Former prime minister Helen Clark will visit the Snow Farm this Saturday (July 23) to officially open a new 36-bed backcountry hut for schools and community groups.

The new Musterer’s Hut is the largest of the Snow Farm’s backcountry huts, and its addition means the ski field can now meet the increased demand from school groups requiring a facility for cross-country skiing.

The opening of the hut is an important milestone for the Snow Farm – New Zealand’s only cross-country ski area and the only public, not-for-profit, charitable ski facility in the region.

Entirely funded by community grants and with the support of many volunteers, the $750,000 Musterer’s Hut project is a step further towards the community facility’s future-proofing efforts. 

“We have worked extremely hard to bring Musterer’s Hut to life, and to have our patron, Helen Clark, onsite to open the hut is a testament to the importance of this project,” Snow Farm GM Sam Lee said.

The Snow Farm hosts more than 15,000 user days annually including community groups, 33 schools from Christchurch to Invercargill and the growing Olympic sport of Biathlon.

“In the past we have found it challenging to accommodate the many groups that contact us each year wanting to experience the Pisa Range,” Sam said. 

Through fundraising and grants from the Central Lakes Trust, the Otago Community Trust, Lotteries/DIA, Lotteries Southland, and some incredibly hard work from the Pisa Alpine Charitable Trustees, the Waiorau Nordic Ski Club and many other community groups, we are now in a position to welcome more school students as well as independent travellers up into the huts.”

Kai Tahu kaumatua Darren Rewi will begin Saturday’s proceedings with a mihi whakatau and karakia to bless the new building. The Mount Aspiring College kapa haka group will perform, followed by Helen Clark officially opening the hut.

The Musterer’s Hut is located in Tranquillity Basin, a one-hour ski or snowshoe from the Snow Farm base building. The hut joins existing huts Meadow, Bob Lee and Daisy Lee to provide backcountry stays for visitors in the winter and summer seasons. 

Musterer’s Hut is equipped with two log burners, cooking and dining facilities, a toilet block and can be partitioned into two separate spaces. With its lecture space, the hut is designed to be the perfect “ski field classroom”, Sam said.

PHOTO: Supplied