With a snow base already of almost 1.5 metres, the punters will flock to Turoa today. Around the other side of the mountain, Whakapapa is one decent storm away from being fully operational. Given that the skifields traditionally get the bulk of their snow from late July through to September, there's plenty for the tourist industry to be enthusiastic about.
The prophets of doom were predicting a few years ago that climate change would be the death of the New Zealand ski industry, but there's precious little sign of that happening any time soon. Bookings from Australia are said to be at record highs this year. And businesses in towns like Ohakune, Raetihi and National Park will be rubbing their hands together as the punters start to rock up for their alpine fix. The ski industry is an important part of the local economy there.
We're not skiers ourselves, but we love to see local businesses prosper. And there's every indication that that's exactly what will happen this winter, which is very good news indeed.
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