Operator at North Island’s Mount Ruapehu lays off 130 people, with expert saying climate crisis at least partly to blame for poor snow season
An unseasonably warm and wet winter, brought on in part by climate change, has left one of New Zealand’s most popular skiing spots barren and rocky during peak season, forcing the operator of its two main ski fields to lay off a third of its staff and temporarily close a site.
Ruapehu Alpine Lifts, which runs the Tūroa and Whakapapa ski areas on the North Island’s Mount Ruapehu, announced it would lay off about 130 staff, mainly at Tūroa, which will close until further notice.
With the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research saying New Zealand is on track for one of its hottest winters, the chief executive of Ruapehu Alpine Lifts, Jono Dean, said the weather had reduced natural snow cover and curtailed opportunities for snowmaking.
Tūroa in particular had received well below its all-time average snowfall so far, while Whakapapa was well below its five-year average snowfall.
Dean said some of those who lost their jobs would be offered casual employment, while others would seek new work in the region or at ski destinations in the South Island, which has had a strong season.
“The community has already started to rally around those impacted, with offers of meals and discounted accommodation flowing in,” he said.
The lack of snow has had trickle-down effects on local communities, particularly tourist town Okahune.
“We’ve been in the accommodation business here for 15 years and it’s the first time we’ve had a limited snow year,” the owner of Ruapehu motel operator Mountain Motel and Lodge, Leigh Berry, told Today FM.
“We’re all a bit shocked. We are hopeful. Historically we do have snow in September. We are still looking forward to a season.”
Climate scientist Prof James Renwick, of Wellington’s Victoria University, said there was no doubt the decreased snowfall could be partly linked to a warming climate.
“Certainly this winter has been much warmer overall, with this month and last month very warm,” he said. “That’s obviously not good news for snow and ski fields.”
However, by contrast, the South Island ski fields had experienced a very good season, he said, and in this case, the North Island might also just be subject to “the vagaries of the weather and short-term climate variations”.
A climate change risk assessment by environmental and engineering company Tonkin + Taylor projected that reductions in snow and ice due to climate change were likely to affect the tourism sector, particularly winter sports such as skiing. The risk was currently considered moderate, but that jumped to high from 2050 and “extreme” by the end of the century.
Ski fields can partly adapt by bolstering low snowfall through snowmaking machines, but Tonkin + Taylor warned this could lead to “maladaptation”, due to the increased running costs and high water demands of that process.
Renwick said making snow only worked if there was some existing snow to work with.
Climate modelling had shown that the snow season in New Zealand’s mountains would probably get shorter over time, Renwick said, adding that this winter’s high temperatures could – at least in part – be ascribed to climate change.
“If you’re into rollerskating, great,” Renwick said, “but skiing is going to become more and more of a niche pursuit as time goes on.”