Skiing the Slopes of Turoa

Great destination! Enjoyed the open trail and peaceful outdoor atmosphere.

Beautiful spot to come up and see the views in summer. Incredible sunrise. You can also climb the summit of Ruapehu from here.

great food and coffee and staff are very welcoming! best views in town🙂

Turoa mountain

It pains me to write this. I am a tourist from Switzerland who went there two weeks ago with the simple expectation to ski on a volcano in the southern hemisphere. What bothered me was not the lack of snow, it was the abysmal service I got: I asked the serviceperson at base station what my cheapest option is. He told me I should get a 159 NZD package with rental, day pass and a mandatory beginner lesson of 2 hours. On the day where I went there I had discovered some "hidden cost" to my dismay: -> the piece of plastic where they load the ski pass on costs 4 NZD and it is NOWHERE stated you have to buy it yourself. ->The rentals don't state what exactly is included as such. You have to get several other gear on a additional fare and they don't even have gloves and goggles. You have to buy them in the store for mostly 160 NZD on average. ->The "day pass" is only for the beginner area and you need to pay 20 NZD on top for access to the entire mountain. Now I went through with the dumb idea of skiing without gloves and sliced open my thumbs with my other fingers getting frostbitten. I went down to the ski school base for the lesson and then got "informed" that this was for beginners only. I then asked for First Aid and warm water, which they did not provide. Then I was asked to get myself some gloves for "health and safety". That line rubbed me the wrong way. How can someone preach that line when they fail to provide essential things that bring you health and safety? The last straw for me was in the afternoon where they closed down the cablecar, making us hike down with our ski gear. NEVER have I ever had to do that in Europe! The least thing they could have done is to put snow on the lower part or organise an alternative method of transport. The main reason one skis in a resort is to have transport and prepared runs for skiing down securely. "Health and safety" was obviously a farce to them. I did not get a refund ("It's after 10"), just a half-assed sorry with a reminder the weather has gotten worse in the afternoon as forecast. I started out with only wanting to ski, but left the place feeling like an utter idiot. I am so disappointed that writing this is my only option. I would take this down in a heartbeat, if I got a proper gesture to make things good again. New Zealand is a country I fell in love with and it is so unfortunate that Turoa has stained it. I still have hope for the South Island. PS: Mini Schwiizer, mängisch esch es be öis hie eifach am beschte ;).