New Zealand Ski Resort Sees First Snow of Season

With that, the hype train has left the station. It’s an exciting tease, to be sure, but Treble Cone likely won’t open for several months. The ski area intends to open June 27, so for snow-hungry New Zealand residents, the waiting game persists. At the nearby Cardrona Alpine Resort, the ski season is expected to start earlier on June 14.

Does the snow signal an early arrival of winter? Tough to say. MetService meteorologist Silvia Martino told The New Zealand Herald this week that temperature fluctuations, like the recent plunge below freezing, are common in the fall.

Treble Cone is among the largest ski areas in New Zealand. It’s home to the South Island’s longest run—totaling over two miles—and features roughly 1,300 acres of skiable terrain. Much of that area includes expert-oriented freeride runs. New Zealand is known for producing some of the top-notch big mountain skiers, including the likes of Craig Murray, Sam Smoothy, and Finn Bilous.

Here’s Bilous shredding around New Zealand in the spring.

Meanwhile, ski resorts in South America have already received their first taste of snow. Late last month, fresh flakes dusted the slopes of Valle Nevado, Chile, although, like New Zealand, the lift-accessed ski season won’t start for months. Valle Nevado plans to open on June 20, conditions permitting. Ski Portillo, another South American ski resort popular amongst skiers from the Northern Hemisphere, plans to open a day later.

Depending on how Mother Nature behaves, those plans may change. Last winter, Valle Nevado offered skiing in late May and opened for daily operations on June 7, thanks to significant early-season snowfall. For Northern Hemisphere skiers looking to take advantage of the goods in South America, the Power Pass, which provides ten interconnected days at Valle Nevado and La Parva—as well as access to several ski areas in the U.S.—is worth a look.