Whakapapa ski field, Mt Ruapehu, 2023. Photo: Supplied/ Ruapehu Alpine Lifts
Mt Ruapehu's ski fields have still been busy over the school holidays, despite a bad start to the season with little snow.
This will be Whakapapa's first season under new operator Whakapapa Holdings, while Tūroa is also now being run by a new company, Pure Tūroa, after Ruapehu Alpine Lifts, which oversaw both skifields, went into insolvency in 2022.
Snow machines were keeping the learners slopes open at Tūroa and Whakapapa skifields after a wet June, which saw twice the amount of rainfall compared to the same time last year.
But the chief executives of the new operations are adamant the best skiing is yet to come, and the lack of snow has not put people off.
Chief executive at Whakapapa Travis Donoghue said the snow levels were lower than they would have wanted, but it was still early days.
"[We've had a] bit of rain throughout June and up until now, probably would've rather had it fall as snow."
He said the Happy Valley learners slope had returned to being fully operational on Tuesday, after heavy rain swept across the Central North Island last week.
Despite the lack of snow, thousands were coming up just for sight-seeing trips on the Sky Waka gondola, he said.
"Particularly these last few days, people have been showing up with gusto."
He was confident the million-dollar investment in 10 new snow guns - making "whales of snow" on the upper moutain - was a worthwhile investment, and all that remained was a big dump of snow.
"We're ready for it, and there's not much more we can do ... except look forward to it."
On the south side of the moutain, Tūroa chief executive Jono Dean said they were tracking well, but still a "good storm or two away" from being able to fully open up.
"You'd want to ensure every season starts with 2-3 metres of snow on the ground, and life would be great, but that's not the case every year, and that's something we have to adapt to - and have."
He said plenty of people had been enjoying the manufactured snow on the learners slopes, but beyond those, the mountain was "still pretty barren".
Like Donoghue, Dean said the season was long at Ruapehu - with the "best spring skiing in the world" to come.
Meanwhile the Ruapehu District Mayor Weston Kirton said the area was humming with tourists, with the town of Ohakune "chockablock".
"I can only go on what I hear, which is that there are a record number of people coming into the area."
Ruapehu District Mayor Weston Kirton. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
How cold does it need to be for rain to turn to snow?
MetService meterologist Oscar Shiviti said the average temperature for last month was lower than June 2024, and more days had forecast snow.
However, he said rain in temperatures below 0 degrees Celsius did not necessarily result in snow.
"Snow can still fall at slightly warmer temperatures, and rain can still occur at slightly colder ones - it all depends on the vertical temperature profile of the atmosphere."
He said the temperature between the cloud and the ground determined whether rain would turn to snow.
"If the freezing level is low enough and deep enough, falling precipitation has more time to pass through cold air, allowing raindrops to freeze into snowflakes before reaching the ground.
"In this case, what starts as rain or snow aloft can reach the surface as snow."
In contrast, Shiviti said a shallow freezing level would see the snow melt into rain on its way down.
"Sometimes, this creates sleet or freezing rain instead of snow, depending on the exact temperature profile."
He said in general, snow was more likely when the air temperature at the surface was 2 degrees C or lower, and if it were raining heavily for a long period of time, which could cool the air further.
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