Nordic ski area opening

Press, 1 June 1989, Page 32

Nordic ski area opening

John Lee has now changed focus from downhill ski-ing to cross-coun-try ski-ing with his development of The Nordic Ski Area in the Pisa Range.

The man who developed the Cardrona ski area on the other side of the valley, sees Nordic ski-ing as introducing people into mountains and snow in an easy way.

“There’s very little risk and it is very comfortable to do,” said Mr Lee from his farm in the Cardrona Valley near Wanaka.

He said that Nordic skiing had only about 10 per cent of the injuries associated with a downhill field.

The $1.5 million development will bring New Zealand its first Nordic ski-field, opening in July. Mr Lee described it as a

“pioneer operation.” Among the facilities will be a day lodge, a large car park and 400 pairs of cross-country skis. A groomer is laying 20 to 30km of trails.

In its first season, the operators of the Nordic ski-field are aiming for 7000 skiers. They hope to get between 70 and 100 per day. Mr Lee says the sport has an appeal to the less adventurous skier, the small injury risk being the big factor. He also anticipates it being popular with people in their vintage years (“40 plus or 50 plus”), giving them a little snow experience.

The trails will be laid like two sets of inverted railway tracks, according to Mr Lee. “You don’t have to worry where your skis are going — the

direction is predetermined. You just have to glide along.” He said that it took about one-third of the energy to cover a metre than walking. A learners’ slope, 500 m long by 15m wide will have a loop track on which skiers can do a Ikm circuit virtually without risk.

For those on a tighter budget the relatively cheap cost of ski-ing on the Nordic field might also go down well. People will be charged at the bottom of the 14km mountain road (Wanaka is another 24km away) at a rate of $2O for adults and $lO for children, including road toll. Hiring skis for the trails will be about half the cost of downhill or alpine skis. Whitney Thurlow, the

world (North American) telemark ski-ing champion for three of the last five years, will be brought in from the United States as field manager. He has been a regular in New Zealand for some southern winters as head of the Cardrona ski patrol. According to Thurlow, the Nordic ski-ing on the Pisa is up with the best in the Northern Hemisphere, Mr Lee says.

Having already gone through the trials and tribulations of developing one ski-field, the Nordic Ski Area project will be almost a case of deja vu for Mr Lee. He says he has a lot of question marks in his mind.

He is still involved with the Cardrona ski-field as a consultant.