For the last 50 years Treble Cone has been an icon of Wānaka entrepreneurship, ingenuity and community. With news that the Commerce Commission has granted approval for Cardrona to purchase Treble Cone, the Wānaka Sun looked back at the humble beginnings of the local slope and spoke to Bob Wallace and Sir Tim Wallis, some of the early faces behind the ski field, to understand the past and what lies ahead for Treble Cone. 

Sir Tim Wallis arrived in Wānaka in 1961 with a passionate love of skiing already embedded in him from his early 20s. He had represented schoolboy skiing in Canterbury but was disappointed to learn that the nearest ski field was in Queenstown despite Wānaka’s abundance of mountains. “I got very keen on talking about that” Wallis said, especially to his neighbours Bob and Shona Wallace, alongside other interested locals Alan Kane, Ralph Markby and Rod Aubrey, the chairman of the range. Aubrey soon resigned the position and Murray Raffills famously took over. The group bonded over their “dissatisfaction with the Mt Cook company” according to Bob Wallace, that was rife with high costs and long lines. Wallis says “We weren’t thinking of a business, then, we were just thinking of a ski field.” 

Treble Cone was named after the distinctive three peaks atop the valley, known as the powerhouse basin. With the help of Colin Nolan’s bulldozing business, the team were able to punch a road up the mountain for cars to access a helipad. From the helipad, the friends could either helicopter up to the snow or walk up, the latter being what Wallace refers to as one of his “greatest experiences.” 

Wallis was the milling marketing manager at Kopara Sawmilling Company's Haupiri mill, but when he took over the sawmill he was able to use his connections to help shift building materials up the mountain side with his helicopter. This enabled the building of a small hut on the mountain. 

Wallace said, “So we built this hut, which we’d go up to and, after a day’s skiing, we’d have a cup of tea or coffee in the hut, and then ski down as far we could, down to the helipad.” The use of Wallis’s helicopter was infinitely useful in the fledgling days of the slope. 

Wallis, along with the founding group, worked for free and didn’t charge for the use of his helicopter. “I paid for the flights from what I made in the saw-milling business and what I had in my pocket,” Wallis revealed. Later he was able to help further pay for expenses from his growing helicopter work. Eventually the group wanted better accommodation on the range, so built an A-frame with the help of volunteers and donated goods. 

The expanded size of the hut allowed the friends to think bigger, and so in 1976 Treble Cone was listed as a public company to raise funds for facilities and infrastructure. After an initial struggle with government paper-pushers, the political rise of Ian Quigley in Cromwell helped aid the transfer of 3000 acres from a grazing lease to a recreational lease.

Together they inherited a tow rope from Roxburgh, attached it to a Briggs and Stratton engine with a couple of pulleys and, with the help of Wallis’s old Hella 12V helicopter, shifted it around the mountain to where the sighting would be for future lifts. “We had to think if it can become a local ski field, we need to get these old rope tows up there. It all just developed from that,” Wallis admits. The first chairlift, however, was not installed until 1983. 

Wallis acknowledged that his involvement lessened after the formation of a public company, saying: “To me, that was all going on, but I was busy enough getting my own company together, Alpine Helicopters, and I was getting a family together.” Wallis, of course, radically pioneered live deer capture from helicopters, as well as founded the infamous Warbirds over Wānaka and the Alpine Fighter Collection, so one can forgive him for being preoccupied. 

Treble Cone has since risen to success as the largest ski area in the South Island. The 70’s saw the legendary Sir Edmund Hilary even become director of the company, much to the delight of the skiers and locals alike. In the 2000s, the field saw the like of the national ski team of Austria using its slopes as an off-season training ground alongside the usual hordes of tourists and locals. Nowadays Treble Cone is known for its intermediate and advanced offerings that seek to challenge users, all whilst delivering picturesque backdrops of the Wānaka area. Now, Cardrona Alpine Resort Limited has been granted approval by the Commerce Commission to buy Treble Cone. Both companies are currently working out final details in order to complete the transaction, with more information promised to be announced. 

What does this merger mean for Treble Cone? Skiers needn’t worry, as according to the Commerce Commission, due to high competition in the area the merged entity would be unable to successfully charge higher prices. Chair Anna Rawlings says, “We are satisfied that there is unlikely to be a material difference in the extent to which Treble Cone competes, either with its current ownership structure, or with an alternative owner.” 

As for Wallis, he personally feels relieved that such an offer was made: “I think it’s a good idea because they’re a very progressive company. Look how they developed Cardrona.” Wallace agreed, adding: “It’s [Treble’s] had its ups and downs, for 50 plus years, and this I believe, is going to be the ultimate in keeping it there.” Talk of dual-ski passes is in the air which looks to further excite passionate snow-dwellers. 

Although the merger might be a hit, Wallis still foresees challenges ahead for Treble Cone that could threaten the stability and profitability of the ski field. Wallis says, “The big question mark is climate change. I mean, you can only ski there if you have snow. This year, the snow has been late coming. And is that because of climate change or not?” 

This year Treble Cone struggled with a late start that saw one of its worst openings in recent times. A Cardrona buy-out might enable Treble to tide over financial uncertainties and invest in new technology, but only time will how the business will withstand environmental degradation. Climate change aside, it’s amazing how Treble Cone has developed over the last 50 years to play a huge role in Wānaka winter tourism and local character. With the offer from Cardrona, the ski field looks here to stay, and Wallis proudly says: “it will get better and stronger.” That’s good news for locals, but even better news for the founding historic group who still ski at Treble to this very day. Together, the group can be proud of their creation that has snowballed into something larger than life.