Erewhon Park Ski Field
A private ski field bulldozed into the flank of Mount Potts in the upper Rangitata by a high-country farmer in 1964; it closed in 2014 and only rope-tow pylons, scrap iron and a long-drop remain.
- Region
- Canterbury
- Country
- New Zealand
- Status
- abandoned
- Year opened
- 1964
- Year closed
- 2014
- Reason for closure
- The field's four rope tows were removed and the mountain converted to helicopter-accessed backcountry skiing under the Mount Potts name, ending lift-served operation. The remote upper Rangitata site was only ever reachable by a rough four-wheel-drive track.
History
Arthur Urquhart farmed Erewhon in the upper Rangitata from 1943 and took on the lease of Mount Potts Station in 1957. In 1964 he exchanged a freehold block at Erewhon for a special recreational lease over 70 acres and a ski field area on Mount Potts, named it Erewhon Park, bulldozed a four-wheel-drive track up the mountainside and built a working ski field with four rope tows - one of the early Canterbury club-style fields, rustic and volunteer-driven, with tows driven by old engines. He converted the Mount Potts homestead, shearers' quarters and woolshed into accommodation and a restaurant below. Through the 1980s and 1990s the mountain was better known as the Erewhon Heli Park, one of New Zealand's early helicopter skiing operations. The ski field closed in 2014, the rope tows were taken out, and the terrain now works purely as heli-accessed backcountry under the Mount Potts name. A South Canterbury Tramping Club party that walked the old road in May 2023 found the only building left standing was the small wooden A-frame that housed the long-drop toilet, with pieces of iron, lengths of rope and some tow pylons scattered about. The site is now part of Hakatere Conservation Park, reached through a 1.5 km private easement. The mountain is probably better known to film audiences as Edoras from The Lord of the Rings, which was shot on Mount Sunday just down the valley. Named runs were never recorded.
Lifts
| Name | Type | Manufacturer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unnamed lift | Rope Tow | Four rope tows served the field. Individual names, lengths, dates and manufacturers are not documented. All four were removed; some pylons and lengths of rope still lie on the site |
Sources and further reading
More in New Zealand
Location
-43.5026, 170.9249