Fields lure skiers with $199 for season after poor years

By JOSIE CLARKE and STACEY BODGER

North Island skiers finally have something to smile about as Whakapapa and Turoa lure them back with the cheapest season passes in years.

Both fields are charging adults $199 for the season, providing they buy before the end of April, with student and youth passes selling for less. Last year, a standard season pass to Turoa cost $999, with Whakapapa charging $795.

In the South Island, a season pass for Cardrona will cost $915 or $690 if bought before the end of April.

The North Island deals follow a nightmare few years for both fields that began when Mt Ruapehu eruptions spoiled the 1995 and 1996 seasons. La Nina immediately followed, disrupting the next three seasons with warm winter temperatures and disappointing snowfalls.

Last year, Whakapapa sold fewer than 100 season passes, down from the usual 500 to 1000. Turoa was also hit hard. The ANZ bank put the privately owned company into receivership this month and it will be sold by tender during the next two months.

But now operators are hoping the cheap deals and a predicted long, cold winter will bring the crowds back.

Turoa spokeswoman Vanessa Thomas said the deals were designed to make skiing and snowboard in the North Island an affordable option.

"We want to get people back here to remind them how good it can be. There are some competitive packages to South Island fields and the likes of Fiji has become a very appealing place to go."

Whakapapa marketing manager Mike Smith also said his field was facing stiff competition for the leisure dollar.

"People are working harder and longer than ever before and they are certainly choosy about how they spend their leisure time."

Dr Jim Salinger, senior climate scientist at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, said the La Nina pattern was weakening.

He forecasted a return to the cooler temperatures and higher snowfall of the mid-1990s but said it was too early to predict specific snowfall patterns.

"It is good news for skiers, though," he said.

Mr Smith said the forecast could give skiers and snowboarders "the season they've been waiting for."

He said Whakapapa expected a June 23 start to the season unless snow arrived earlier.

Ohakune businessman John McIlroy said residents had been noticing changes in the elements that traditionally pointed to an early, cold winter.