Friday (22 June) saw the opening of Cardrona Alpine Resort under sunny skies. Following an amazing sunrise Whitestar, McDougalls Quad and the Learners' Conveyor areas all opened up.
Mother nature dealt a cruel blow on Saturday closing the ski area but it was all worthwhile on Sunday and Monday with skiing under sunny skies and fresh snow.
Almost 1m @ Mt Hutt
Mt Hutt has almost cracked the magical 1 metre mark for snow cover. The ski area in Canterbury, just 90 minutes from Christchurch Airport, boasts 97cm average snow base.
Countdown at Treble Cone
The countdown is on for Treble Cone's opening on Thursday (28th June). The chilly weekend brought over 15 cm to the tops and about 5cm in the carpark. Forecast snow this week could mean that Thursday's opening day will be a stunner.
Cardron opens to great skiing. Photo: Cardrona Media
Queenstown's Winterfestival Fun
Queenstown's premier warm winter welcome - Winter festival also got underway on Friday. The opening night fireworks, above Lake Wakatipu were truly spectacular. There were brave (or were the crazy?) entrants in the wacky birdman event yesterday. Coming up there is the iconic dog derby, ice hockey and 'mountain mayhem' on Coronet Peak.