TŪROA SKI AREA, New Zealand (AP) New Zealand’s Tūroa ski area is usually a white wonderland at this time of year, its deep snowpack supporting its famed spring skiing. This season, it's largely a barren moonscape, with tiny patches of snow poking out between vast fields of jagged volcanic boulders.
Ruapehu Alpine Lifts Limited (RAL) has gone into voluntary administration after three years of disastrous ski seasons due to the lack of snow and the Covid
New Zealand’s Tūroa ski area closed three weeks early because it has hardly any snow. Rain washed it away all winter, and snowmaking machines proved no match against balmy temperatures. Throughout the season, workers used machines to push what snow there was onto Tūroa's trails, but that allowed only limited runs for expert skiers and snowboarders. The disastrous snow season follows two years disrupted by COVID-19, leaving Tūroa and its sister ski area Whakapapa on the brink of bankruptcy. Climate change appears to be a significant factor, after New Zealand's warmest winter on record. That's raising questions about the future of skiing and snowboarding in a nation known as an outdoor adventure destination.