AERIAL RAILWAY UP MOUNTAIN

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22431, 18 June 1938, Page 16

AERIAL RAILWAY UP MOUNTAIN

Project for Ruapehu

Snowfields

FACILITIES FOR SKIERS AT NATIONAL PARK (passs ASSOCIATION TiILECHAM.) AUCKLAND, June 17. The construction of a funicular or aerial railway to convey visitors to the ski-ing grounds on the slopes of Mount Ruapehu at* 'the National Park is likely to be undertaken shortly by the Public Works Department. ! Departna'ental engineers have undertaken surveys during the last few weeks to* determine the best route, and it is considered that the conveyer, which will 'be about two miles long, will be electrically driven and mounted on concrete pillars. There has been no announcement of the details of the proposal,, but it is expected that if. the scheme is, adopted it will closely follow the lines of the aerial ropeway Whiffi it is planned to construct at an estimated cost of £30,000 to open up the magnificent snowfields that feed the Franz Josef glacier in the South Island. Here four huge pylons are to carry the wires which a carriage, capable of holding 10 persons, will be hauled by electric power. The journey now takes two days, but by the aerial ropeway it is expected to require Tittle more than half an hour.

A similar proposal for the National Park was mooted in 1936, when the project was raised by Mr Colin Wyatt, the noted English ski jumper,,and Mr T. W. Mitchell, captain of the, visiting Australian team of ski-ers, who discussed the question with the general manager of the Tourist Department (Mr L. J. Schmitt). It was their belief that the provision of a funicular railway would make the National Park a really first-class ski-ing resort. They said that until such a facility was provided New Zealand ski-ing would be handicapped in competition with overseas countries, as ski-ers could get less than half the amount of downhill running in a day that they wpuld otherwise enjoy. , - Tentative Route Investigated If the scheme is carried out it will serve to make the popular skiing ground near Salt Hut on Mount Ruapehu easily accessible, and it will eliminate the present need for tramping more than half a mile up the boulder-strewn mountainside from the point to which the motor road has, penetrated, about two miles and a naif above the Chateau. Such an alpine facility presents engineering difficulties, but it is understood that a tentative route, along the summit of the ridge, has been closely investigated. Though it is hoped that a start may be made on the work at Mount Ruapehu this year, the construction of the pylons and the necessary power reticulation will require considerable time. As a result the Public Works Department is assisting in the provision of a ski-tow, and it is expected that this may be available next month.

For a distance of about 100 yards ski-ers will be able to be drawn up by a rope which will be situated just above the Salt Hut. The rope will be drawn by a heavy motor engine, and there will be a facility for lengthening the ski-tow to 200 yards if it is required. ,