Ski field boost for Methven

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33791, 13 March 1975, Page 10

Ski field boost for Methven

Although the Mount Hutt skifield attracts many skiers and tourists from throughout New Zealand and overseas, the backbone of its support comes from the local population. People who visit the mountains, both for ski-ing and sightseeing, often travel on a “mount to mount” basis, bringing more tourists to the area if the information is favourable, according to Mr Willy Huber, the skifield manager. However, the success of the Mount Hutt field has largely resulted from the support from Methven and the Ashburton district. “This has been fantastic since the project began five years ago,” said Mr Huber. He has nothing but praise for the district that saw the potential in “that wild mountain” and supported the Mount Hutt staff to see the field grow into the finest commercial field in Canterbury. “It is the local residents who matter to us,” said Mr Huber. “They live nearby and return every week to ski their field. Overseas visitors and New Zealand skiers visit Mount Hutt along with the other fields available. This year Ashburton College has established an educational skiing programme and these school trips bring the young people to us. After all, they are the future generation and Mount Hutt depends on that,” said Mr Huber. A district must benefit as a place where skiers stay and go for entertainment. As ski-ing develops, so will Methven. “More people will buy land and build cottages,” he said. “The district has a lot to offer for recreation with its rivers, fishing, and golf. There is a summer chairlift on the skifield to make it attractive for the sightseers in the summer, too. “The new shopping block in Methven should alter the face of the town completely,” said Mr Huber. “However the hotel facilities need to be upgraded. There needs to be . better entertainment in the town for overseas tourists. Accommodation is also needed but it all takes time and money and the Mount Hutt project is still only in its formative stages.”

Methven will serve Mount Hutt for accommodation instead of having an alpine village in the basin. There are no facilities on Mount Hutt for accommodation, it is too high for a ski village, being 7000 ft at the top. “There are not enough commercial facilities on the mountain to cater for the thousands as a commercial field, but this is a continuous exercise,” said Mr Huber.

Last year Mr Huber and Dr N. Chamber visited the Continent! studying They wanted to find out what facilities were like overseas compared to Mount Hutt and what could be developed at the field. They studied the skifield restaurants in particular, to see which type would be the most suitable for Mount Hutt. Mr Huber plans to build a chalet type restaurant at the base of the field.

The development of the restaurant would begin when the base car park had been doubled in size and the beginner ski slopes had been improved, he said. It would not have accommodation except for the staff who worked there but it was most necessary to have the restaurant to cope with the thousands of skiers on the mountain and to have a large building to house people if there was an emergency.

This year Mr Huber expects to see a 30 per cent more people visiting the skifield. “Even with economic difficulties this year, ski-ing won’t suffer because people still want to get away for relaxation and enjoyment in the mountains,” he said. After the hectic developments at Mount Hutt last year, the first time the field was operating commerically on a large scale, Mr Huber hopes to consoli-

date this year and improve the existing facilities. Mr Huber has had hundreds of applications from boys and girls seeking employment on the field as ski in tractors. Most are New Zealanders who have had ski-ing experience overseas but he also has Swiss, American, and Austrian ski instructors. First aid facilities have been improved. Mr G. Armsley, in charge of the first aid at the field, has

recetnly been to America and Canada where he visited skifields and brought up-to-date first aid ideas back to improve facilities at Mount Hutt. There is now a permanent ski patrol and first aid man on the mountain plus a weekend ski patrol scheme. The toilet facilities and the access road have also been improved and a new snow groomer imported from Austria keeps the snow in good condition.