Whakapapa Ski Area

Accommodation and Facilities

Mount Ruapehu, Tongariro National Park

Whakapapa, New Zealand's largest ski area since joining with Turoa Ski Resort, is part of Tongariro National Park, New Zealand's oldest national park and a world heritage area. Whakapapa is operated under a licence issued by the Department of Conservation and is owned and run by Ruapehu Alpine Lifts Ltd. There are 43 trails with terrain for all ability levels; including off-piste expert terrain. The ski area can be broken into three areas: Happy Valley (a self contained beginners area), the "east" side (where the majority of lifts & services are located), and the "west" side (highlighted by the lift accessed backcountry terrain).

For beginners, Whakapapa's Happy Valley is a favourite. It is NZ's premier learning facility with wide gentle slopes and its own beginners' chairlift. More confident skiers and riders are spoilt for choice with 50 groomed runs, huge snow-filled basins, steep chutes and secret powder stashes to explore. For freeskiers and snowboarders there are full time Terrain Parks and extensive lift accessed backcountry skiing/riding at both ski areas.

Mt Ruapehu offers a seamless lift pass, which provides you with access to both ski areas. Both Turoa and Whakapapa offer excellent services and facilities; the only dilemma you'll have is deciding where to explore next!

Express Chairlift
Turoa Ski Area, on the South Western side of Mt Ruapehu, has a brand new high speed, 6 person chairlift with the biggest uphill capacity in Australasia. The mammoth 1.4 km HIGH NOON EXPRESS chairlift can transport more than 3,200 people per hour, and has a top speed of 5 metres per second. This high speed chairlift will significantly reduce travel time up the mountain, allowing more time for skiers and boarders to enjoy the ski area's awesome terrain.

Snowmaking
To complement the new express chairlift, Turoa's snowmaking system has been tripled in size. A new 50 million litre reservoir has been constructed and an additional 25 automated snowguns have been added to the existing arsenal. This massive increase in snowmaking capacity will ensure that Turoa has optimal snow coverage, up to 1950m, from very early in the season.

Cafe and Retail Complex
Turoa's largest cafe has also been treated to a complete overhaul for the 2007 winter season. The new Alpine Cafe and Vertical Retail complex offers customers a complete on-mountain dining and retail experience. Located at Turoa's base area, the 400 seat cafe has more than doubled in size and the retail complex has been vastly expanded.

Like most areas in New Zealand, Whakapapa has treeless alpine conditions and can suffer from whiteouts. The ski area follows a well defined landscape boundary along it's eastern edge. The Te Herenga Ridge, Meads Wall, Whakapapa Valley, Skippers Cliff and Pinnacles ridge form an impossible barrier.

The skifield itself is divided in two by an ancient remnant lava flow. Therefore, the area east of Delta Ridge Hut Flat and the eastern side has abundant landmarks and landscape focal points, whilst the western side is open with a weak sense of boundary definition. Both these areas of the ski field have many cliffs and unexpected breaks in the terrain.

The ski area can be broken into three distinctive areas:

Happy Valley is a self contained beginners area seperate from the rest of the ski area. It is situated just below the Top O' the Bruce. It is sheltered, it has it's own ski rental and cafetaria, and the terrain is 100% covered by snowmaking.

The "east" side of the ski area is where the majority of the lifts and services are. It has a variety of terrain for every skiing ability.

The "west" hosts a cafeteria, a quad chairlift and a T-Bar. The highlight of this area is "Black Magic", an off piste area, which is lift accessed back country skiing at it's best.

Whakapapa Ski Area