“Our scheduled closing day for 2023 is still October 15, with an expected snowfall on Friday to Saturday. After a long period of wind, we hope to enjoy a great school holidays.”
The last recorded snow in Canterbury was at the end of September.
In Wānaka, the Cardrona and Treble Cone ski fields were “full steam ahead” for the closing dates of October 15 and October 1, though snow remained patchy at the top of the lake.
In the North Island, Ruapehu was faring much better.
Ruapehu ski season set to slide on through October
Whakapapa and Tūroa had held on to most of their snow and were the real winners of the school holiday snow levels.
Tūroa, on the southern aspect of the mountain, was still holding on to 244 centimetres of snow on the upper mountain at the beginning of the week.
“Don’t put your skis away yet,” was the message of RAL chief executive Jono Dean, who said the season at both ski fields was expected to run until October 23, meaning they’d enjoy the longest season in the country.
National Park Village Business Association chairwoman Andrea Messenger said most accommodation for the spring holidays was already full, gone in a flurry of bookings at the beginning of the month.
Many school holiday visitors had plans beyond the ski fields. However, “with so much snow still on Mt Ruapehu, there’s plenty of fun to still be had”.
At the tail end of a warm and unusually late southern ski season, five Australian ski fields have been forced to close early - missing most of the spring school holidays.
Australian slopes finish ‘worst ski season’ early
With Queensland and Victoria having started this week, and New South Wales and Western Australia set to join them on Saturday, there is not much snow left at resorts.
Thredbo, Hotham, Falls Creek and Buller announced they would close two weeks early.
With temperatures topping 18C in New South Wales’ alpine hills this week, the newly re-opened Selwyn Alpine Resort was forced to close again.
The ski resort, which re-opened for the first time in three years following 2020 bushfire damage, said it was a difficult call to stop the lifts after just eight weeks.
“The decision to close for the season was not made lightly, but the safety and enjoyment of our visitors has always been our top priority and the current conditions do not allow for that.”
“You’ve gotta give a standing ovation to [the] mountain ops, snow groomers [and] snowmakers who managed to keep the season as viable as they could until now,” said ski blogger Miss Snow It All, sharing the news that Falls Creek in Victoria would close on Wednesday.
Mt Buller, which had intended to remain open to October 1 and the end of the Victoria School holidays, was forced to wrap up for the year on Sunday.
“It’s a reluctant decision to wrap up the fun on the slopes, but the unseasonably warm weather this week is quickly taking a toll on the snow cover, so Sunday will be our final slide for the season,” said general manager Noel Landry.
Stretching the season to 100 days using astroturf and goodwill, Buller’s enthusiasm garnered attention from snow enthusiasts around the world. The green patches of carpet on the “Wombat” run, which appeared to join snow patches in late August, gained viral fame on social media.
“It’s been a challenging season with the lower-than-usual snowfall,” said the ski field’s chief operating officer, Mark Bennetts.
“I’m impressed by how hard the entire resort community and the Buller Ski Lifts team has worked to deliver 100 days of great experiences.”
2023 closing dates of Kiwi ski fields
Whakapapa and Tūroa: Planned last ski day - October 23
Cardrona and Mt Hutt: Planned last ski day - October 15
Remarkables: Planned last ski day - October 8
Coronet Peak and Treble Cone: Planned last ski day - October 1
