COMMUNICATION DIFFICULTIES

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28897, 18 May 1959, Page 15

COMMUNICATION DIFFICULTIES

Contests On Mount Ruapehu Because of the difficulties encountered during the women's downhill event at the Inter-Dominion ski contest at Mt. Ruapehu last season, when officials were unable to advise competitors of a sudden change in the conditions. Mr R. J. M. Loughnan (North Canterbury Ski Club) suggested at the New Zealand Ski Association’s annual meeting on Saturday that a telephone cable be laid on the slopes of Mt. Ruapehu. Mr Loughnan said his club had laid a cable during summer, and it worked admirably during the skiing season under the falls of snow. Mr A. Cooper (Tongariro Ski Club) said that Mt. Ruapehu was a national park, and this created certain problems. It was a vast area, and because it was rocky, it would be difficult to peg the cable down. The problems were not unsurmountable, Mr Loughnan said. They had laid 11 miles of cable on rocky ridges, and a method of laying had been found only through trial and error. _ _ The president (Mr R. S. Duncan) said the matter had been considered before. The surface was indeed rocky, and there was the additional problem of water rushing over the bare rock. It would also take a number of men to chip the rock to lay the cable. He thought it could be done, but it would take a long time.