The new Soho Basin ski area near Cardrona is ''gaining in popularity,'' spokesman Hamish McCrostie says.
The ski area, at the head of Soho Creek in the mountains between Cardrona and Arrowtown, opened to paying clients six weeks ago.
It is on Glencoe Station, for which music producer Mutt Lange, the former husband of country music singer Shania Twain, holds the crown pastoral lease, through his company Soho Property Ltd.
Ski area staff members spent last winter exploring the area to identify the best ski runs, Mr McCrostie said.
The 264ha of what the company calls ''skiable'' terrain is in the Little Willow Basin, the Big Willow Basin and Soho Basin.
Skiers and snowboarders are taken to the top of the runs in a snowcat. A half-day, comprising four runs, costs $295 per person, while a full day costs $580.
But the ski area's website says ''Soho Basin ... [is] like the first days of popular skiing in the 1930s, when it was an adventure and a privilege to discover new runs.''
Resource consents have been granted for development of the site into a ski resort, including permission to build a 1.2km-long, six-person chairlift.
Mr McCrostie said a fully developed commercial ski area was the ultimate plan, but no timeframe was in place at this stage.
