Lamenting the lack of ideal snow-making conditions, Coronet
Peak ski area manager Hamish McCrostie waits underneath a
snow gun yesterday for Jack Frost to bite so the slopes can
open. Photo by Matt Stewart.
The unseasonably warm weather which marked the 2011
autumn has continued into the first month of winter,
frustrating Southern Lakes skifield operators as they gear up
for the start of the 2011 season.
Coronet Peak had to scrap its plans to open over Queen's
Birthday weekend, as mild temperatures meant it could not
even use its snowguns to provide artificial snow for skiers
and boarders.
"It's incredibly disappointing for the tourists, our season
pass holders and our staff," NZSki general manager James
Coddington said yesterday.
Wanaka's four skifields also do not have a snow base.
Between 10cm and 15cm fell at Treble Cone and Cardrona in
mid-May, but the old adage "snow in May never stays" proved
true.
Queenstown meteorologist David Crow said 2011 had been the
second warmest autumn in 135 years of recording keeping,
"which spells a very, very late Indian summer".
The warmest May was in 2007, to be broken by a late June cold
snap.
NZSki operates Queenstown's Coronet Peak and Remarkables ski
areas as well as Methven's Mt Hutt - all of which are bereft
of the white stuff.
"It's far from winter - the temperatures are very
autumn-like. It's incredibly unusual but as skifield
operators the weather is one thing we can't control," Mr
Coddington said.
However, he has been encouraged by recent snowfalls down to
500m in Victoria and New South Wales.
The Snow Park was planning to open its Pisa Range operation
this Saturday, but this now looked unlikely because of the
lack of snow on southern mountains. Cardrona Alpine Ski
Resort and Treble Cone Ski Area traditionally open around the
shortest day of the year - June 22 this year - and both are
sticking to that plan.
Marketing staff at those skifields said, with two full weeks
still to go, no-one was worrying yet about whether to delay
opening.
The focus was on training staff, Treble Cone marketing
assistant Julia Atkinson said yesterday.
Cardrona's marketing and sales manager, Nadia Ellis, said it
did not take long for snow to cover the mountain, with the
skifield managing a lack of snow in 2007 by opening each area
as conditions allowed.
"We are not worried. The world can change a lot in two and
a-half weeks," Ms Ellis said.
The Snow Farm's boutique cross-country ski resort near the
Snow Park never schedules a start to the season and opens
"when it has enough snow".
The Remarkables is due to open on June 18, but because of
ever-changing forecasts Mr Coddington was not willing to
wager on whether NZSki could stick to that opening date.
"We all have to be very hopeful the cold temperatures come
soon."
Weather forecaster Dave Crow predicts winter will not arrive
in earnest until July. "It's just going to be late, I'm sorry
to say."
matt.stewart@odt.co.nz
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