Whakapapa ski field on Mt Ruapehu. Good snowfalls and clear weekends during the season has been a relief for many. Photo: Supplied/ Ruapehu Alpine Lifts
The ski season on Mt Ruapehu has now finished and, after an uncertain start, huge dumps of snow ensured it was the best in years.
However, central North Island businesses continue to face uncertainty while the bids to take over from Ruapehu Alpine Lifts (RAL) remain undecided.
More than a year after RAL went into administration heavily in debt, the preferred bidders to run the ski slopes, Whakapapa Holdings and Pure Tūroa, are known.
But it's not known when, or for sure, if they will take over, or what's happening with Department of Conservation concessions needed to operate in Tongariro National Park.
This year though had good visitors numbers, so business owners such as Leigh Berry at the Ruapehu Mountain Motel and Lodge are content.
"Skier numbers themselves - the vibe was never completely packed," Berry said.
"We didn't have hundreds of calls looking for accommodation. We filled up during weekends, but mid-week was quite quiet.
"The cycle of the weather was also wetter and colder and a bit more miserable, but good on the weekends, which was great - great for the town to have full-capacity weekends."
Earlier this year the ski season was in doubt. After it started Berry noticed a different clientele.
She said some of her regulars who came to Mt Ruapehu every year had instead booked trips to South Island slopes, where skiing was guaranteed.
Berry hoped the coming months would provide certainty for next year.
"We paid the bills for the year, which was great. We haven't come away with a huge pocket full of money, but at least we're still viable. We'll get through to, hopefully, next season."
But, she said she and other business owners were worried about what would happen.
The lack of certainty was causing businesses to pause before investing in the future.
Colin Baker, who runs Ruapehu Scenic Shuttles, is in that boat.
"Everyone thinks, 'We're back to normal.' We're nowhere near normal," he said.
"The scary thing is the vehicles are pretty much getting tired and you're just sort of debating whether or not you're going to keep on pushing them for the next few years until you get some certainty."
The other option was to gamble and buy new ones now.
This winter, weekends were extremely busy, from Matariki onwards, he said.
"It's put us in a better position for the summer as well. We get relatively quiet in the summer months, but even so far now it seems to be a bit busier than normal.
"The ski season delivered better than expected."
Last year and the couple of years before that were tough due to the pandemic.
But TCB Ski, Board and Bike director Ben Wiggins was now more positive after a busy winter.
"It was literally back to pre-Covid numbers. Who was buying was a little bit different, but the overall numbers were definitely back to pre-Covid, which was really exciting."
Conditions played their part in attracting new people to the slopes.
"We had, almost, a dream cycle, which was great. We had snow during the week, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and then it would be clear and sunny Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
"It's almost unheard of, to be so consistent. The skiing was fantastic."
Ruapehu District mayor Weston Kirton acknowledged the importance of knowing who would run the ski slopes.
"It's imperative that we get some security with the business. People will be making their minds up whether or not they replace some of the equipment - some of the assets they've got, including vehicles.
"It's just a matter of time as to when it's all going to unfold. It's a waiting game."
Kirton said the busy season this year boosted the local economy and he was hopeful new ski slope operators could be in place next year.
"We have interested parties that are dealing with the ownership issue and the government will, no doubt, be negotiating with local iwi and various other interest stakeholders in the area.
"The real important thing here is let's deal with that step by step and hopefully we can resolve that over the summer months so that, come next year, in June and July, we're set to go with a good ski season."
RAL received a $7 million support package from the government earlier this month to ensure ski field operations could continue until March.
