Mt Hutt skifield on track to open as planned…almost

Wednesday, 7 June 2023

Mt Hutt during the 2022 ski season, when the skifield opened late but stayed open later in the year than ever.

The first scheduled skifield opening of the season has been delayed, but only by a day.

Late on Wednesday, Mt Hutt skifield management decided to push its opening day from Friday to Saturday, to allow for an extra day of snow-making.

Mt Hutt ski area manager James McKenzie said the field is at the “lower end of the threshold for opening”, after last weekend’s cold snap failed to bring as much snow as anticipated. About 19cm fell, on top of a base of 10 to 20 centimetres.

But McKenzie said the weather was shaping up well for snow-making. Forecast cold temperatures, light winds and low humidity would create the right conditions for artificial snow to drift and settle. He expected everything to be up and running on Saturday, except for the Triple Lift, which doesn’t generally open until later in the season.

Mt Dobson Ski Area in South Canterbury during the 2021 season. It plans to open for 2023 on July 1 [File photo].

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The skifield’s website boasts it is “adding six tonnes [of artificial snow] across the main trails…every minute”. McKenzie said they anticipated adding another 5cm across the main trails with the snowmaking system.

He hoped the forecast for low temperatures from Thursday night would allow the snowmakers the window needed to provide groomed terrain from the summit down to the base area.

Last year, Mt Hutt opened on June 17, and finally closed on Labour Day, the latest end to the season on record.

Mt Dobson Ski Area spokesperson James Lazor said the field had a received a “fair bit” of snow over the weekend, and was predicting opening as usual on July 1.

The industry was anticipating “pretty decent numbers” this year, without the spectre of lockdowns or closed international borders, he said.

Further south, Coronet Peak is due to open June 16. Cardrona and the Remarkables are scheduled for June 17. Porters and Round Hill are scheduled to open June 23 and Treble Cone and Ōhau Snow Fields on June 24.

In the North Island, while the Ruapehu district mayor remains confident the mountain’s skifields will open this year, there’s yet to be confirmation, after Ruapehu Alpine Lifts, which ran the Whakapapa and Turoa fields,went into voluntary administration in Octoberowing millions of dollars.

Skifields around the country are increasingly forced to rely on artificial snow making as a warming climate takes its toll on the industry.

Last month was New Zealand’s warmest May in more than a century, pushing the season to the fourth-warmest autumn on record, according to the latest NIWA seasonal climate summary.

*CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story said Mt Hutt opened mid-July in 2022. It actually opened on June 17. (Amended 9.32am, June 8, 2023)