Skiers, stay home: Skifields cancel weekend openings as winter fails to deliver
Wednesday, 10 June 2026
Snow enthusiasts don’t need to dust off their snow kit just yet as South Island skifields delay their openings, with the cold snap needed to kick off the season still weeks away.
Mt Hutt skifield manager James McKenzie announced on Tuesday its Friday opening had been pushed back as the field needed more cold temperatures and snowmaking time before it could safely open.
“Fingers crossed Mother Nature will start to play ball,” he said. “Snowmaking helps get us really close.”
The last natural snowfall at Mt Hutt was on April 25 — more than six weeks ago when 50cm blanketed the field. Since then, the field has been relying on its newly automated snowmaking fleet, Morning Glory, which McKenzie said had been performing well at higher elevations.
The problem is lower down, where colder temperatures are needed before the guns can work effectively. McKenzie said a delayed opening wasn’t unusual, but May had been particularly warm and dry - the driest for Christchurch on record.
“We’re kind of used to it,” he said. They hoped to be open for June 20, but were not making any promises.
Cardrona also delayed its opening by a week to June 20, due to “winter sleeping in”. Coronet Peak, which installed a $2m snowmaking “factory”, has had its beginners slope open since May 29.
The delay comes despite significant investment by NZSki, which operates Mt Hutt, in snowmaking technology ahead of the 2026 season. The fleet has been fully automated to take every opportunity to produce snow.
NZSki chief executive Paul Anderson said earlier this season the upgrades meant the company could “guarantee snow cover regardless of what Mother Nature throws at us”.
The outlook, however, offers little comfort for skiers hoping to hit the slopes before June 20. Earth Sciences New Zealand meteorologist Chester Lampkin said a large ridge of high pressure was moving in, bringing a dry and settled stretch through until at least next Monday or Tuesday — effectively stopping any snow potential for the next week.
“You’ll get cold nights under a clear sky, but then during the day it gets warmer,” he said. “When you get a bunch of winter sunshine, it just keeps the temperature just too warm.”
The delayed opening comes as Press science writer Paul Gorman last week analysed why Canterbury could be waiting until the second half of winter for significant snowfall.
June was forecast to be generally drier and warmer than average — two strikes against snow, Chester said. “You’ve really got to have cold weather, temperatures below freezing, and you’ve got to get some storms and active weather.”
There was a glimmer of hope around the June 20 - 22 window, with long-range modelling pointing to colder weather and the potential for some precipitation. “But even then it’s not [guaranteed].”
The picture wasn’t much better elsewhere in the country. “Overall we just aren’t cold enough yet, and we just haven’t seen enough moisture,” Chester said. “It doesn’t look promising, really, for anybody in New Zealand.”