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Visitor reviews for Whakapapa Ski Resort

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Ski Resort Rating: Rate Whakapapa

• October 10, 2011
  Robert from New Zealand
  

  I came to skiing late in life and I LOVE (!) Ruapehu. This is my 10th season. There is usually heaps of snow right through to October and a good variety of runs to choose from.

  Just 4 hours from both major cities with comfortable budget priced accommodation available.

  I prefer Whakapapa to Turoa because the weather is more reliable and there seems to be less ice around. I remember the big (4m+) snow of 2008 when you could hardly see some of the mountain lodges. In snow like this there are places where a beginner/intermediate can get a confidence boost: Broadbents (Turoa) and Tennants Valley (Whaka). Far West (Whaka) is nice but beware of ice.

  The "road" at the bottom of Clarry's Track, Turoa is where inexperienced skiers and boarders must use, so out of control riders need serious management. This was by-passed this year with an excellent chute under the chair-line, landing you right at the base of the lowest chairs.

  One grumble is the uphill slog from the Centennial chair to the lower mountain runs. Not so bad in a tail wind!

  A great feature of both fields is the free season pass for 70-year-olds. I'm going on 69 now and living for that day!

• September 04, 2011
  Rick Powell from New Zealand
  

  I have skied at Whakapapa and Turoa for over 30 years and have had more than my fair share of run-ins with snowboards and skiing with 2 small kids. However, I must say the behaviour this year has been excellent. The staff both sides are amazing and a credit to such a service orientated industry.

• September 03, 2011
  Mia from New Zealand
  

  Whakapapa is an awesome ski field and I have had many amazing days there over the last 30+ years! Unfortunately, it has a few things that let it down. The weather is unreliable. The lifts are not up to date and there are too many T-bars. There is no where to go for a learner to move on to once they have mastered Happy Valley now that the platter up the top has been stupidly taken out. However, along with Treble Cone it is the best ski field in New Zealand and Happy Valley is the best place in the world to learn to ski. I have skied in Europe and the US, but I still love to ski Whakapapa.

• August 28, 2011
  Matt from New Zealand
  

  We're on Whakapapa every 2nd weekend throughout the winter and it's fantastic! I agree there's a few idiots out there (both on skis and boards) but you're going to find that anywhere. There are 2 or 3 runs that are almost always packed but if you go hunting it's easy to find another run all to yourself.

• August 28, 2011
  william Mennie from New Zealand
  

  We've had a great few days at Whakapapa and Turoa so far this season, but I'd have to say Turoa road management is well below par, they need to sort it out.

  [note from the editor: our aim is to keep the reviews directly relevant to the services/facilities at the ski fields.]

• August 24, 2011
  Pesh from New Zealand
  

  I have been down for 2 separate 5 day spells on both Turoa and Whakapapa - both on very busy weekends and a few not so busy weekdays - all blue sky days.
  For the most part it's all been great - friendly staff, good facilities, and for the most part happy and polite friendly punters on both board and skis sharing the slopes. Apart from the few idiots who are running before they can walk - causing collisions etc.
  I think a bit more education and reminders about the general rules from the staff or via signage on the slopes maybe wouldn't go astray.

• August 23, 2011
  Lynda Dean from New Zealand
  

  I agree with another reviewer. We will probably never ski at Turoa again. My daughter was taken out by a snowboarder when she just turned 8yrs old. Not a lot of snow that year, about 4 yrs ago, coming down off the mt we had to ski a small track. The snowboarder just could not wait, crashed on past me and into my daughter. She had had lots of experience on skies overseas and NZ before this incident, so not a slow skier. Just chill boarders for just a moment. I would say this is the worst place to ski with the snowboarders.

• August 22, 2011
  Chris from New Zealand
  

  Have just had the best skiing for some time at Whakapapa; clear blue skies, little wind and awesome snow. Apparently one of the busiest weekends on record but with all of the lifts operating from 7.30am to 4.30pm the queues were not huge like you might expect only about 5-7 minutes wait on average. Definitely my favourite New Zealand ski field with fantastic on-mountain facilities and plenty of smiling faces.

• August 16, 2011
  Sandy Elliott from New Zealand
  

  Excellent friendly staff at ski hire, lift, cafe.
  Seem to be doing a better job of controlling rampant dangerous individuals these days, but still room for improvement there.

• August 06, 2011
  Liss from New Zealand
  

  Not all snowboarders are useless young snowboarders...That's a bit unfair....Whakapapa is amazing in its own right for its bowls, gullies, natural jumps and cliffs whereas Turoa is great for the openess and wideness etc. Why is it we can all just ski and snowboard without paying out the other sport?
  I live 4 hours away from the mountain, I have been down there in amazing bluebird days, horrible blizzardy days and in-between and I have never had a bad day. It's what you make of it. Ruapehu has some of the best skiing and riding in NZ and we are lucky to have this amazing Mt on our Island! I have never in the whole 5 seasons I've been riding Ruapehu had to wait in a queue longer than a few minutes (and this includes weekend and school holidays) so am not sure where the queue thing comes from from everyone!
  None of us can help the weather - And I personally think Whakas is tops over Turoa but everyone has their own opinion. Ruapehu is the best!

• July 30, 2011
  Julie from New Zealand
  

  We went yesterday, awesome weather, had to strip off layers as it was very hot. Loved the day, snow was great, kids had a ball, staff were great & helpful. Hope to get back during the week soon without kids to try snowboarding or skiing for the first time. Roll on more snow.. Thanks Whakapapa Team. Awesome day out and only 2hrs drive from Rotorua.

• July 21, 2011
  Chris from New Zealand
  

  If you belong to a club and can travel to the mountain at a couple of days notice then you can pick the weather and have an awesome seasons skiing at very little cost with an early bird seasons pass. The point made by Graham regarding the ski patrol not enforcing the rules is a very valid one particularly at Turoa where there seems to be an unusually high ratio of useless young snowboarders. If you want to ski with those of a higher level of skill then you should ski at Whakapapa.

• June 20, 2011
  Graham from New Zealand
  

  Wonderful varied natural terrain unfortunately spoiled by lack of decent facilities and ancient lifts that are slow and have massive queues on weekends. Non existent enforcement of rules by ski patrol make it dangerous as well.

• May 25, 2011
  Brendan from New Zealand
  

  You can all complain all you like about long queues, slow lifts etc but at the end of the day we have great terrain within a reasonably short distance from Auckland. Earlybird season pass prices are great and the fact that you can use the 1 pass at Whakapapa and Turoa (2 biggest fields in NZ) makes for unbeatable value.
  The hike from the top of the Far West T-Bar on the West Ridge at Whakapapa to the Crater lake is highly recommended for not only the view but it gives you access to some great runs and only takes about 40mins.
  Weekdays are the best days as you can usually ride onto the chairlifts but weekends aren't bad if you exercise a little patience.

• October 09, 2010
  Alex from New Zealand
  

  I love it at Whakapapa. Varied terrain, something for everyone. Let down by the lifts, T-bars at the top get a bit tiresome after a while. Needs a proper lift to the summit to take advantage of the magnificent valley running down to the knoll T. Dept of Conservation would close the whole lot down if they had their way. They want it to look nice but your not allowed to enjoy it!!!

• September 24, 2009
  Zoltan from United Kingdom
  

  Whakapapa is badly let down by the poor lift system. There is only one good lift in the whole place and the queues at weekends can be huge. The two 2-seater lifts to get you up the lower mountain are the slowest lifts I have been on and the queues are a complete joke at times.
  There is not much you can do about the weather that makes the place very unreliable and almost sheet ice. But the place could invest and do something with the lifts. Europe in the 60's had better lifts.
  Get a nice day and the place is stunning. Blue skies are common, but expect high winds to be a problem.
  The beginners area at Whakapapa is better than Turoa but still gets really busy.
  If I had a choice, I would always go Turoa before Whakapapa. It's about 45 minutes drive away but worth it.

• September 15, 2009
  Damian from Ireland
  

  On a recent trip we skied both Whakapapa and Turoa. To my mind, if you get the right weather conditions, Mt. Ruapehu offers the best skiing in New Zealand. New Zealand's maritime climate makes for changeable weather conditions. If you are very time constrained I would recommend the South Island ski fields where the weather is more reliable but the skiing is not as good.

  With a little more time to spend, then on their day Whakapapa and Turoa are, in my opinion, up there with the best for on and off-piste skiing. The next nearest comparable groomed ski field is in Japan or North America which isn't exactly round the corner. (NB: The South Island off-piste skiing is equal to the best in the world, but the good stuff is incredibly hard to get to).

  We had spring skiing conditions that meant soft snow lower down and a little crusty higher up. Good for the time of year.

  Some of the lifts are old and slow which can be an issue if it's very busy. That said, the new 6 seater at Turoa is world class. The high speed quad at Whakapapa is great but the field would benefit greatly with a chair to access the very highest slopes. The reliance on T-bars does a mountain of this quality a dis-service.

  The facilities are ok, though in their defense, the main on-mountain restaurant at Whakapapa was destroyed in a fire earlier this year so that has put pressure on the other cafes and restaurants to take up the slack. The builders were there when we were there. The plan, we were told, is to rebuild a state of the art on-mountain restaurant in the New Zealand 2009/10 summer.

  This is a great mountain for beginners and experts alike. It would be truly fantastic with a new lift or two at Whakapapa.

  Highly recommended.

• August 30, 2009
  Sarah from New Zealand
  

  We went to Whakapapa for the first time with 2 small children. The cost was reasonable, snow was great, ski school was great and the kids loved every minute of the experience. Mum even got a few runs in. Lower lifts were a bit slow though and hopefully they will improve this. The restaurants at Whakapapa were very busy on the weekend - expected though, but perhaps they will improve this by building a larger facility.
  Well worth the 3 hour drive to get there and can't wait to get back, will be watching the snow report closely.

• July 30, 2009
  Richard from Australia
  

  I was born in NZ but have been living abroad for the past 15-years and have been lucky enough to ski a lot in the Northern Hemisphere.
  Whilst I agree that the mountain, when the weather is good, is very hard to beat lets inject a dose of reality into the debate.
  1. The weather is VERY unpredictable. This is a mountain that rises out of a desert plain. Accordingly, it is very exposed to the wind. Mountain closures are frequent and the upper mountain is particularly susceptible to closure.
  2. The lifts are old and slow. The problem with this is that they are susceptible to the wind. If it is blowing more than 40mph it is almost certain they will not open the upper mountain, regardless of weather. If the weather looks a bit dodgy, only buy a lower mountain pass in the morning as you can always upgrade it later in the day. If you go for a full mountain pass there are no refunds if you can't use it.
  3. Bulk of the grooming is done in the morning and the de-icing seems to take forever, so you'll be lucky to hit the upper mountain earlier than 10.30-11.00am. Seems to be no urgency to get the upper mountain open in the morning.
  4. Equipment hire on the mountain is average and if you are a good but ocassional skier and like to use 'executive' or 'demo' rentals forget it. My advice is get your gear before you come to the mountain or there are a few good places in Ohakune.
  5. The food on the mountain is poor and expensive and space is limited. Accordingly, bring a packed lunch and avoid the traditional 12-2pm lunch break if you want to sit down.
  6. I would give terrain a 7 out of 10. It would get a higher rating but the runs aren't all that long - particularly the challenging runs.
  Overall this is not a bad mountain but the experience can be really dragged down by the unpredictability of the weather and poor on-snow activities (cafe, hire, grooming, lifts).
  If you're stuck in the North Island, then this is the place for you but give yourself a week and plan for some down time. If you have the ability to get to the South Island then my advice is do it and give Ruapehu a miss.

• August 29, 2008
  Olly from New Zealand
  

  I think you will find that every 5 years or so, you can ski to the Chateau, I did it about 2 weeks ago.
  What Whakapapa does offer is some pretty intense terrain, if you have the skills and knowledge to ski it. I have skied in many places across the world, and even though it may not as good as many of those resorts, in my mind, Whakapapa is the best resort in New Zealand (on its day)
  Treble Cone has amazing snow, but over the last few years I have had several powder (actual powder) days that would better TC, with the advantage of much more terrain.
  You are right about the 1m to cover the rocks, but its been 3 years since we haven't had enough, ever heard of weather cycles? Hear about how bad the season was on the east coast of the states last year?
  I encourage you to go skiing soon, it's insane down there.

  [Comment by editor: the part of this review that contained sensitive text, directed to an individual, has now been removed]

• August 18, 2008
  Stu from New Zealand
  

  I note Darryl's comment about skiing to the Chateau. I remember doing that on occasion in the past too. I also remember skiing at Christmas and New Year. And I remember digging the cars out at the top of the Bruce in the morning, then another front coming through and having to dig them out again in the afternoon so they didn't get graded (70's). Whakapapa is great for a challenge and variety - just gets a bit crowded at times, so I try to avoid those times.

• August 14, 2008
  TiM from New Zealand
  

  At the moment there is heaps of snow at Whak (2.9 mts) and whoever wrote the one saying that it needs 1.3 mts of snow is wrong. I did a full run with 1 meter of snow on and that was fine. 2yrs ago me and my bro skied top to bottom and I was only 11yrs and he was only 9yrs

• August 10, 2008
  darryl from New Zealand
  

  It's interesting what Vivienne had to write about top of the mountain to Chateau skiing. It would appear she has not spent many years at Whakapapa. I have spent 30yrs this yr skiing at Whakapapa and have done a top to bottom, gone to the tavern, had a few drinks and then caught the then Mountain Goats back up. It the big dump of the 90's the young kids in our ski club skied to the Chateau using the cars coming up as a slalom course. This skiing has not been down for a while due to the lack of snow, however it can be done.
  Whilst Whakapapa can be unpredictable, it is a very technical mountain to ski and having skied a large number of ski fields worldwide, you will see the evidence of your ability at these fields. Most ski instructors will tell you, "if you can ski Whakapapa, you can ski anywhere in the world"
  And as mentioned, the mountain is magic when the sun is out and the snow is perfect,it can't be beaten.

• August 07, 2008
  David from New Zealand
  

  This season is the first season that I have ever been down to the South Island and to be completely honest with you Whakapapa measures up well.
  If you're from Auckland and wanting to go skiing go to Whaka and save a heap of $$$$$. It's good that they have the Knol ridge and Far West cafes because that means that you don't have to go all the way to the base area to rest up re fuel or "De Fuel". The field does get very busy especially if Far West isn't open but a good rule to follow is if it's busy at the Waterfall go out west. If it's busy out west go to the Waterfall. Out west is the high light of the field and offers rolling natural big mountain terrain which is super fun on a powder day. Rock Garden is always busy so be prepared. Upper Mountain pass is always the way to go.

• August 06, 2008
  shaun from New Zealand
  

  Went to Whakapapa on Tues 16 August and what a day! Heaps of snow no q,s and awesome conditions! one of the best days ever!

• July 24, 2008
  Vivienne from New Zealand
  

  I've been skiing Whakapapa and Turoa for the last 8 years. It's good on a good day, but they don't come everyday. It's exposed and both resorts share the most "closed days" out of all NZ resorts. It gets the most snow, but it needs it to cover the rocks.
  Whakapapa needs about 1.3m and Turoa needs about 1m to get a decent run. Anything below that, you'll need to avoid rocks.
  No offence, but Andrew (whoever wrote the first review), I seriously doubt you skied from Top to the chateau. you'd be lucky to ski even half that. Please.
  Don't get me wrong, on a good day, Whakapapa and Turoa are magic. but don't have your hopes too high, and you have to factor in closed days. The features at both ski fields are damn fun and interesting which keep me going year after year.
  But it's not an American, Japanese, or EU ski field. Don't be fooled. Please.

• August 17, 2006
  jonny from snowcone from New Zealand
  

  Here are my tips for riding at Whakapapa:
  Best days to go are monday-thursday there are fewer people in the lift lines and you get a better carpark.
  If you go there fri-sat during mid season get a carpark in daypark 4 or 5 catch the shuttle up to the top and at the end of the day you can ski/board down to your car.
  If the lift lines are packed on the centennial lift take the far west chairlift,
  then take the 4 man chairlift follow the trail to the left and then proceed down to the bottom of the waterfall lift,
  ride safely help those learners who are in a spot of trouble, show respect to the old timers, but most of all have fun and watch out for the rocks coz they have the ability to shred you a new poohole.

• June 26, 2006
  Jenny from New Zealand
  

  Whakapapa is not only for the skiers and boarders you know. 11 of us went up for a fun day with the kids. We took sheets of plastic etc and the kids and a few adults had a lovely day in the sun throwing snowballs and making snowmen. We were there for over 4 hours and the time went so fast it was sad when we had to pack up and come back to reality...we live in Taupo. We took loads of photos with the trusty digital cameras and once downloaded onto the computers found we enjoyed the day all over again just looking at those and talking about it all. So if you think it is all just for skiing etc go up with the kids and a picnic lunch and have a ball, you won't regret it I promise...

• July 11, 2005
  Andrew Crang from New Zealand
  

  Whakapapa, New Zealand's biggest ski resort and in my opinion-the best!. Whakapapa has an average snow depth of 3.5m in the peak of winter ( august-september) Along with breathtaking scenery of the three volacanoes comes the awesome skiing, great lift acsessed backcountry terrain and those double black diamond runs down the famous pinnacles. My obsession with skiing is all thanks to Whakapapa. Not only does whakapapa have those changelling runs but 5 lifts are dedicated to beginners. I took the famous "walk to the summit" and the breath taking ski down along with six inches of fresh powder. The far west in my eyes is the highlight of this ski area ranging from blue to double black diamond, this area acesses the three glaciers that run on the west side of Mt ruapehus whakapapa ski field. On a good year skiers can ski from summit (2797) to the grand chateau (800m) and the bottom chair is 1600m above sea level I enjoyed that run! all 15km of it! all I can say to you is ive been to america, ive experieced those powder days and I can say to you as an american Whakapapa is up there and with only 2% of the mountain used, who could no, one day there might be in excess of 200 lifts, 150 more than we have now. Come to Mt ruapehu and enjoy what I experienced afterall its in our summer!