13
The Bulletin, June 2016
WALTER HAENSLI
Walter Haensli of Klosters (Switzerland),
who has died aged 94, was a ski instructor
and businessman who was a close friend of
RSC for 67 years,
In his three years of instructing at
Whakapapa in 1949-51, he completely
upgraded the ski school, ski hire and shop.
He then co-founded Ruapehu Alpine Lifts
(RAL) and his name lives on at the Haensli
Face ski slope and the Haensli Cups which
he donated.
RSC members in the 1950s regarded
Walter as “the maestro” and he made a
point of skiing with a different lesson group
each day.
Back home in Switzerland he became a
prominent businessman and a ski marketer,
and for many years from 1960 selected a
young Swiss instructor to spend a winter
with our Club.
This task is now done by the 1976
instructor Hanspeter Angerer whose wife
Claudia is Walter’s niece and godchild.
Haensli in his youth was a fne ski racer
and was a controversial omission from the
Swiss team for the 1948 Olympic Winter
Games.
Instead he coached the US women’s
team to the Games where they skied well
above expectations and Gretchen Fraser
won gold and silver medals.
He was instructing at Sun Valley (Idaho)
when he gave a lesson to a Wellington
businessman and RSC member Bryan Todd.
Todd back home successfully petitioned
the NZ Tourist Department to bring Haensli
to New Zealand to teach skiing, and he was
allocated to Whakapapa.
Initially he was appalled by his
accommodation in a hut, by the muddy pot-
holed road, by the ski school and the ski hire.
In short order he got a room in
the Chateau, nagged the Ministry of
Works to improve the road, shifted
the headquarters of skiing 1km uphill
From Salt Hut to where the Top O’ The
Bruce is now, taught local skiers how
to be instructors in his ski school and
reorganised the ski hire.
Haensli was so keen to have chairlifts
and T-bars introduced to New Zealand that
he obtained a lift licence from the Park
Board while asking the Government to pay
for a lift.
When that was declined he joined with
Todd to found RAL and to work massively
to persuade hundreds of skiers to take out
shares and debentures.
The frst chairliFt was opened by Sir Ed
Hillary in 1954 and was followed by a T-bar
on the Staircase, as well as a second chair
running to the top of the Knoll.
Haensli left the company after that,
unhappy that RAL took on just lifts and
bypassed cafeterias, ski school and ski
hire.
Todd and fellow directors argued that
in Ruapehu’s challenging icy conditions,
lifts were hard enough.
Returning to Switzerland, Haensli entered
ski marketing and introduced the frst Head
metal skis to Europe from the US, selling
20,000 units a year.
He also sold one million Marker safety
binding units and sold ski boots as well as
the frst ski brakes.
In 1964 Walter managed a Swiss team of
fve Olympic ski racers who toured Australia
and New Zealand and stayed at RSC Lodge
for the last week of their visit.
Despite his departure from RAL, Walter
Haensli retained a very close friendship with
RSC members who visited him at Klosters
or received his messages and Christmas
cards.
The Haensli Cup race is held by RSC
every year for men’s and women’s cups
presented by Walter in the 1950s, and Walter
was elected as a Life member of RSC. We
offer the condolences of the Club to his
family and many friends.
AG