Skifield facilities

Press, 23 October 1984, Page 12

Skifield facilities

Sir,—On Saturday, October 13,1 went ski-ing and paid my $l6 for use of the tow facilities. Only one side of the double T-bar and the two poma tows were working. The rest of the tows were not, because of the sudden gusts of high wind. Fair enough. By 1 p.m., the sun was shining through practically clear skies, with gentle breezes cooling one off, but were the other facilities opened, — no. By 2 p.m. the snow on the runs by the operating T-bar had the consist-

ency of a gorilla’s tight embrace. A German tourist complained to me about the typical New Zealand attitude of like it or leave it. He left, no doubt to relate his story back in Germany. Why were the other tows not operating? Probably because the car park was only half full. Then why not charge only $8 for the tows? If a person pays full price for a service, is it unreasonable (except in the interests of safety) to expect full service? — Yours, etc., C. J. BRADLEY. October 14, 1984.

[Mr Peter Yeoman, chairman of directors, Mount Hutt Ski and Alpine Tourist Company, Ltd, replies: “On Saturday the daily field forecast advised skiers that upper lifts were subject to weather conditions and that north-westerly winds were prevailing. This forecast proved to be correct and while early in the afternoon the wind did drop, our operational staff were still concerned that with the forecast there was the possibility of a turn to unsafe conditions and therefore the upper lifts were not brought into operation. Mount Hutt takes pride in providing accurate forecasts and high safety standards. On any day the number of lifts brought into operation depends on patronage and slope and weather conditions. It is unfortunate that Mr Bradley did not see fit to follow up his concern on the limited number of lifts by inquiring from our mountain manager, further he has perhaps unfortunately done New Zealand and the German tourist a disservice by not assisting that person to obtain the same

information. Had he done so, the interest of all parties would have been advanced. I would be grateful if Mr Bradley could contact me by phone in order that I can elaborate to him on the problems of running a ski-field in inclement weather.”]