Wednesday, June 08, 2011

Skifields held up by warm weather

Two quotes from the article below

"It's far from winter - the temperatures are very autumn-like. "

You bet we are all wondering around in shorts .....

and

"encouraged by recent snowfalls down to 500m in Victoria and New South Wales. "

Yeah for the ozzzies !! Not !!


Skifields held up by warm weather

The unseasonably warm weather which marked the 2011 autumn has continued into the first month of winter, frustrating Southern Lakes skifield operators as they gear up for the start of the 2011 season.

Coronet Peak had to scrap its plans to open over Queen's Birthday weekend, as mild temperatures meant it could not even use its snowguns to provide artificial snow for skiers and boarders.

"It's incredibly disappointing for the tourists, our season pass holders and our staff," NZSki general manager James Coddington said yesterday.

Wanaka's four skifields also do not have a snow base.

Between 10cm and 15cm fell at Treble Cone and Cardrona in mid-May, but the old adage "snow in May never stays" proved true.

Queenstown meteorologist David Crow said 2011 had been the second warmest autumn in 135 years of recording keeping, "which spells a very, very late Indian summer".

The warmest May was in 2007, to be broken by a late June cold snap.

NZSki operates Queenstown's Coronet Peak and Remarkables ski areas as well as Methven's Mt Hutt - all of which are bereft of the white stuff.

"It's far from winter - the temperatures are very autumn-like. It's incredibly unusual but as skifield operators the weather is one thing we can't control," Mr Coddington said.

However, he has been encouraged by recent snowfalls down to 500m in Victoria and New South Wales....

Read the full article here...

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