History
To begin at the beginning ...
During the 1954 Ski Season, three skiers from Hamilton on their way back from Mt Ruapehu bemoaned the fact that there was no local ski club.
Some friends were consulted, became involved, and after a few exploratory meetings with a few more keen skiers, the Inaugural Meeting was held on October 14th of that year, which became the founding of the club.
That made us a Hamilton based club, catering primarily for the Hamiltonians and interested persons residing in the areas of the Waikato which were not served by a Ski Club.
How did the club get its name?
The name Christiania, despite its religious sound when said quickly, is the old name for Norway's capital city, Oslo. Since Norway is the country where skiing originated, it is not surprising that the name Christiania was perpetuated in a once popular ski turn, the 'stem-christiania', which added further to the name Christiania becoming a popular choice.
The Club's Emblem depicts, symbolically, the snow crystal in its simplest form.
Two of the main Club Objectives are:
1. "The enjoyment of ski-running in all forms, especially among juniors, ie family skiing".
The Christiania Ski Club is very much a family oriented club, born out of the fact that the Junior members and their respective parents or sponsors enjoy lodge booking preference during the school holiday periods and events such as Junior Weekend and Mini-Academy are generously supported by the Club.
2. "The promotion of good fellowship and co-operation among kindred clubs".
The Club, wanting to give credence to this objective, did so by organising the Christiania Derby in 1958, an inter club race which is held in high regard on Mount Ruapehu Ski Calendar.
The Club owned two lodges on Mount Ruapehu up until 1999 when the Tukino lodge was gifted to the Hillary Commissions Outdoor Pursuits Center at National Park.
The Lodge is situated in the Iwikau Village on the Whakapapa Ski field (Chateau side of the mountain), it opened in 1958 with 32 bunks.