St John Queenstown attended 885 emergencies, mainly on ski areas, between June 4 and October 9, slightly down on 889 in 2008. About 50 fewer injuries were put down to the lack of snow for almost all of June.
The Frankton-based emergency service answered 1099 calls for help in 2010 and 1047 in 2009.
"As everyone knows, it was a bit of a late start and once it kicked off, the workload spread and that's because of school years," operations team manager Alana Reid said on Monday.
"Last year they had every Australian child on holiday at the same time, whereas this year it's been spread over six to seven weeks. It means, anecdotally, it just doesn't feel as busy."
Ms Reid said ambulance officers attended to the "full range" of injuries, from cervical spine injuries at the neck, to limb fractures and muscle tears.
Incidents were split evenly between Coronet Peak and the Remarkables ski areas.
There were no life-threatening injuries and no permanently incapacitating injuries this year.
"Snowboarding appears more dangerous, but it's more about who is riding and their fitness, fatigue and experience levels than the pursuit itself," Ms Reid said.
Four full-time-equivalent positions filled by Queenstown and Dunedin ambulance staff bolstered the team's complement of a dozen fully qualified officers and 25 volunteers in the Wakatipu at the start of the 2011 season. Fewer ski area injuries this year did not mean a reduction in staff, as St John planned "for the worst and hoped for the best".
"The four extra staff were a baseline, because it takes four to put an extra crew on the road."
Residents and visitors heeding advice from authorities and staying home, or not calling St John because they thought ambulance officers were busy and needed elsewhere, could have resulted in fewer calls to traffic incidents in winter conditions, she said.
Attention now turned to covering the Queenstown Bike Park during its first full summer season. More than 20 limb injuries were predicted.
Ms Reid said it took an ambulance 20-30 minutes to reach the bike park, which is part of the Ben Lomond recreational reserve.
"We've got access to the Skyline access road. There is a user group involved, so it's liaising with them and getting to know the network," she said.
St John will run an information and fundraising stall at the re-opening celebration of the Kingston Flyer vintage steam train on October 29.
