Ski fans hit slopes as season opens
Snow lovers flocked to Mt Hutt ski field in Canterbury as it opened for the season yesterday.
A fresh dumping of snow during the wintry blast last weekend had helped set them up for the opening this weekend.
Ski area manager James McKenzie said it had been a pretty good day.
“The lift is turning, there’s snow on the ground, cars are pulling into the carpark and the cloud is just starting to clear away so we’ve had a pretty good start to 2022.”
McKenzie said the weather had been quite windy recently and a lot of the snow fell horizontally.
“Certainly, at the top of the mountain, things got pretty stripped out . . . the lower snow mountain seems to have more snow than the upper mountain so we will get our lower terrain open later today, which is pretty unusual, really, for the start of winter.”
New snow-makers and a groomer were bought during the summer.
“We’ve done pretty well with our investment over the summer, now is the time to enjoy it and get out there and have fun.”
McKenzie said it was “quite liberating” not having to operate under Covid-19 restrictions.
“It’s fantastic, we’re not standing here having to wear masks, we’re not having to shout at guests to put their masks on.
“It certainly makes a big difference and I think we can give a much better experience to our guests who come up here.”
Hanmer Springs Ski Area was the first ski field in Canterbury to open, welcoming visitors last Saturday after 30-50cm of snow had fallen across the mountain.
The Rainbow Ski Area near Nelson is expected to open on June 24.