Mount Ruapehu

Mount Ruapehu is home to three ski fields. Whakapapa and Turoa being the commercials fields and Tukino which is a club field.

Tukino is a club field, so it differs somewhat from the other two in detail and spirit. It proponents claim that Tukino has a more intimate feel, along with freer more open and less populated fields. Not to mention the uniquely good weather it sees and abundance of fresh snow and uncrowned fields.

Whakapapa is located on the west side of the mountain, its closest city is Turangi. It has 30 named tracks available to the public, totaling over 550ha of patrolled terrain, along with its back country areas. There are 14 lifts on the slope which are able to lift 15, 000 people per hour, with the highest lift rising to a height of 2300 meters.

Turoa is located on the south of Mt. Ruapehu , accessible from Ohakune via the Mountain Road. It currently has 34 named and maintained tracks. Accessibility is provided via 9 lifts, the highest of these reaches 2322 meters. Excluding the back country areas, Turoa consists of roughly 500 ha of patrolled area. Interestingly, Turoa is commonly used by snowboarders and skiers as the starting point for climbing to the tip of Mount Ruapehu and coming down, which can be more difficult from the Whakapapa side. Because Turoa is located on the south side of the mountain, it will usually have more snow and for longer, often resulting in longer seasons than many fields in New Zealand. In some cases these extended seasons have gone well into October, if not longer.

All of these fields are located in New Zealand’s first National Park, and a dual World Heritage Site.