Does any one know when their ski field first opened, I saw Cardrona's first lift was installed in 1983 (is it the baby?), what about the rest?

Just wondering, yes I like useles information!


Cheers.

hey mate i think it was Ruapehu back in the 70's not to sure though.

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Go Turoa

i think i read somewhere it was turoas 25th year and whakapapas 50th this year.

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Im not evil I have the heart of a young boy......In a Jar On My Desk

pretty sure that it was whakapapa, remember seeing some shit about how it opened the same year that hilary climbed everest. Think so anyway.

Already put a hole in the wall from jibbing in the house, fuck wheres the snow!!

I've seen some old pics of whakapapa, from around the late '50's, early '60's - a rope tow, run by a tractor engine - had to hike for an hour to get to it from the top of the road, not far above the chateau...

The first commercial ski area (with tows) in NZ was Coronet Peak, opened in 1947 by Sir Harry Wrigley of the Mount Cook Line. Ohau was also developed around the same time by the same guy. Club operated ski fields and ski tours did of course operate in NZ prior to this, but these were the first commercial operations.

RAL was founded in 1953 and NZs first Chairlift (a single!) was opened at Whakapapa in 1954 by Sir Ed Hillary.

Other approximate opening dates (start of commercial operations)

Mt Hutt - 1973
Treble Cone - 1977
Turoa - 1978
Cardrona - 1983
Remarkables - 1985

Check out the book "A guide to the ski areas of New Zealand" by Marty Sharpe, which can be found in dusty corners of ski lodges and batches all over NZ. A bit out of date these days but contains some interesting history of each ski field.

You should check out the bit about Erewhon (Mt Potts) skifield in Marty Sharpes book. Used to be $299 for a whole ski week back in the mid 90's. I dont think you'd even get one day up there now for that price! Those were the days!
As far as the first lifts go, Coronet was first (1947,rope tows) and Whakapapa in 1950 had the first chairlift which was a single chair! Some of the clubbies had very early rope tows around the same time as Coro.

Sorry, 1954 for the chairlift!

I think Temple Basin was the first ski field, followed by Mt Cheeseman (Canterbury Winter Sports Club); I think was Temple was open before WW2, but it wasn't until after the war that the lots of the other fields opened (Coronet, RAL, Ohau, Broken River, Caigieburn & a skifield somewhere near Mt Cook to name a few).

the company that runs ruaephu, originally had there field in the tararua ranges near Wellington..not sure what year..later they decided that ruapehu was a better place, and relocated there.
think they only had rope tows in the tararuas.

according to the book "guide to ski areas on NZ " the first lift was in 1946 at ruapehu...there were also earlier lifts at scoria flat on ruapehu in 1937 but that is not part of the present field. coronet peak installed a rope tow in 1947. mount egmont also installed a tow in 1946.In 1955 the first t bar was installed at the staircase in Whakapapa.The first chairlift was in 1964 at Coronet peak.

its not harry wrigley its wigley. he's my great uncle and the guy pretty much ran all the south island in the early 20th century.
I'm fucking sick of people confusing it with that gum

there was a skifield on da hills above garston and it in southland quite a long time ago, cant remember the exact dates i htink it was in existence beofre the 1930's aye, i think around the 1920's. The ski hut is still on the road, the nevis road, if anyone has been four wheel driving thru there. They jst hiked it tho and they ended up building the southland ski club hut @ coronet peak. there were other early skifields as well and peaople were skiing(cross country i think) in otago in the 1800's

My apologies, KuneBoarder, for the typo! Also I think his father, Rudolph Wigley, built the Grand Chateau?

I always thought coronet was the first since they claim to be "the original"

I guess the "first" ski field is really a debatable term since any mountain with snow on it is terrain.
Coronet had the first ever chair lift so if that's what you're going by then they get it.