Queenstown, New Zealand (Monday, May 30, 2005) - By the end of this week, skiers and snowboarders may be schussing the slopes of New Zealand. Snow has fallen at resorts across the country ahead of Mt. Hutt's planned opening Saturday, the first in New Zealand.

Fifteen centimeters (six inches) of snow fell yesterday on Mt. Hutt, and colder temperatures have allowed snowmaking efforts to begin. “There's been a big drop in temperature which means we can now get snowmaking underway. Certainly, the natural dump is a great help,” says Mt. Hutt Ski Area Manager, Dave Wilson.

It was the same story at other ski resorts around New Zealand. Snow fell on Mt. Ruapehu’s upper slopes in a very wet northwesterly storm on Saturday and Sunday and then lowered to 900m overnight in a cold southerly change to produce postcard scenes for ski area staff on Monday morning. Both Turoa and Whakapapa received 15 to 20 centimeters of snow in their base areas with more on the upper slopes.

Ruapehu Alpine Lifts (RAL) Marketing Manager, Mike Smith says the timing is perfect. “After quite a mild May it’s great to see the snow falling. The milder weather has been great for finishing outside projects but with less than three weeks from our scheduled opening, snow is what we want now.”

New snow blankets the base area of Whakapapa this morning. (photo: Ruapehu Alpine Lifts Ltd.)

Snowmaking will also commence at both ski areas this week as temperatures are forecast to stay cold until at least the weekend. Turoa is scheduled to open on June 17th with Whakapapa a week later on June 24th.

With 20 centimeters of fresh snow around the base buildings and 30 centimeters at the top of the mountain as of 11 a.m. this morning and increasing by the hour, Cardrona Alpine Resort is gearing up for its debut of the 2005 ski season on June 24.

“It’s still snowing heavily down to below base level. The snow gates are set up so we can make the most of the snow and the groomers are out compacting what’s arrived,” said field manager, Gary Husband. “It’s always exciting to see the first major fall of winter and this should be a good start of the base for the season. With an unsettled forecast for the remainder of the week, there’s a high possibility we’ll get even more.”