page_title: Turoa
section_title: Lifts
hierarchical_section_title: Turoa / Lifts
caption_attribution_description: English: high noon express chair november 09
context_page_description: Turoa is a skifield on the south western side of Mount Ruapehu, the highest mountain in the North Island of New Zealand, in Tongariro National Park. The area has been used for skiing since before the completion of the Mountain Road, but the first lifts opened in 1978.
  There are two beginner areas, and many intermediate and advanced trails. The upper field is a mix of natural pipes, steep drops, fast plains, and easier slopes, along with several terrain parks. The lower field contains the field's single narrow beginner trail, Clarry's Track, and a few other intermediate trails. They also serve as access to the base area from the upper mountain, and are often crowded. The field is 500 hectares and has a 722 metres vertical drop.
  The skifield is reached via the Mountain Road from the town of Ohakune. The Mountain Road was built by locals from Ohakune, mostly during weekends after they formed the Mountain Road Association in 1952. Their aim was to open Ruapehu's southern slopes for skiing, partly as a replacement industry for the decline in logging which had sustained the town for the previous decades.
context_section_description: There is one proposed ski lift at Turoa, a new Quad express set to be positioned west of the high noon express, to give better access to where the old Jumbo T-Bar used to operate near. This lift is set to be installed by the 2020 season.
  The lifts are capable of taking up to 11,300 people per hour on a busy day. A new high speed six-seater chairlift has been added for the winter of 2007, replacing an existing t-bar to the top of the mountain.
caption: The High Noon Express
exif: {}