Bikini-clad skiers take to slopes on Mt Ruapehu

Ski jackets were swapped for bikinis by some at Tūroa ski area on Saturday. Photo / Supplied

Skiers braved the mountain chill in swimwear for the Tūroa Bikini Downhill Race.

About 50 skiers and boarders rose to the challenge on Saturday, with women in bikinis, one man wearing board shorts and another in a hula skirt and bush shirt, with a bra on top.

The race was a fundraiser for the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation. October is breast cancer awareness month.

Racers paid $10 to enter, and donation buckets were also rattled among the crowd.

The event raised $500.

The extra snow last week could make for a good final week of the school holidays, Ruapehu Alpine Lifts chief executive Jono Dean has said.

The season is expected to close at Whakapapa ski area on November 15 and at Tūroa on November 16.