Colder temperatures allowed crews at Snow Park NZ to initiate snowmaking operations Tuesday night, but an unseasonably warm month of May, combined with lower than average pre-season snowfall means Snow Park will delay its scheduled June 11 opening.

“The good news is we were able to make some snow at higher altitudes late Tuesday night and into the early hours Wednesday,” said Snow Park NZ snowmaker Daz Macale, whose initial focus is on the top of the halfpipe and the box run. “At this point we’re optimistic that this is the turn in the weather we’ve been looking for. Conditions look good for the weekend.”

Snow Park NZ is the only Wanaka ski and snowboard area that can open entirely with man-made snow, and General Manager Robin Sadowski-Synnott said a decision on a new opening date will be made once snowmaking operations are in full swing.

“Mother Nature is notoriously unpredictable,” said Sadowski-Synnott. “But the tide seems to have turned so we don’t expect this will have much of an impact on the season overall. We have a great crew in place, all ready to go, and some fantastic new programmes for the 2011 winter season, so it’s great to see the first snow on the slopes.”

Image / Snow Park NZ Snowmakers Stu and Daz igniting the snow guns for the first time this season. Photo credit: Bel Jones