Snow dump at Canterbury ski fields a good omen

Canterbury ski fields have had a large dumping of snow this week and are looking to reopen as soon as they are allowed.

Ski fields have remained optimistic about opening in June, and are expecting fewer visitors than usual due to the impact of the Covid-19 crisis.

Mt Hutt Ski Area will announce its opening plans early next week once details surrounding alert level 2 become clear on Monday.

In the meantime, the staff at Mt Hutt were pleased to see 15-20cm of snow covering the mountain this week.

Richie Owen, Mt Hutt's sales and marketing co-ordinator, said although the snowfall was a good sign, they are still bracing for a quiet season.

"It's still early days so it's hard to gauge but this definitely helps us for the upcoming season that's for sure," he said.

Popular southern ski fields could be hit harder by border closures as a large percentage of customers were international visitors.

But at Mt Hutt, 85-90 per cent of its visitors were from New Zealand, Owen said.

"We're definitely anticipating not being as busy as we get in previous seasons but by how much is a bit of an unknown."

Owen could not say when the ski area could open until Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's announcement due on Thursday about what level 2 will look like for the country.

He said Mt Hutt will make an announcement on Monday, May 11, the same day New Zealanders will find out if and when the country will shift to alert level 2.