Mt Hutt forecasts

Press, 26 June 1989, Page 20

Mt Hutt forecasts

Sir,—lt is Thursday, June 15, and. I have just heard a ski report for Mt Hutt, on 3ZB — clear, calm and upper tows subject to wind. I can hear the wind gusting outside and the forecast is for gale force nor’ westers. Cyclists and caravaners have been warned to be careful. Do we have to have a major disaster, before we can expect responsible actions from the powers that be at Mt Hutt. — Yours, etc., JILL WHITE. June 15, 1989.

[Mr Philip Wilton, operations manager for the Mount Hutt Ski and Alpine Tourist Company, writes: “Mount Hutt was quite aware of the wind warnings given to caravans and cyclists on June 15. The conditions on the access road to the skifield and the skifield itself had been monitored on a regular basis through the night by the groomer drivers and by myself personally from 4.30 a.m. Our actual wind-speed chart had shown no wind gusts over 30 knots since 1.15 a.m. The strongest gust on the access road was around 7 a.m. and was 30 knots. After being involved with the decision-making on the opening of Mount Hutt for a number of years, I can assure your correspondent that Mount Hutt would not open if the conditions were unsafe. If visual signs of high winds were evident, more than likely a delay in the opening would be activated. The Mount Hutt snow report is given out at 6.30 every morning. Being

in the mountains the conditions do change rapidly and sometimes they have changed by the time skiers have reached the field. We do try to update the ski report as often as is practicable. The conditions that were evident that day do happen from time to time in a nor-west situation where the winds do funnel down the gorges and around each side of Mount Hutt, but the skifield itself enjoys much calmer conditions. The ski report that your correspondent heard was not what Seekers Answer Service, who distribute our reports out to radio stations, said. In the report we stated that on June 15 at 6.30 a.m. the field was open with light to moderate westerlies, the lower lifts operational and all upper lifts including the chair, subject to the weather. If Jill White was on the mountain that day I am sure she would have had an enjoyable day’s ski-ing because as the day progressed the winds continued to abate until by 11 a.m. it was virtually calm.”]