Spring snow adds a sparkle to skifields' closing day


In an ironic twist, Queenstown and Wanaka's ski season finished yesterday with some of the best conditions of the season.

The Remarkables Ski Area manager Hamish McCrostie said it was a beautiful, sunny day yesterday, with many skiers taking advantage of the perfect conditions for the last day.

Last week's spring snowfall of about 5cm helped ensure the season closed with a flourish, he said.

Mr McCrostie was thrilled with a successful season and said the Remarkables was open for 107 days with no closed days.

"We had a great start to the season with the Remarkables receiving the best of the early season snow, with over a metre falling in June.

"This, combined with excellent snow-making conditions in early June, set us up very nicely for fantastic riding, skiing and attracted huge numbers of visitors to our terrain park and sugarpipe."

Although overall snowfall for the season fell short of the average, the Remarkables provided consistently excellent trail conditions for the entire season, Mr McCrostie said.

Meanwhile, Cardrona's marketing manager Bruce McGechan said the season's less than average snowfall did little to dent the ski area's visitor numbers from throughout Australasia.

Cardrona's high altitude and excellent grooming work ensured good snow level throughout the season, with no closed days, he said.

SOURCE: By EMMA DAWE