Update From The Hill

It's now been almost two weeks since we were hit with arson at Whakapapa and the clean-up is well underway.

The police have confirmed it was definitely arson that caused the fires in Knoll Ridge Chalet, the cat shed and the Waterfall Express Chairlift top terminal. Their investigation is ongoing. Two fires were lit in each building at about midnight on 13 February and the chalet and cat shed were destroyed as a result.

Engineers have now completed their assesment of the Waterfall Express and we are very pleased to announce there has been NO serious damage to componentry. There are some minor repairs to be made to seals and a hydraulic pump but the lift is operational at the moment for staff access and will be operational for customers within a month. Repair work on the chairlift terminal building started on Monday and will be completed in 4-6 weeks - well in advance of the 2009 winter season.

Unfortunately neither the chalet or cat shed can be reconstructed in time for winter 2009. We are currently flat out looking at options for temporary facilities at the Knoll Ridge level. We are also considering re-opening the Schuss Haus for winter 2009. We do intend to have toilet facilities, shelter and some food available in the Knoll Ridge area in time for the 2009 season but they will not be as salubrious as we have grown accustomed to at the chalet. It's worth noting that the buildings were all outside the gift area so the consent process for replacement buildings will not be as complex as the ongoing consent process for the proposed new upper mountain chairlift at Whakapapa.

We've commenced demolition of what's left of the Knoll Ridge Chalet and cat shed. Any steel or concrete that was bent, buckled or damaged by the fire is being removed while concrete slabs that may be usable in the replacement buildings are being kept. We anticipate that demolition will take 4-6 weeks and we can't make a call on what form the replacement or temporary buildings may take until we're further down the track of the demolition. We'll keep you posted on our plans.

There were three groomers and an excavator destroyed in the cat shed fire so we are currently searching for similar age machines from North America and are 100% sure they will be replaced in time for winter. Turoa skiers concerned that Whakapapa may poach some of their grooming capacity need not worry - the Turoa grooming manager has locked up his cats and they won't be moving! There will be NO reduction of grooming capacity on either side of the mountain.

Thanks so much again to all those who have shown their support. We've been amazed, astounded and hugely appreciative of all the calls, emails, letters and even flowers that have been sent through to our staff. We've also had a lot of support from DoC and other statutory bodies and our insurers have been very understanding and aware of the time frames we're working to. We're very confident we'll have full replacement buildings in place for the 2010 winter as a result.

- extract from the Ruapehu Website,

Mt. Ruapehu

Below are some more photos of the two destroyed buildings.