Alexandra curlers John Campbell, Peter Sanders, Andrew Clarke and Geoff Baird won by the thinnest of margins, defeating a team from Chatto Creek Curling Club.
The competition came from as far away as Windwhistle (Mid Canterbury) and Gore to the mini bonspiel, 1500m above sea level on the Pisa Range, near Cardrona.
Cardrona Curling Club event organiser Gavan Herlihy said SHPG staff cleared away 10cm of snow to provide a "pristine rink" for Saturday and then entered a team of first-time competitors, directed by Cardrona Curling Club president Sandy Hazledine.
"They definitely took the prize for being the most animated team, with high fives for even the most ordinary stone. But the smiles on the faces of these first-time competitors was just infectious", Mr Herlihy said.
He was effusive with praise for the "surreal" conditions on Saturday, which included a stunning vista of Mt Aspiring/Tititea and Aoraki/Mt Cook.
"If there’s a better sport than alpine outdoor curling, it must only be played in heaven", Mr Herlihy said.
The "spiritual head of curling" is "M’Lord" Jack Davis, of Lowburn, who said he had been curling for about 48 years.
Conditions had been "great" for outdoor curling and, as is usual for outdoor curling venues dependent on weather, notice was given just 24 to 48 hours before games started, he said.
"It was minus six overnight and the ice stayed good all day."
He had earned his dignified title because he was a stickler for rules, good manners and sporting behaviours, he said.
"It is my job to uphold our traditions and etiquette. I guess because I was a lot more enthusiastic for it", he said.
Among the rules were no swearing or bad language (immediate apologies would be extracted) and no over-enthusiastic displays of triumph that you might see at soccer ("such as chest thumping"), Mr Davis said.
"We always play to win but never to humble your opponent."
New Zealand was now the envy of other curling nations because it was the only country to have retained outdoor competitions and traditional values, he said.
Competitors produced "a good variety of whiskies" with no particular brand preferred over others, and everyone respected the dram.
"We don’t have people falling over on the ice", Mr Davis said.
Mr Hazledine said the competition was held on "an extraordinarily good day".
He had an enjoyable time captaining the unpredictable SHPG team of first-timers.
"They rotated about 10 players through the course of the day. They just kept coming at us", he said.
