The snow on the skifields is not going anywhere, ski area managers around the Queenstown-Lakes district report.
Unusually cold conditions and a heavy early snowfall combined to give the skifields a blanket of powder, and led to both Coronet Peak and Cardrona opening briefly last weekend to give skiers an tempting glimpse of what to expect this season.
Wanaka's Treble Cone announced yesterday if would open five days early - on June 23.
Cardrona manager Bridget Legnavsky described the snow as ''amazing'' for this time of year, while The Remarkables manager Ross Lawrence said it was ''rare''.
Coronet manager Nigel Kerr certainly did not dispute those beliefs.
''I'm not a crystal-ball reader so I can't tell you it's going to be the best winter since sliced bread was invented, but you've got to look at the snow on the ground now and even if it gets a bit average, it can't really go backwards. We're going to have a great start to the season at the very least.''
With the Remarkables having opened on Thursday and the opening days for three other mountains not far away, final touches are being made on a number of new skifield developments.
Cardrona has continued to redevelop through heavy investment from owners Real Journeys, who purchased the ski area in 2013.
Ms Legnavsky said there had been a $6.5 million investment in a number of new offerings for visitors this winter, including a ''complete refit'' of the Base Cafe, the introduction of lockers, and the redevelopment of the beginners' terrain park.
A colour change to the base buildings, improved snowmaking, and trail widening were other noticeable improvements.
And these changes will not be the last.
''It's a really exciting time for Cardrona because this isn't just a one-off thing. Next year is already planned and the year after is already planned. We're really keen to finish refitting this whole base facility. So the next step will be rental, ticketing and retail, so that all the spaces are absolutely beautiful.
''There will be a massive extension of the Base Cafe, where we'll probably get in about twice as many seats.''
There has been significant chatter about Cardrona's offering of summer activities and its progression towards being open 365 days a year.
Ms Legnavsky said it was ''definitely something we'd like to work towards'' and believed it would have a positive effect on the winter offerings.
''If we can get summer working then it means we can develop more for winter. It's quite hard to put huge investment into winter when it's only open three months a year. Getting summer working is actually key to the overall experience here.''
In contrast, Treble Cone did not have any major redevelopments and planned to reduce the number of skiers in order to give customers an ''exceptional experience''.
New manager Toby Arnott said it was something different to what the other skifields were doing.
''We are focusing on getting less queues on our mountain. We're targeting having less people on our mountain, but providing a much better experience.''
He made no apologies for the $1500 cost of a season pass, which is significantly higher than at the other skifields.
''We're going to offer a better experience at a premium rate to the customer,'' he said.
Learners' facilities were the main focus over the hill at Coronet Peak and the Remarkables.
Mr Kerr said work had been done to reconfigure the run Little Easy to help learners progress from the learners' slopes to larger trails.
It would have a 9% gradient all the way down the run, which Mr Kerr said was actually flatter than the magic carpet slope.
''With the slope of Little Easy being no greater than the carpet slopes, we are offering guests more beginner terrain and a greater chance of getting on to the first chair sooner.''
He believed the work done on the learners' slopes would ''blow people away''.
Skiing on Wednesday nights will also extend right through July and August, while snowmaking improvements were also made, which Mr Kerr said would help produce a lot of snow in a hurry.
However, he did not think that would be necessary any time soon.
The Remarkables had a similar focus to its neighbour, Coronet, the learners' terrain having grown by 70%, using the space left by the demolition of the old base building.
The increase of learners' slopes was done for much the same reason as at Coronet, Mr Lawrence said.
''The learner experience is about progression, so providing another step will get guests feeling even more comfortable and capable as they gradually move up the mountain.''
Other upgrades at The Remarkables included better catering facilities and new rental stock.
