing up, you have the occasional run across the car park to fetch supplies from cars but it's perilous at the best of times", said the man, called Chris.

Chris said he believed the group would have to spend the night.

"They haven't said anything officially to us but we're under no illusions that we're probably not going to get out of this place any time soon."

He added that trying to get to sleep would be difficult.

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

Today's closure is just another niggle in Mt Hutt's winter ski season, which has been blighted by accidents.

Three skiers have been killed and one seriously injured in accidents since the season opened in July.

Mr Wilson said earlier today staff were looking at mitigating accidents as much as possible by reviewing signage and encouraging people to know areas and hazards before skiing.

In the latest accident yesterday a man was snowboarding off trail when he lost his balance and toppled over a bank, landing on the access road about 3m-4m below.

He was airlifted to Christchurch Hospital with head injuries.

On Tuesday, Mt Hutt was temporary closed after an avalanche on the south face of the skifield left "two to three" skiers partially buried, but uninjured.

The deaths of three skiers and a man who died after his car veered off the mountain's access road as he left the slopes are still being investigated.

Mr Wilson said all the deaths were unrelated, making it difficult to pinpoint one cause.

"At this stage we are going through our investigation, but we can't put our finger on one thing that can easily fix all of these.

"A lot of these accidents are a combination of a number of decisions made along the way,"

He said yesterday's accident was quite different.

"It was just someone losing their balance, which can change from feeling safe to being in a position of unsafe quite quickly."

He said the injury rate on the mountain was in line with the national rate.

Every day, with an average of 2000 visitors, there were about nine people who needed treatment, including some with minor injuries such as sprains. Mr Wilson said Mt Hutt staff continuously looked at mountain conditions, assessed a skier's ability, the condition of the gear, and signage to see if safety could be improved.

The trails weren't particularly dangerous - it all depended on the rider's ability, he said.

"It can be dangerous if you've got a beginner in an intermediate trail. It's dangerous if you've got an advanced person on an expert trail. It's about matching your ability to the terrain."

Mr Wilson said despite the accidents, the mountain continued to see an increase in visitors.

"They know that it is a mountain environment and situations could change very quickly. We haven't had a lot of negative feedback from the public at this stage."

- NZPA, NZ Herald staff, Newstalk ZB