Bio

Comment Share Posted on Friday January 1st at 12:33 p.m. Tweet

After 10 ski-less years I’ve rediscovered my passion and traded life as a bureaucrat for a season fulltime on the slopes of Mt Ruapehu.

HI Jude, put and image in the space above.  This should be cropped and sized to 240x140 pixels if possible.

Ruapehu dreaming

Hi my name is Jude

This year I have made a big leap (and taken a big gulp) from ‘weekend warrior' to life fulltime on Mt Ruapehu. Gone is my secure but dull existence as a Wellington bureaucrat; in its place is a job at a custodian at a Whakapapa ski club.

For as long as I can remember I've been fascinated by snow. On a clear day you could see Mt Ruapehu from my childhood home in Palmerston North. My first time on skis was at Turoa ski field and I was hooked right from the very first minute. Non snow-crazed friends say I'm mad, but there is something about the sensation of sliding down a cold, steep hill that is truly addictive. And there's the camaraderie of skiers and borders - reliving epic runs on secret powder stashes over a beer at the end of the day is just as exciting as the real thing.

A twice-ruptured and repaired ACL ligament dampened my enthusiasm for skiing for well over 10 years. Then one day in 2005 I decided to go skiing and the passion was reignited.

I've spent the last few years making up for lost time; averaging 20-30 days at Ruapehu plus the odd foray to the South Island, Japan and Canada.

I'm not a professional skier and realistic enough to know that my knees will never allow me to do 360s off the XL at Turoa, but I'm always up for a backcountry hike to get first tracks on a secret powder stash.

I'm looking forward to my new life. It's liberating to be following my passion not my pension....for a while at least.