Winter has finally returned to Wanaka and Queenstown's skifields.
Treble Cone general manager marketing and sales Sophie Luther said by 1pm yesterday the field had 22cm of snow at its base building, 30cm midway up the mountain and 35cm at the top of its six-seat Home Basin lift.
More snow was forecast for last night and Ms Luther said the field was preparing to open on Saturday - for the first time this season.
"The upper Saddle Basin has good snow coverage. However, we need more snow on the lower slopes to be operational.
"We are hoping this may come with the next storm cycle,'' Ms Luther said.
While other southern skifields have managed to provide some skiing during the early weeks of the season, warm weather has limited Treble Cone to opening only its learners' slope.
The Cardrona Ski Resort got 20cm of snow in the 24 hours to 3pm yesterday.
Snow has been falling on Coronet Peak and The Remarkables in Queenstown since Wednesday night, and more is expected today.
Coronet Peak received 10cm of snow overnight Thursday, giving it a 45cm base at the top of the mountain.
The Remarkables received 15cm to give it a 60cm base.
Its manager, Ross Lawrence, said the snow had "changed the landscape'', while his Coronet Peak counterpart, Ross Copland, said it was "shaping up to be a cracker of a few days' skiing'' with more snow in the works.
