Whakapapa at Mt Ruapehu popular for start of school holidays

Happy Valley at 3.15pm this afternoon. Photo / Ruapehu Alpine Lifts Ltd

Mt Ruapehu welcomed 3500 people over the weekend.

Whakapapa ski area's Happy Valley learner slopes and sledding, as well as the Sky Waka, were busy for the season opening, Ruapehu Alpine Lifts Limited said in a press release this afternoon.

Chief executive Jono Dean said there was "good snow on the horizon over the next few days, potentially up to 30-40cms".

"The long range forecast out to the weekend is looking good for some fine weather. Tūroa is scheduled to officially open on Saturday, opening up more skiing and sledding options for visitors."

Mt Ruapehu has a new free car park booking system to ease congestion during busy times.

It will be available from July 12 online but bookings won't be needed for these current school holidays.

"We've listened to the frustrations about queuing for parking and general volumes of visitors to the ski areas," Dean said.

"We've come up with what we believe is a good solution that will ensure fair and equitable parking for everyone."

"Since the initial announcement of the car parking booking system we've had a lot of constructive feedback from mountain users and as a result we've made a few changes," he added.

"The booking system will operate for the busiest 10 of the 17 weekends the mountain is open, not the entire season ... The new booking system will show live availability so people can easily see when is the best time to visit."

Before heading up the mountain visitors are advised to check the Mt Ruapehu website for the latest updates, snowcams, weather conditions and to book a carpark.