Rivers of rain in the snow a ‘cruel twist of fate’ for skifield

With metres of fresh snow in June and an early start to boot, the 2022 season got off to a flyer at Rainbow Ski Area.

Then it rained and rained and rained.

‘‘It almost felt like it was becoming personal because it lasted so long,’’ Rainbow mountain manager Thomas Harry said.

‘‘Up until [last] Friday, we had a lot of rain but the snowpack was holding. And then Friday, it just bucketed down.

‘‘We have had some rivers cut through the base area, and once you have a river moving through the snow, it just takes it all away.

‘‘We lost a tonne of snow, which has left us in a position where we cannot safely operate at the moment.’’

Highway closures due to storm damage mean Rainbow can currently be accessed from Nelson but not from Blenheim. The skifield valley road has not had any major slips but is damaged in places.

Harry said Rainbow had its snow guns ready for when the skifield got some cold temperatures. ‘‘We need a big highpressure system or a bit of a southerly airflow.’’

The skifield had expanded its snowmaking arsenal to 13 guns, adding five new ones this year, he said.

‘‘Hopefully within three to four nights of good snowmaking weather, we should be able to piece a good product back together and invite all the schools and communities and such back up here.’’

Rainbow, at an elevation of 1760m, opened two weeks early this year, after six days of ‘‘extraordinary’’ snow in June.

The early start seemed like a blessing after years of disruption and no international tourists, due to Covid.

The skifield has 35 employees this year, including 12 from overseas, including seven ski instructors from the United States, Britain, France, South Africa and Australia.

‘‘The staff are playing a bit of a waiting game at the moment,’’ Harry said. ‘‘The operations team is still working, but the rest of the staff are patiently waiting for us to start up again.

‘‘It is a cruel twist of fate, after the last couple of years being disrupted and then now we have another season disrupted, even if it is for very different reasons this time.

‘‘We are probably going to be set back about 21⁄2 weeks out of this but . . . there are still seven weeks to go in the season. We are not giving up without a fight.’’