In the face of a most unusual season the North Island’s ski fields have reported a huge turnout during the school holidays.

In spite of grim economic forecasts and uncertain snow conditions more than 55000 visitors arrived at the Whakapapa and Turoa ski fields over the fortnight, a 5 percent increase on last year’s figures.

“It’s truly inspiring considering where we were some 12 weeks ago in the midst of a lockdown,” said Jono Dean, CEO of Ruapehu Alpine lifts which runs both ski fields.

“It’s incredibly promising considering we weren’t even sure if we could open for a 2020 season,” the company had adopted very conservative forecasts for visitor turnout, expecting some families might be feeling the financial pinch of the coronavirus lockdown.

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