Manganui ski field surprises this season
It’s the little ski field that could.
The Manganui Ski Area, on Mt Taranaki, was the first ski field in the country to open this year and the last to close.
That it wasn’t open very often in the middle is beside the point.
They pulled a fast one in May and opened a day before the Ruapehu ski fields, Stratford Mountain Club president Rhys Williams said.
‘‘They were all gearing up to open on the Friday to be one day ahead of Cardrona [in Wanaka] because they were going to open together on the same day.
But RAL [Ruapehu] said, ‘Let’s open on the Friday and have it for free skiing.’ We came in on the Thursday and surprised them all.’’
Last week there was a late dump of snow and Williams got approval from the Department of Conservation to see if they would waive the rule which says skiing stops at the end of October.
DOC agreed, so six lucky skiers got to ski the slopes in November, he said.
‘‘Why wasn’t it a Saturday? We would have had more people.’’
So, technically, Maunganui is not quite closed yet, Williams said.
‘‘We’re trying to squeeze as much as we can out of this sevenday period. It’s all about whether the guys want to ski that last little bit of leftover snow in the valleys.
‘‘Ski your local. It costs bugger all. It’s the cheapest in New Zealand – $50. Where else can you get that?’’
Club member Rob Needs said the ski field was an amazing, unique property and when it was open people should make the effort to support it.
‘‘Our last long opening days started on October 14. It was super well-patronised, Sunday did really well. Then on the Monday very few people showed up. It’s a peculiar beast.’’