Gale-force winds shut down all the skifields in Queenstown and Wanaka, as another cold southwesterly front blasted the South Island yesterday.
High winds have affected skifields throughout the past week, creating safety issues for the operation of chairlifts.
Queenstown's Remarkables Ski Area and Cardrona Alpine Resort have been closed twice during the week because of high winds.
Ongoing blustery southwesterly winds have also troubled Treble Cone skifield in Wanaka, which has been unable to operate its Saddle Basin four-seater chairlift since Wednesday.
Pisa Range cross-country ski facility Snow Farm also closed yesterday because of the weather.
However, the stormy weather has brought significant snowfalls as skifields wind down operations for the last week of the season.
Treble Cone has received more than 80cm of powder snow, while Cardrona and Snow Park have gained more than 50cm of snow during the past week.
NZSki Ltd's Queenstown operations at the Remarkables and Coronet Peak have also received regular falls of between 10cm and 25cm during the past five days to boost their base levels to 195cm and 130cm respectively.
