The potential new owner of the Whakapapa ski field has expressed interest in operating the famous Chateau Tongariro hotel.

Snow is falling and the school holidays are about to kick-start Mt Ruapehu's ski season into life. In a tale of two towns, the best of times are ahead for Ohakune, where the granting of a 10-year ...

Those are the words of Hamilton resident and former soldier Sonny Tavake, who was one of 13 soldiers who set out on an alpine training course on Mt Ruapehu in 1990, and got caught in a blizzard.