Management of the Treble Cone Skifield believes it has dodged a bullet over damage done to the field in the 5.8 magnitude earthquake three months ago.
General manager Jackie van der Voort revealed to the Otago Daily Times yesterday the earthquake badly damaged the skifield's extensive network of underground water pipes needed for snow-making.
As a result, the system cannot be pressurised to a level where snow-making can be carried out on the upper half of the main part of the ''home basin'' skifield.
Staff have repaired about 25 leaks in the pipes, which are buried 1m-3m underground and were ''pushed up'' by the earthquake.
The damaged pipes were realigned and welded in work described by Ms van der Voort as ''relentless''.
There was still a ''tricky'' issue with pipes from a well underneath a mid-field pumping station that could not be fixed until after the ski season, because of the disruption the work would cause to skiers.
''It would just become too hazardous,'' she said.
In the meantime, the system was being run at a lower pressure and a higher volume, allowing a lot of snow to be made at the bottom of the field but none at the top.
At higher levels, staff had been ''snow-farming'' extensively - hunting for pockets of deep natural snow, then shifting the snow to where it was most needed.
That included the ''Big Skite'' slalom course used by the Treble Cone race academy and local and international ski racing teams.
Ms van der Voort said the course was now ''set for the season'', but might need to be irrigated by helicopter.
A second race course had also been established lower down the mountain where snow-making guns could be used.
Ms van der Voort said the field had been lucky with the heavy snowfalls at the start of the season, continuing cold temperatures and small ''top-ups'' of snow.
Asked if problems with snow cover might be looming later in the season, Ms van der Voort said: ''If the season continues as it has, I'd say no.
''Mother nature has been good to us and we've got great conditions here.''
She was confident snow groomers could continue to farm natural snow into areas where it was needed.
''If it was last year, it would be quite a different discussion, because it was warm last year and we didn't have a lot of snow in the home basin.''
On the day of the earthquake, field operations manager Dave Crotty was at the top of Raffills Run, and reported a sound like a cattle truck, Ms van der Voort said.
''And it seemed, looking down, the slope was rolling,'' she said.
In the days after the earthquake, ''everything above board seemed fine''.
Then, as staff began work for the ski season, ''it became apparent we had an issue'', she said.
In a normal year, three to six blowouts might be expected.
She considered the skifield had managed the situation well, and that had included not making the problem public earlier.
''We had to manage the early risk to the business.
''Now there is no risk.''
Ms van der Voort said the skifield was working through an insurance claim.
The quake
When: At 2.29pm, May 4, 2015.
Epicentre: 30km northwest of Wanaka.
Magnitude: 5.8.
Depth: 4km.
Impact: Caused Alpine ridges to ''almost explode'' and was felt widely across the South Island.
Claims: The New Zealand Earthquake Commission reported 351 claims to July 24.
Damage at Treble Cone: Water leaks affecting snowmaking on ''Upper Easy Rider'', ''Upper Main Street'' and ''Big Skite'' trails.
