Many activities planned for Mt Hutt

Press, 1 June 1989, Page 33

Many activities planned for Mt Hutt

Free tips are readily given on ski-fields — but seldom from a person properly qualified to do so and such advice is as likely to be harmful as helpful. But the free ski tips being offered at Mount Hutt this season (with sponsorship from “Powderhound” magazine) will come from one of the instructors in the ski school. The five-minute “absolutely free” tip for one’s ski-ing was started halfway through last season. It will be available each day between noon and I p.m. on the first platter. According to the director of the Mount Hutt ski school, B.J. Jones, the tips would be appropriate for virtually any level of ability.

A distinctive banner will be placed at the top of the platter each day and one instructor at the top of the lift will send customers down to a colleague halfway down. After the tip has been duly given there is a mild sales pitch with people given a coupon for 20 per cent off the price of the afternoon lesson.

Children’s ski camps have been run successfully for several years at Camp Fortune, Eastern Canada, where B.J. Jones was once the ski school director. Now they will hit Mount Hutt In a programme catchingly titled “Mogul Munchers.” At Camp Fortune, 200 youngsters regularly sign up and come every Sunday for eight Sundays. “It covers all levels of ability from ‘never evers’ to budding young racers,”

The Mount Hutt “mogul munchers” programme, too, will be over eight consecutive Sundays, from June 25 to August 13. The package (at a yet-to-be-finalised price) will include return

transport by bus trom Christchurch, all-day tuition, lunches with the instructor and an optional rental package. Skiers from six to 16 will be catered for and the day will be completely supervised right from getting on the bus.

B.J. Jones said that the camp would have a fun element and each Sunday would feature a special event like a treasure hunt. On the final Sunday parents will be able to come up and watch their children.

He sees the camp as one way children who had no transport could go ski-ing. From this, the “bottom of the pyramid,” the young skiers could be fed into junior race programmes.

Another new programme at Mount Hutt this year will be the ski one-two-three package for first-timers to lowlevel intermediates. At a cost of $47 on day one skier® 'ill > hr

skiers wil. get a beginners’ lift ticket, rental gear and a full-day group iesson. In a reverse procedure they’ll actually pay $8 less the next two days — “to reward them for coming back,” says B.J. Jones.

The three days can be taken at any time during the season, which should suit Christchurch people.

Also new in the Mount Hutt ski school this year is the advanced ski-ing workshop, meeting, significantly, at the top of the first T-bar. It’s an advanced group lesson for adults priced at $26. There will again be a regular series of recreational races, probably again known as the Village championship with two races a week, probably mid-week.

NASTAR recreational racing will be a feature with skiers vying for gold, silver or bronze rat-, ing.