Field management then looked at the size of lift queues and decided ''it wouldn't be respectful'' to skiers who were already on the field to allow more in.
That left skiers who had started their day a little later than usual - delayed perhaps by the World Cup final - in a long line of cars at the gate in the Cardrona Valley looking for other skiing options.
The ''spike'' in demand at Cardrona was triggered by Treble Cone, the only other skifield on the Wanaka side of the Crown Range, being closed.
The mother of two young children told the Otago Daily Times it took two and a-half hours to drive from Wanaka to the base building at Cardrona - a trip that normally takes 40-45 minutes.
She described the field as ''massively oversubscribed'' with traffic ''crawling'' up the mountain and ''horrendous'' lift queues.
However, the weather and snow was good, and she received a partial refund from ''very obliging'' staff.
While a cold southerly brought Cardrona 10cm of snow on Sunday night, Treble Cone got 8cm-15cm on higher parts, which was not enough to repair the damage done by four days of warm temperatures and rain.
Some of those skiers who headed for the slopes yesterday got no further than the floor of the Cardrona Valley. Photo / Mark Price.
Treble Cone marketing manager Nick Noble said yesterday the field was expected to open this morning, because colder temperatures had allowed plenty of snowmaking.
Meanwhile, in Queenstown, a group of Germans draped in their national flags took over the Shotover-Rees Sts roundabout, to celebrate their homeland's 1-0 victory over Argentina.
