Remarkables road closure angers outdoor enthusiasts

Outdoor enthusiasts are seeking answers from Queenstown company NZSki Limited about a decision to close the road resulting in severely limited access to the popular Rastus Burn Conservation Area.

NZSki operates The Remarkables Ski Area in the Conservation Area and is building a new base building. The company has cited health and safety concerns as their reason for closing the road but local users of the recreation area argue that the company is failing to uphold their side of the concession agreement.

“When agreement was given for the construction of the ski area, the operators agreed to allow walking and vehicle access at all times of the year” says Erik Bradshaw, local climber and a New Zealand Alpine Club spokesman. “To ignore this obligation is unacceptable. The freedom of New Zealanders to enjoy their own country is integral to who we are.”

NZSki have closed the road for an undefined period which could extend to 5 months until the ski season starts. The closure includes Sundays and public holidays when no construction activity is occurring.

“While we agree with their safety concerns and don’t want to slow down their construction efforts we find the interpretation of their right to manage the road excessive” says Mr Bradshaw.

“That the road is closed even on Sundays when no one is working on the site leaves me speechless” says Bradshaw. “It’s hard to work out whether its arrogance, indifference to public opinion or maybe because they don’t want people to see what they are doing”.

“People live in this region because they have a passion for the mountains and generations before us have fought hard to have access to the alpine areas. We need to protect these access rights for future generations.”

On the last Sunday before the road closure Bradshaw counted 31 people enjoying the Rastus Burn Conservation Area including tourists from USA, Canada, France, Germany, England and Scotland. The area is recommended as a “must visit” in many guide books. Several of the people Bradshaw encountered had researched climbing the Remarkables before they left their home countries and had it on their activity list.

“The Remarkables are a world recognised climbing area” say Guillaume Charton, author of the Queenstown Rock, Ice and Mountains guide. “We use images of these amazing mountains to market New Zealand around the world and it saddens me when peoples’ dreams are let down on their visit here.”

“We have tried to find working solutions to the problem with NZSki, we are keen to work with them, but they haven’t been interested in talking to us” says Bradshaw. “Their approach is disappointing. We want to find a constructive way to solve this problem”.

ENDS

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