A van load of Oamaru high school pupils bound for Ohau Snowfields did not make it to the slopes after the van they were travelling in slid on black ice and rolled off the road yesterday morning.
It was one of four black ice-related crashes in the Omarama area within two and a-half hours.
Constable Nayland Smith, of Omarama, said the Youthtown van, carrying seven Waitaki Boys' and Girls' High School pupils and two adults, slid off Prohibition Rd at about 8am.
The van slid across the road, before rolling at least once and coming to rest on its roof.
The secondary school pupils were shaken, but no-one was seriously injured in the crash. St John was in attendance treating the passengers for minor scrapes and bruising.
''Luckily no-one was hurt,'' Const Smith said.
''It put a stop to the ski trip, though.''
Const Smith said the Omarama area was treacherous yesterday morning.
''The whole area [was] covered in ice for a good couple of kilometres,'' he said.
About 6.30am, a Twizel woman's van hit black ice on State Highway 8 and slid off the road, coming to rest on a grass verge.
Shortly afterwards, a truck and trailer unit went out of control on the same stretch of road and collided with the van on the side of Omarama-Twizel Rd.
''The van had very little damage until the truck hit it,'' Const Smith said.
''It was too unsafe for the [male truck driver] to stop and go back. He continued on and reported it in Cromwell.''
No-one was injured. The female driver was not in the van when the truck collided with it.
A Twizel woman was shaken, but uninjured, after the 4WD she was driving started sliding on SH8 at about 9am, Const Smith said.
The vehicle, and the horse float it was towing, came to rest facing the wrong way on Omarama-Twizel Rd, about 1km from the first crash.
Locals knew the area was ''quite bad'' for black ice.
Const Smith said some of the roads had been gritted, but they had been struggling to get all of the affected areas done in time.
He urged drivers to be extra careful driving in the area this winter.
''Be aware of the surroundings, make sure you drive to the conditions and if you're not sure, slow down anyway,'' Const Smith said.
''Only drive if you have to,'' Const Smith warned.
