With a fortnight to go until the anticipated start of the 2016 ski season in the southern hemisphere, snow has been reported on all four continents.
There’s excitement across New Zealand this morning after temperatures dipped to -8 on the mountain tops and 3-8cm of natural; snow fell. This was a big relief after an unseasonably ‘mild May’ until the last 24 hours.
“We had up to 3cm of natural snowfall then it was ‘all guns blazing’ including our new snowguns hot out of the container that arrived from Italy on Friday,” said Mt Hutt ski area. ski area manager James McKenzie. Mt Hutt aims to be the first ski Area in the country to open on June 10.
“Our snowmaking team battled strong winds to get the new guns in place over the last few days, complementing our existing arsenal. By 3am this morning the system was at full bore, producing three tonnes of snow every minute spread across our main trails,” Mr McKenzie added.
Last week the first snow was also reported on Australian snow fields. One of the largest resorts, Perisher, is pictured here on 11th May:
Tiffindell and Afriski in South Africa and Lesotho respectively set the earliest opening dates each winter, although they don’t always have snow cover then. This year they’re hoping for 1st and 2nd June and though both often rely on snow making they have reported good pre-season natural snowfalls earlier this month.
Across the Atlantic, South American ski areas have been reporting significant snowfalls since mid-April which should bode well for winter 2016 there, expected to be boosted by the same El Nino affect that brought heavy snow to Western North America last northern hemisphere winter, although that system is now reported to be ‘weakening.’
“Everyone’s really excited to see snow on the ground and it’s looking really positive for continued cold temperatures and more snow as we track into the weekend. We can definitely draw a line under warm May temperatures and say that winter has finally arrived with a vengeance,” Mr McKenzie concluded.
(Pictured top: Happy Coronet Peak snow making team members Jake Reilly (L) and Lucy Ruck (R) at Coronet Peak, New Zealand earlier today. Below: Cardrona New Zealand)
