I used to ski a lot, but not anymore; during grad school sometimes I had 20 days a year of skiing. (Hard to go skiing from Waterloo, for instance). What do I think about it now?
Well, I went skiing at Whakapapa and Turoa on the weekend, which prompted a couple of thoughts.
-
Lift tickets at NZ$160/day feel expensive, but I did the inflation check, and it’s just me being old. The NZ inflation calculator says that it’s NZ$80 in 2000 dollars, which is what me-being-old expects lift tickets to cost. I don’t think these ski fields are actually raking in the big bucks. (I have skied at places that cost substantially less this year: C$84 at Mont Grand Fonds in Quebec. But I think they also have fewer expenses).
-
Conditions at Whakapapa were good: it was warm and the snow was OK, though not as fluffy or deep as I would have expected given the forecast. Conditions at Turoa were like skiing in northeastern North America, with actually cold wind chill and pretty icy slopes.
-
Even though it’s objectively not expensive compared to costs of running the place, it makes me question value for money. At the midweek prices of $110/day I would be much more keen. But people have to work on weekdays.
-
Also, thanks to the Sky Waka riders for subsidizing us! There were a lot of people in the snow pen at the top of the gondola at Whakapapa. (Link: (Snow rush creates weekend gridlock (Stuff))[https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/361014689/snow-rush-creates-weekend-gridlock-near-mt-ruapehu-shuttle-operators-warn-visitors-plan-ahead]).
Bonus NZ moment: I was on a triple lift and two other singles got on: one from Wairarapa and one from Hastings. The guy from Hastings was here for a snowboard instructor course. Turns out that he rides with the son of the woman from the Wairarapa (“oh, you took that video of Jamie going over the jump!”); the son was also on the same course.
