Touring Around Those South Island Skifields

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TOURING AROUND THOSE SOUTH ISLAND SKIFIELDS With the removal of the Rangitira from the Lyttelton run dictating a more expensive form of travel to Christchurch for those of us making our annual pilgrimage to Broken River this season, six of us decided to spend an extra week down South and spend seven days looking around at what some of the other South Island fields had to offer. Instead of spending the first weekendof our holiday at Broken River as we had done in the past we decided to ski at Porter Heights for at least the first Saturday and thus after leaving Wellington via NAC on the Friday night and driving our rental vans to our bunkhouse accommodation in the Castle Hill alea we coumenced our skiing on Saturday moming after driving up the access road which brings one to within five minutes walk of the T Bar. From the top of the T Bar two rope tows provide access to the top of the basin from where a variety of runs can be taken. The combination of mainly fine weather and good snow conditions resulted in a good days skiing with the result that we decided to return on the Sunday and move into our Broken River accommodation after the days skiing instead of on the Sunday morning. After another good days skiing we left the field on Sunday afternoon with a far better impression of Porter Heights than comments from others over previous years had lead us to believe would be the case. Monday to Friday saw us enjoying the good snow, weather, ski instruction and self-made social activities that Broken River is synonymous with. Bidding our other ten members farewell after the Friday's skiing and the six of us were on the road heading for our next field, Erewhon.

Arriving at 9.30 we were naturally ready for a brew and a bunk in preparation for what looked to be another fine day. This field is run as part of "Erewhon Park" and access to the field is via private vehicle up to just below the snowline from where transport is provided by landrover at a cheap rate. Unfortunately for us the top two which is the only one catering for other than beginner or intermediate skiers was out of action, but having already enjoyed seven days good skiing we were content to climb into the top basin, which the main tow normally gives access to, and from which good skiing would have been possible if the field had been fully operational. Sunday was declared a non-ski and travelling day as we were keen to move as far south as Wanaka and ski at Treble Cone. A night in a fully equipped and reasonably priced Motel in Wanaka provided a good nights sleep and we were off early in the morning in perfect weather for a drive up to the field which is managed by Merv Burke who many members will remember from his days as Park Ranger stationed at Glenorcy. Currently providing uphill transport via two rop tows and with a good beginners slope we were very impressed with this field and with the potential it has for future development. The efficient manner in which the field was run and the immediate impression of tidiness and absence of litter was pleasing to see, and possibly reflects the atcitude of the staff, most of whom appeared to have a mountain club or similar background. We found the slopes very interesting and varied and the combination of perfect weather, good snow, lack of tow queues and what I would regard as the most spectacular view from any skifield in the country meant we voted the field "Great" at the close of our second day there on Tuesday afternoon.

An evening drive to Lake Ohau where we had accommodation in the Ski Club hut near the lake saw a by now tiring six hitting the sack ready for our eleventh day on the slopes. Transport up to the Ohau field is provided by the operators in landrovers which takes one to the lunch chalet at the bottom of the tow. At this stage of the season the main ski slopes are in shade for the bulk of the day and the sun did not hit the tow line at all. Needless to say this results in very cold conditions which is no doubt the reason they often enjoy excellent powder snow skiing, however the contrast was most noticeable to us having spent the previous eleven days on mainly sunny slopes. Given a better snow cover than it had then, the field would have been reasonable skiing; however the abundance of rocks just below the surface took their toll of ski soles during the day. The cold temperatures and hidden rocks were instrumental in encouraging three of us to climb to the top of the basin whére the T Bar, due for installation before next season will finish, where we were rewarded with warm sun and a panoramic view of the Main Divide peaks from the Haast Pass region through to Mount Cook. Another evening drive brought us to Geraldine for another overnight Motel stop before heading on to Hororata in Canterbury, where we had the use of an old house as a base for our last two days skiing at Mount Hutt. We continued to enjoy perfect weather and the snow conditions were ideal, which coupled with the choice of slopes which vary from real mogul country through to long easy runs made for a pleasant final two days of our trip. Our plans to travel to Ruapehu for a Ski Patrol weekend meant that we had to leave the field at 1 p.m. and drive to Christchurch to connect with our plane to Wellington.

Having enjoyed thirteen days skiing out of fourteen we were all rather tired but had thoroughly enjoyed the trip and the opportunity to visit five new fields. For those interested in the cost of the trip the first seven days worked out at $170 which included retur transport from Wellington, accommodation, tow fees, food and refreshments, five days ski instruction. The second seven cost $93 which included accommodation, tow fees, food and rental van. There are numerous other fields worth visiting and next season will doubtless see same of us heading off for a similar jaunt planning to include some of these in the itinerary. Amuri, Windwhistle, and Fox's Peak will be high on my list for a visit : . why not give it some thought and consider joining us? The "Touring Six" were John Moynihan, Jan and Arnold Heine, Mary Inglis, Sue Webb and the author. # / - N N