Power cut on the peak, fully loaded lifts, -8 degrees, cloud rolling in, snow starting to fall ....bugger.

10 minutes later as I drive down the hill the Quad still isn't doing an emergency evacuation; glad I wasn't on that lift.

Now THAT is a snow report......

Mountain

It's a marginal call to open today as overnight rain has drenched the snow. There are some variable conditions expected with hard packed frozen snow turning slushy and wet by late morning. The learners area will be extremely firm and icy to begin but will quickly turn soft and heavy. High winds could potentially disrupt chairlift operations.

What does that make me?

I spend most of my life trying to work out how to spend more time in deeper snow.

What does that make me?

12 degrees and raining at 7 pm

aaaaaggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Snow Making has commenced

Yep the whir of snow machines has started to invade the basin as Coronet Peak get ready for the season ... Sunday looking lke a bot of natural ... Saturday 8 June big opening party

Queenstown readies for airport ski boom

International airline schedules for ski season in the Wakatipu have jumped by more than 100 extra flights amid continued expansion at Queenstown Airport.

The airport has poured millions of dollars into development in recent years to accommodate growth spurts, increased demand and more passengers.

Queenstown Airport head of communications Nina Crawford said the peak week would start on July 15, when there were 290 scheduled flights - 208 domestic flights and 82 international services.

Read more here....

Evs comment - Oh dear ... all those outsiders coming to use up my snow .....

Expect a lot of snow says 'Moon Man'

Here is a report from stuff.co.nz. sorry to say i reckon mr moon is a well intentioned nutter and his predictions are no better than a flick of a coin. funny to add a best mate paid $30 to download his latest predictions ... oh dear .... i could have given him "cold comfort" for less than that .... like a pint of speights

wot do u reckon is going to happen this winter?

flick of a coin I reckon ...

Weather prediction guru Ken Ring reckons southern skifields and Southland and Central Otago are in for snow and plenty of it this winter.

Ring has maintained a healthy living from his professional weather predictions which use lunar cycles to predict weather and earthquakes.

He terms his predictions "alternative weather" and publishes annual weather almanacs for New Zealand, Australia and Ireland.

Although his 2013 snow predictions are given as "trends only" and come with an "allow up to two-day error" clause, Ring has predicted snow to 400 metres in the south of the South Island as soon as May 27 and 28.

This would give Coronet Peak, with a base elevation of 1168m, The Remarkables, with a base elevation of 1622m, and Cardrona, with a base elevation of 1670m, a good pre-season dusting of snow.

Opening dates for Coronet Peak and the Remarkables are scheduled for June 8 and 22 respectively, while Cardrona and Treble Cone are set for June 21 and 27.

Read more here ....

And then it snowed

And then it snowed. 5 April 2013.