Comprehensive Master Plan

The intent of this document is to provide the developer and consenting bodies with a conceptual road map to the ongoing development of the ski area. The content is designed to improve the quality of the experience offered at Porters in an environmentally and economically sustainable fashion. The Master Plan forms the basis to achieve the defined development goals and objectives over the next 5 to 10 years while entertaining the potential of further expansion well into the future.

Ski Area Planning

A detailed terrain analysis of the study area confirmed the technical viability for the improvement and expansion of the area’s alpine skiing and snowboarding. From this, detailed plans for the phased development of the mountain were created.

All effort was made to match the uphill capacities of the ski lifts with the downhill capacity of the terrain. Equally, the proposed terrain development was oriented to align with the skier marketplace, where generally the distribution of skier skill classes are 20% beginner, 60% intermediate and 20% expert.

Village & Base Area Planning

A primary goal of the Master Plan is to distinguish Porters from all other ski resorts in New Zealand by staging the mountain from an easily accessed Village. Internal to this, specific built space was architecturally programmed to meet the pre and post skiing needs and expectations of day use and destination guests.

A variety of accommodation types were directly tied into the phased village plans.

At buildout the core area of the Village will be a stand alone, self contained, pedestrian oriented attraction in its own right. It will act as the “stage” for all of Porters activities. The layout anticipates operational programming designed to encourage continuous activity, animation and maximized lodge occupancy on a year round basis.

Architectural Programming

At the buildout of Phase 4, the Stage One Village development is complete. The core area of the Village is a stand alone, self contained, pedestrian oriented attraction in its own right. It will be the “stage” for all of Porters activities. Programming will be critical to ensure continuous activity, animation and maximized lodge occupancy. The opportunity to engage fully in an all-season capacity will be in place.

Porters 3D Fly Through

Mid-Mountain Base Staging Area

Complementing the skiing, a series of developments in the Mid-Mountain Base and the Village are planned to improve the visitor experience in a balanced, well integrated fashion.

Summary

Over the course of the Stage One development, Porters will be transformed from a small undistinguished ski area into a unique and special destination mountain resort. The key elements of this creation were defined by the Resort Vision that called for Porters to become “the all-season mountain resort of choice, providing the most convenient family skiing experience in New Zealand, where the culture of mountain adventure and recreation are celebrated”.

In this transformation, Porters will grow from 188 hectares of lift serviced terrain to 525 hectares. It will change from a low key area with:

• 3 T-bars, 2 beginner tows;
• A small unassuming day lodge;
• Staged at the top of a visitor challenging gravel mountain access road.

to a well appointed major ski resort with:

• Two high speed quads, two fixed grip quads, a double chair, a T-bar and 3 beginner lifts;
• Staged from the base area Mountain Village via a state-of-the-art Gondola, eliminating the need for the access road;
• Mid-Mountain Base catering to the skiers and snowboarders needs during the ski day;
• Mountain-top Lodge;
• A pedestrian oriented Village housing:

- a diverse range of facilities and services,
(restaurants, bars, retail, ski hire and repair,
cafés, ski school, guest relations, day care, restrooms,
lockers, ski patrol, first aid, tickets, administration, resort destination space);
- snowplay, tubing, beginner skiing and skating;
- overnight accommodation and lodges.

• Slopeside lodges for destination guests with direct pedestrian access to the village.