Fresh snow set to boost delayed South Island ski season openings

South Island ski fields are moving toward partial openings this weekend, with operators pointing to a slow but improving start to the season and a weather system expected to deliver fresh snow to parts of the country.

NZSki chief executive Paul Anderson said Coronet Peak is already operating in a limited capacity, while more terrain is expected to open in the coming days as conditions improve.

“Coronet Peak’s already open on the learners carpets, and we’re hoping to start to extend the terrain.

“Mt Hutt and Remarkables are not yet open, but we’re expecting to open them both on Saturday.”

Snowmaking has done most of the early-season heavy lifting so far, but Anderson said that is about to be supplemented by natural snowfall.

“So far it has been all snow making snow, but we’ve actually got a system coming [Wednesday night] which looks pretty good.

“Mt Hutt could get up to 20 centimetres, maybe 10–15 down in the Southern Lakes area.”

The late start has been noticeable across the sector, with Anderson saying opening conditions have lagged behind recent years.

“It’s gone later than previous years. Normally, we get open somewhere between the 18th and 20th of June,” he said.

“We know it’s always mid to late June when the conditions start to kind of stabilise.”

He said a slow-building weather pattern linked to El Niño had delayed early snowfalls, but conditions are now shifting.

“We are starting to see that weather turn now that the El Niño has just been a little bit slow getting started for our liking.

“We’re getting a few southwesters starting to pump through.”

He said those systems would be critical for both Queenstown and Mt Hutt operations, helping build a more reliable base heading into the school holidays.

Despite the patchy start, he said demand remains strong, with on-mountain activity already busy even before full terrain openings.

“At Coronet Peak,we’ve been really busy. We’ve had three magic carpets and a sliding lane and sightseeing going on up there, but it has been busy every day.”

He said that while bookings have softened slightly due to uncertainty around conditions, confidence remains high for the core winter period.

“Bookings have been really good, however, as the snow hasn’t arrived as it usually would, we’ve seen them fall off a bit. Once we get the mountains covered, those bookings will really spike.”

In Wānaka, Cardrona Alpine Resort and Treble Cone are also managing a delayed start, with snowmaking needing colder temperatures to properly establish base cover.

Chief mountains officer Laura Hedley said Treble Cone’s opening has been pushed back, while Cardrona is preparing to open beginner terrain later this week.

“It’s been a slower start to winter than we’d hoped. I think everybody’s feeling that. We just need a little bit more time.

“We started snowmaking early in June, which is a little bit later than usual, and we just need a little bit more of those cold temps to be able to get some more snow on the ground.”

At Cardrona, she said teams are targeting a Friday opening for learners’ areas, weather permitting.

“We’re hoping to get a little bit of snow today and tonight, and that’ll help whiten things up.”

Hedley said last weekend’s warm spell briefly disrupted conditions, but a late-day change helped salvage some accumulation.

“We got a small dusting after we got that niggly rain. It was one of those things where you hope for the moisture, but you want it to come with a bit of a cold southwest breeze.”

Looking ahead, she said full mountain openings will likely depend on more consistent snowfall heading into the school holidays.

“We push to try and get the mountains fully open by the school holidays,” Hedley said. “This year may be a bit more challenging for that.”

However, she remained optimistic about the broader winter outlook.

“Usually it comes through, and from mid-July, August, September, even into October, it’s actually better conditions.

“We know that people want to come skiing. We can’t wait to be able to open up properly.”

Ben Tomsett is a multimedia journalist based in Dunedin. He joined the Herald in 2023.