Rangatira has a long and proud history. We are a club with a strong spirit and prudent management. Compared to staying in other hotel / motel accommodation, the cost savings can be very significant. Meet new friends, enjoy the snow with other like-minded people. With two modern lodges Ohakune and Whakapapa, you can take your pick of ski fields or ski them both like many of us do. Turoa is NZ’s best kept secret for spring skiing! Both lodges have great family facilities with games rooms, a pool table at Ohakune and table tennis at Iwikau. Our lodge at Iwikau (Whakapapa Skifield) means you can stay on the slopes, so no driving in the morning, get first tracks, relax at the end of the day. ​ ​There is no limit on how many nights you can stay at the lodges and bookings can be made and confirmed at the beginning of the season ​ Enjoy a range of coordinated weekends or weeks: Men’s Week, Ladies Week, Freestyle Weekend, Skiwis weekend, Under 30’s Weekend Weekend, Club Race Weekend etc. We have a scholarship program for kids free tuition for 1 week in school holidays.

Anyone who enjoys snow sports will enjoy the club. Our members are predominantly Auckland based however we have members from many other regions and we welcome all areas. Our membership has a full cross section of singles, families, adults and students with all age groups represented. Members are snow boarders, skiers or trampers. Most of us are recreational enthusiasts and some are also very dedicated to participating in the Mt Ruapehu interclub ski racing events. Rangatira has a proud history of racing.

We all roster ourselves on a daily duty which might range from vacuuming, dishes, cooking, cleaning showers etc. It’s a very basic duty and the system works well. The lodges stay clean and tidy with just a little bit of input from everyone. There is a lodge manager at Iwikau who organises most things including the food to be cooked. At Ohakune we have a chef / lodge manager who cooks most of the meals.

There a yearly subscription then a nightly rate. Yearly subscriptions rates are from $250/year for Adults and from $100/year for Youth. Nightly rates $60/night for Adults and $38/night for Children. It’s exceptional value and enables keen snow riders to spend more time on the snow at a much lower cost. Rates include breakfast and dinner. Belonging as a member is certainly an economic advantage especially if you aim to stay many nights through the season or summer.

As a member you have access to an online booking system which shows what vacancies are available right through the season. By putting your account in credit you can book online or pay by credit card and get immediate confirmation of your booking. We suggest booking in advance as some weekends and school holidays especially, can get booked out weeks in advance which is normal for most active clubs. There is a reasonable cancellation policy available if you do change your mind closer to the booking.

Many prospective members already have knowledge of Rangatira and our great reputation through word of mouth or friends. If you don’t and are new to ski club life we are more than happy to answer any questions you have and will help you with the information gathering process. Try before you buy – stay at either lodge as a guest first. Pay guest rates and when you join we will credit you back the difference between the member and guest rates for that stay so your joining fee will be reduced effectively. You will obviously benefit the most by joining at the early part of the season so you can utilize your new club as much as possible. The number of new membership applications accepted each year is also limited in order to maintain optimum membership numbers, so the earlier the better is recommended for applications.

We're feeling confident that Mt Ruapehu will be operational for the 2023 season, but should it not be we'll provide a full refund of your subscriptions and any bookings made.