Ski season pass users

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rayonline

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#151515 27-Aug-2014 22:14

I had one in the past considering next year. Do you drive there on many weekends after work and back on Sunday? And possibly take a week or two annual leave for it elsewhere? Obviously one only have so much annual leave and some of it is for other uses.

dacraka

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#1117210 28-Aug-2014 13:01

My friends & I drive after work from Auckland to Mt Ruapehu on Friday and drive back Sunday night. I have taken a week off work in the past a couple of times but that is a huge risk because the weather might not be very good!

wellygary

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#1117244 28-Aug-2014 13:43

Do the numbers and I think you end up having to hit the snow for 6 days to make a Season pass the cheapest way to ski, ($480 early purchase vs, either 6*$99 ( day pass) ot $366 for a 4 day multi and $188 for a 2 day multi)

So basically 3 good weekends will do it, or a full week + a weekend,

Planning weeks at Ruapehu can be tricky in July/August, ( great snow, but usually crappy weather) September onward is usually more settled for planning a longer stretch)

Most weekend warriors will do the "up Friday night, down Sunday".-

hashbrown

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#1118031 29-Aug-2014 16:26

I got sick of the nutters on the road Friday/Sunday night.

Personally I'd take a day off either side if going down for the weekend.

frankv

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#1120595 2-Sep-2014 17:02

There's also the convenience... no queueing up for tickets.

graemeh

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#1120616 2-Sep-2014 17:28

How many days do you do now? Would it be justified based on how much you ski / board at the moment?

You haven't mentioned which mountain or where you are from. There are a lot of South Island options across multiple mountains which are quite good if you are down that way.

If it is Ruapehu I'd say don't bother unless you plan to spend a lot of time there but then I'm a but negative about Ruapehu (but it is great on a good day but seriously poor accomodation options).

graemeh

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#1120618 2-Sep-2014 17:29

frankv: There's also the convenience... no queueing up for tickets.

Some mountains (such as Cardrona and Treble Cone) issue a card that you can reload so you don't need to queue for tickets even if you don't have a season pass. You just go online and top up your card and you are good to go. I think NZ Ski have this for their mountains too (Hutt, Coronet Peak and Remarkables).

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rayonline

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#1120652 2-Sep-2014 17:59

I am in Wellington. So it is Ruapehu.
I only did one day this year with first time seekers and then a lunch in Taupo. Looking at a seasons pass for 2015. For accom - if I do get the pass and go so regularly I won't be staying at the nicer accom the cost will just goes up. Looking at hostels and just get a bed, bring my packed dinner to be heated up with min fuss etc. I guess a single person, the accom would be at least $120 for a self contained unit.

eXDee

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#1120779 2-Sep-2014 19:46

rayonline: I am in Wellington. So it is Ruapehu.
I only did one day this year with first time seekers and then a lunch in Taupo. Looking at a seasons pass for 2015. For accom - if I do get the pass and go so regularly I won't be staying at the nicer accom the cost will just goes up. Looking at hostels and just get a bed, bring my packed dinner to be heated up with min fuss etc. I guess a single person, the accom would be at least $120 for a self contained unit.

For ohakune, I tried the backpackers options once. The Hobbit was okay enough, id say acceptable. Alpine Motel and Backpacker Lodge wasn't that great, there was mould around the windows and the noise curfew wasn't well enforced. At least they were friendly. Motel portion would be better. Of course if you want quality accom, you dont go for a hostel/backpackers.

Keep in mind that not all days are equal. I find weekdays (especially tues/wed/thurs) are worth nearly twice the value of weekends, because of the crowds. You spend more time waiting in road queues, trekking from lower car parks, waiting in lift queues, waiting in lunch queues and finding a table etc. I find you can as much as double your number of runs - got them logged by AlpineReplay and did some comparisons.

Hopefully you have a flexible boss for during weekdays. Regardless, as mentioned weather is very on and off. For a forecast of up to 7 days as well as general seasonal performance MountainWatch is great as its hand written at 7:30am every morning. Often more accurate than computer generated metservice forecasts who tend to overstate the amount of snowfall.

http://snowpool.org/countries/new-zealand
Snowpool is also your friend, as a driver, or as someone wanting a lift to the mountain. Drivers get petrol money for the $60-150 odd you might be spending on fuel (depending on distance and vehicle), and people get a lift to the mountain. Win-Win.

frankv

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#1121059 3-Sep-2014 11:48

You might want to look at Ski Clubs, especially tramping clubs. Accommodation is *much* cheaper, but you would do some work yourself (doing dishes, cooking, work parties).

The Wellington tramping clubs all have lodges on the mountain (Whakapapa side), which have a special atmosphere. Some are higher on the mountain, and require a higher level of fitness (20+ minutes walk in snow at midnight on Friday night, carrying all your stuff), which limits the aprez-ski socialising a bit, but does mean you get up in the morning and jump straight onto your skis.

mckenndk

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#1121089 3-Sep-2014 12:42

Things have calmed down now a few weekends ago things got crazy with the amount of people and the roads getting backlogged.

I currently work up here so its not as hard to go skiing and avoid the crowds but previously would try and do week days at the start of the season (usually when everyone is edging to get up here to get in their first run's) and weekends later in the season.

I'm a life pass holder so don't need to worry about the queues for tickets but if you have a card you can top it up online now https://store.mtruapehu.com/itemList.aspx?emptyCart=true, You can also get cards from places off the mountain (accommodation providers, ski rentals etc) and top them up to help from the pass reload button on the mobile website.
Keep your card in a empty pocket or if your jacket has a card slot in the pocket or on the arm these work well, I have seen people holding up queues by having them in the middle of the wallet/pockets surrounded by NFC credit and Debit cards, this does not work well.

If you are a regular a ski club would probably be a good option and I believe clubs are looking for people at the moment, otherwise there is plenty of other choices around.

If your a common visitor to Mt Ruapehu you usually figure things out after a few goes, like leave early if you don't want to get stuck in queues when there are alot of people in town (told this to a few people this year who ignored me the first day and the next day they were gone by 7 as they got stuck in traffic) and have breakfast or a coffee in the Turoa or Whakapapa Cafes.
If you carry your own chains (I got mine off trademe for $27) you can get through faster and cheaper but remember to practice before you come to the mountain fitting them otherwise it will be very difficult on the day.

That's my experience and i'm usually a Turoa Skier

Dion