From tomorrow, the 2008 ski season is under way.
A perfectly timed snow fall last month gave Coronet Peak, the first skifield to open this year, a natural snow base bigger than that experienced all last season.
Southern Alpine Recreation's new snow-making system has been working this week, maintaining the natural snow base of 60cm on the upper mountain and 30cm at its base.
The chairlifts will start at 9am tomorrow, and the entire mountain will be accessible.
Nature still appears to be smiling on the southern skifield, although a cold front is expected to hit Southland, Otago and Canterbury tonight.
Severe westerly gales with gusts of up to 130kmh - strong enough to damage trees and power lines - are likely.
They may not be ideal conditions, but the southerly winds following the front are likely to be cold enough to bring snow to low levels over the South Island tomorrow.
This is more good news for the southern ski field.
Southern Alpine Recreation chief executive James Coddington said Coronet would be open for business tomorrow, regardless of the conditions.
"I can't predict what the weather's going to do . . . if the wind's too high, we can't open the chairlifts, but we'll certainly be opening," Mr Coddington said.
"We're excited to see the storm coming through [tonight and tomorrow].
"Snow is like oil for us . . . I would be very happy if it was dumping down."
While the wind was "not our friend", the gales were expected to die down by tomorrow morning.
This season is, without doubt, one of the most hyped the resort has seen.
The $30 million upgrade has helped, but additional interest has been added by the early snow.
Mr Coddington said tomorrow would be an interesting day on the mountain, with the possibility of record numbers at the ski field.
"The hype in town is huge." he said.
"I don't believe it's been over-hyped . . . it's one of the best ski fields around."
