LIFE ski passholders gather at Whakapapa late last year to discuss crowd funding ski operations. PHOTO SUPPLIED
THE financial troubles of ski field operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts plus the effects of climate change are threatening a winter-time boom King Country businesses have enjoyed for decades.
A good snow year on Mt Ruapehu is estimated to be worth up to $100 million to the New Zealand economy, with a large chunk of that going into the pockets of King Country businesses.
Cafes, retail stores, motels and others in the region benefit when snow tourists flock to Central North Island from about July to October.
But now, it turns out the figure of $100 million has an evil twin. This same amount is one estimate of what the taxpayer will have to shell out to dismantle ski infrastructure on the mountain if Whakapapa and Turoa ski fields close for good, which is a genuine possibility.
Last October, following the Covid lockdowns and a poor 2021 ski season, RAL, which runs both ski fields on the mountain, went into voluntary management, owing more than $40 million.
Since then, breathing space has been provided for the beleaguered RAL, with the Government last year putting in $2 million and then another $6 million to keep operations going over summer. This allowed more time for the voluntary managers, Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC), to develop a plan to put to creditors.
“This is expected to result in a watershed meeting that will be called no later than May 7, 2023,” PWC senior communications manager Louise Poppelwell said on Tuesday.
Should efforts to save the ski fields fail, the results look bad for the taxpayer because under current law, every scrap of redundant ski infrastructure will have to be removed from the mountain.
The Department of Conservation’s director of operations support, Karl Beckert, said the Tongariro National Park Management Plan was quite clear on this point.
“Section 5 says that for ski areas, redundant facilities and structures will be removed and the land will be restored to as near its original state as possible,” Karl said.
“I can confirm it is a standard condition for those with structures on the maunga, such as ski clubs, that they are responsible for their removal if they become redundant or if they decide to terminate the agreement which permits them to be there.”
Liquidation of RAL’s assets might be relatively easy in the case of its fleet of sign-written utes, snow grooming machines and snowmakers, all of which could be disposed of within the country to return creditors some cash. But the job of working in a high-altitude environment to dismantle ski tows, with cables machinery and deep concrete foundations, would be another matter entirely. For one thing, the material to be removed would probably have to be brought down the mountain by helicopter.
Skotel manager Sam Clarkson said that means it would cost more to close the ski fields than to bail them out.
“Liquidation is not an option; even if you hate skiers, liquidation is just a crazy idea. If RAL is broke, it won’t have any money to do it, therefore the job will fall to the one group which does have the money – the taxpayer,” Sam said.
Sam is hopeful that crowd funding from life ski pass holders and businesses who would gain from keeping the ski fields open, will save the day. PWC is looking at these options and is expected to report back to creditors soon as to whether this will be viable. It is understood the Government would forgive the part of RAL’s debt it is owed ($15 million) if supporters of the ski fields can crowdfund the rest.
However, even if all this were achieved, questions remain about who would run the ski fields in future, though it is understood a group of King Country investors is looking at forming a company to do this.
Prospects for RAL’s $10 million Sky Waka look shaky should the ski lifts stop running.
This takes passengers to Whakapapa Knoll Ridge Chalet, which at 2020 metres above sea level is billed as New Zealand’s highest dining experience. But while views from the Sky Waka and Knoll Ridge Chalet are spectacular, they make most of their revenue from skiers on their way up the mountain in winter, not year-round tourists.
It is also likely that ski lodges would have to be dismantled and removed from the Tongariro National Park if the ski fields close. It is understood 48 privately owned lodges now provide accommodation for skiers.
The rules state they would need to go, “if they become redundant” so technically they could remain if the present ski club owners could adapt to hosting hikers and general tourists only. But since the lodges are mainly run by skiers, for skiers, the transition may be difficult.
Something hampering international interest in the Ruapehu ski fields is that similar operations are on the back foot worldwide. For example, lower altitude ski fields have been dismantled in Europe in recent years, with the blame put on global warming.
