Snowsure: 3.8
- Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing
- Is often closed due to a lack of snow
- Occasionally suffers from a lack of snow
- Rarely suffers from a lack of snow
- Turoa is snowsure even in the poorest seasons
Visitor reviews for Turoa Ski Resort
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(NOTE: Reviews may be edited by our content team for the purposes of ensuring accurate and relevant information)
(NOTE: Reviews may be edited by our content team for the purposes of ensuring accurate and relevant information)
Latest
May 24, 2009
d from
New Zealand
d from
New Zealand
Turoa is my home. Without a word of a lie it has some of the sickest terrain in the world. Everything from wide open groomers for putting down that perfect pencil line carve to super steep narrow faces where every turn counts. The field is huge and well laied out. Mum and sis can ride a groomer down, dad and the boys can scare themselves just off the side of the main runs and all can meet at the lift and cafes ready for another run.
Off the to the east of Turoa ski field is the glacier. Check ski patrol warnings and take a local as if you miss the exit it can be a long, long walk home. This is a natural powder trap: wide open and no trees for riding as fast as you can. To the west are the old lava flows which make hundreds of wind lip cornices and waterfalls for launching off of but look before you leap as some of them are truely huge. With a quick hike you can reach the crater and see the stunning crater lake. This active volcano can change the colour in the lake within minutes. Make sure you have time to get down before the sun sets as the snow can set hard fast. From the top on a clear day you can see the ocean on both sides of the island and watching a sunset over Mt Taranaki is a truely once in a life time experience. If nice sight-seeing isn't your thing Turoa has some of the best shaped parks anywhere. There are a number to choose from, from beginner at the Winter Garden to 50+feet in the XXL park; rail lines change throughout the season keeping it interesting. On weekends lift lines can get big but an easy fix to this is a private lesson. Not only do you get pointers but you get a person that knows the mountain and its hidden treasures as well as getting to bypass those lift lines. Lessons can be booked at the Winter Garden so you don't need to return to the base of the mountain.
March 01, 2009
jack0fshad0ws from
New Zealand
jack0fshad0ws from
New Zealand
Mt Ruapehu (Whakapapa and Turoa ski fields) is not the mountain that you can plan to go to a few weeks in advance. You need to grab the right opportunity/conditions. It will then be totally epic (measurable to Whistler/Blackcomb, Banff & Kicking Horse resorts in Canada). You can find slopes for any ability there. Choose the wrong time and you'll be stuck with limited visibility and so-called 'breakable crust:)'. On 'bluebird' days the views at Turoa are amazing (I have been snowboarding there for 7 years and the views are still breathtaking and ever changing).
Cheers
P.s. Weekends are useless at Turoa because of the crowds.
September 08, 2008
Mark from
New Zealand
Mark from
New Zealand
Drove up from Auckland early Thursday morning 4th Sept and straight up to the mountain. Conditions were perfect, no wind, sunny and not at all crowded, in fact we didn't have to wait at all for any of the lifts. Turoa at the moment has an incredible 4.5m of snow, apparently the most in 15 years. My legs were aching from all the runs and felt a little stiff when I got down to our accommodation.
Friday was ever-so-slightly busier and clouded over at about 3.00pm, however I was shattered and thankful of a forced reason to call it quits. We drove back to Auckland feeling very satisfied.
An awesome experience.
June 30, 2008
Ewan. from
New Zealand
Ewan. from
New Zealand
I did 2007 at Turoa for June and July and found mixed weather and poor visibility was a real bummer. With that said the powder days I did have were amazing.
It's not Aspen or European/Canadian standards but who wants to swan about like a poser anyway! This is a real kiwi snow town! As for the comment from the article about 'good skiers' having to avoid hopeless snowboarders, I found the skiers were the main issue having their legions of rich kids standing in the middle of runs trying to show little Jonny how to snow plough was way more of an issue!
Live and let live dude, there are plenty of learners on both sides and weekends are a nightmare on Turoa. Go for weekdays and stay on weather watch for clear spells. 2008 has had record falls and promises to be a great season!
Good pubs and amazing scenery, patience and a laid back attitude will serve you well .
May 22, 2008
Jack
Jack
Skied there late July 07'
Worst conditions I have ever experienced.
It just rained with 3 metres of visibility the whole time. I think it was just a pretty dodgy season and doubt it would be like this every year. But it was seriously bad, there were warm fronts coming from the north west from memory which just turned the mountain into a giant puddle.
Will take me a while to get the guts to go back again.
August 14, 2006
Andrew Nuske
Andrew Nuske
Turoa is a large, open mountainside, with ski runs cut by groomers between large patches of hard ice. Unfortunately there is no shelter from the wind, so even when it is only 0 degrees, it feels significantly colder on the ski lifts. Forget early mornings, as the snow refreezes pretty much every night. Forget weekends, as the lift lines are ridiculous. Best bet for a weekend is to grab a private ski lesson, so you get some ski style tutoring, but the big bonus is cutting straight to the front of the lift lines! Runs are varied and interesting, but the mountain is dominated by hopeless snowboarders, whom good skiers will have to dodge all the way down the runs. On powder days and when the sun comes out to thaw the ice/snow, the skiing is absolutely epic! On windy days the whole mountain closes, as there is no protection for the lifts. My tip is head to Turoa in late August or early September, in the hope the temperature rises and the wind decreases. We stayed at the Powderhorn Chateau, which was brilliant! It is a half hour drive up the hill every morning (no on-snow accomodation sucks!), but is a beautiful through what seems like rainforest. The drive from Auckland is a good 4.5 hours - don't believe the websites telling you 3 hours! On bad weather days when the mountain is closed, head to scenic Lake Taupo - an easy 1.5 hour drive North-East (and there are many great restaurants there), or Rotorua is approximately 3 hours North/Northeast - many activities there including skydiving, jet boating, extreme freefall fan riding, Polynesian Spa resort (a must!) and all sorts of Volcanic geysers etc to see on the way. The town of Ohakune itself is quite basic, but has the bare essentials. We were just there for the Powderhorn Rail Jam & the Mardi Gras (end of July) which was fantastic! I recommend you check out Turoa and Whakapapa, as they are great ski fields (albeit very busy, and often closed), but from others I hear it is more worthwhile to head to the South Island where the weather is more favourable, and the tourism development is superior!
May 31, 2006
Robbie from
New Zealand
Robbie from
New Zealand
After a nice big dump of powder, I would prefer Turoa to anywhere else in New Zealand. Last season after the big late dump I skied from 2500m to Ohakune at 600m, down the 16km road and into my front door, it was an experience all right. Ohakune has been dubbed the winter party town of the North Island, with awsome bars and restaurants, a nightlife not to be missed. The mountain mardi gras, is the highlight of the North Island ski season, in mid-winter, a mass party takes place in Ohakune with snow half-pipes set up to the drunken happiness which continues throughout the night, you can brave the cold and dance to the slick beats of contempary New Zealand music on the main street of the junction with massive fires to keep the party-goers warm, or you can brave the hefty entry-fees of the top bars in Ohakune. It is a night not to be missed. The mountain is huge with over a thousand hectares of terrain in Turoa alone, and you can explore out west for miles and still be back home in time for tea, or you can take the treck up to the top of the mountian, about 2700m above sea level and ski down the route that the lava travels. When you are up there on the top, be careful not to fall into the lake, because it is hot and the water has many volcanic chemicals in it and don't go out of the boundary of Turoa by yourself, and take a transistor or cellphone to tell people if you are in trouble because the weather can change very quickly and temperatures can fall dramatically. Taking in the wind-chill factor, temps can feel as low as -35c. Wind at Turoa is not very nice and the sun doesn't reach the resort until 9:30am so dress up very warm in the morning. But in the afternoon on a fine day, the temps can reach 5 degrees which feels like 25 degrees, it seems really hot(I've seen people ski down the mountain naked on many occasions!!!). It is my home ski resort, and with the new $30 million development taking place on new chair lifts and things of that caper, Turoa is an experience not to be missed.
March 14, 2006
David Collins from
United Kingdom
David Collins from
United Kingdom
This is what you could call my home resort.
I've spent a fair bit of time on the slopes and enjoy the variety of runs and terrain. There are some great little drops and interesting bits of terrain and some nice classic open runs. The cafes are pretty basic and functional and not really the places to waste a lot of time...but then that's what the town is for.
There are a number of downsides if you've spent any time in European resorts.
1. There is no slopeside ski in, ski out accomodation - it's a stunningly beautiful half hour drive up the road which is often closed in bad weather.
2. The runs are short and often very crowded on the weekends, particularly the Howard runs - though with the new development this may change. You often have to queue for the chairs or t-bars for quite a while.
3. There are no tree runs to shelter in in bad weather - and thus the ground underneath is very rocky - your gear won't thank you much.
4. Getting good quality powder is pretty tough - bad weather shuts the place down really fast, often for days stopping you getting to the powder and the temps/winds are too high to let it settle into the soft soft European style knee deeps very often.
Having now slapped it down a bit - go there. The views are the stunning unique NZ ones. You look right down....well take my word. There's a great variety of terrain which is great fun if you get good powder and the parks often have some pretty impressive kickers.
You'll be on a volcano and it's a very doable walk to the top to the crater - and a great trip back down. The season can be pretty long too - it's opened more than once for New Years skiing...and then you can head straight to the beach. There are some excellent runs that can be had (if you put together some lifts) and plenty of terrain to explore - that and with the improving facilities you'll have to spend a lot of time to fully explore the place.
September 25, 2005
Mitch from
New Zealand
Mitch from
New Zealand
Turoa is an amazing place for snowboarders because of its slopes and terrain. Turoa experiences lots of snow dumps, some up to 50 cm of fresh powder, like last week. Turoa has great learner facilities and also good advanced facilities. It has awesome slopes where you will find many ledges and lips to get some air. Skiiers also enjoy Turoa for the steep soft slopes and challenging cliffs. Overall a must place to visit.
February 16, 2004
Bruce from
New Zealand
Bruce from
New Zealand
Turoa is an expansive open style skifield with skiing as good as anywhere else after a nice fresh snowdump. Can get icy especially in the mornings. Really long season.. with excellent spring skiing often into summer! Ohakune is the apres ski town of the North Island. Easy access to glacier skiing for those wanting more thrills. Many people climb up to the summit for a long run down the steep slopes. 60-70% snowboarders 30-40% skiers on the mountain. Nice terrain park too. Give it a go!
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