Skiing on Mt Ruapehu

Mount Ruapehu, within Tongariro National Park, contains the only ski resorts on the North Island of New Zealand.

Understand
At 2,797 m, Mt Ruapehu is the tallest mountain on the North Island. It has three separate ski areas. , on the north side, is the larger of the two and closer to Auckland, while on the southwest side is closer to Wellington. Both are operated by the same company. There is also a third independent operation,, to the east, but it is much smaller.

Skiing at Ruapehu is, quite frankly, rather marginal: snowfall is highly variable, and snow guns can only go so far to make up for the shortfall. Skiing here thus caters mostly to locals, who can make plans at short notice, and most serious skiers make a beeline for the larger, more reliable resorts around Queenstown. On the upside, if the snow gods are in your favor and you find yourself in the area outside the school holidays, you can get some excellent skiing without the crowds at only a fraction of what Australia's resorts charge.

Climate
The ski season at all Ruapehu resorts generally runs from early July until mid-October. Whakapapa's Happy Valley area for beginners has artificial snow and typically opens a little earlier.

Visitor information

 * mtruapehu.com

By car
Whakapapa is 5 hours from Auckland and 1.5 hours from Taupō via State Hwy 1, while Turoa is 4 hours from Wellington along the same road.

Weather conditions permitting, you can drive directly to the resorts. On a good day, there are no restrictions and you can drive straight up in a 2WD; on restricted days, you'll need a AWD/4WD or snow chains. Check the resort's daily condition report, updated at 6:30 AM, to see what's needed.

Alternatively, you can park at National Park Village or Ohakune and take shuttle buses to the resorts.

By train
The KiwiRail Northern Explorer between Auckland and Wellington stops at National Park Village, from where there are shuttles to the slopes.

Get around
Travel between the two resorts requires a lengthy detour and takes at least an hour.

Do
Whakapapa and Tūroa are both well equipped with gear rental, ski schools, cafés selling overpriced, stale pies sitting under heat lamps, etc. It's cheaper to rent gear in town, but then you have to lug it around.



Sleep
Since Ruapehu lies entirely within Tongariro National Park, there is no public accommodation in the park and skiing requires a daily trip up and down the mountain. Most visitors stay at Whakapapa Village, 10 min from the Whakapapa slopes, or at Ohakune 20 min away from Turoa.