A life in N.Z. ski villages

Press, 16 November 1977, Page 16

A life in N.Z. ski villages

The new chief ranger in the Arthur’s Pass National Park, Mr lan Blackmore, , is exchanging one ski village for another. Stationed in Tongariro National Park for most of his career as a ranger, 41-year-old Mr Blackmore’s last position was as senior ranger with a team of 10 rangers in Whakapapa village, on the slopes of Mount Ruapehu. There,

the advent of 7000 ski-ing visitors a day is common. By comparison, numbers at Temple Basin ski-field above Arthur’s Pass rarely exceed 100, and the ranger complement of the park is five. But lan Blackmore sees the Arthur’s Pass park as a “challenging” one. He is delighted to see how people go into the park and usjj it. He referred to the mountain en-

thusiasts “getting off the railcars at all hours of the day and night.” Mr Blackmore agrees that rangers and their

NANCY CAWLEY

wives need special qualities to live happily in their isolated environments.

He and his wife Marie, with their 16 month-old daughter Heidi, look forward to becoming part of the small supportive community in the Arthur’s Pass village, where absence of city facilities encourages people to make their own amusements. Arthur’s Pass has long had a tradition of community activities and, in common with the Franz Josef village in the Westland National Park, has a thriving women’s craft group.

Born in Blenheim, lan Blackmore worked as a ranger for three years in the Westland National Park, and for the same length of time in fisheries work for the Wild Life Division of Internal Affairs Department. He spent a year in Brit->

ian; and, back in New Zealand, was selected for a six-month visit to Australia on an exchange scheme for rangers. There he took part in park work in the Blue Mountains and other New South Wales national parks and aboriginal reserves under the auspices of the New South Wales National Park and Wild Life Service. No especial aspect of being a ranger appeals to lan Blackmore above others. He enjoys the job as a whole, and finds real satisfaction in helping park-users to get the widest possible benefit from the natural recreational resources there. As chief ranger, lan Blackmore will be in charge of any rescue operations needed in the park. Rescue work in Tongariro National Park, he pointed out, is mainly concerned with skiping accidents; but in the Arthur’s Pass National Park a high percentage of rescue concerns alpine climbing accidents. lan Blackmore and his wife hope to be in Arthur’s Pass for a long time. Mr Blackmore’s predecessor, Peter Croft, held the position for 19 years.