NZSki chief executive James Coddington said pre-season snow conditions were the best in at least 24 years and Browns Ski Shop owner Kris Vermeir was not arguing with that.
The ski shop, which opened officially only last week following staff training, has been busy renting ski and snowboard equipment to people wanting to have a few runs before Coronet Peak officially opened.
"I don't remember ever doing that before and I've been here 20 years.
"People in town are prepared to hike up and just go for a couple of runs.
"We're pretty excited."
Mr Vermeir said while it was still "relatively quiet" around town, by the time the Winter Festival began on June 26, Queenstown was expected to be bursting at the seams and Coronet Peak and the Remarkables Ski Area doing a booming trade.
"The buzz is out there and everything's looking good for the winter."
Hayden Key, of R&R Sport, said there had been plenty of people in the store in the past week stocking up on equipment.
"We've definitely noticed a lot of people have been coming in and saying either they've been up [Coronet] or are heading up [before it opens].
"People have been excited for a while. With all the early snow, that's definitely created a pretty good buzz. Having it stick around and stay, that's been encouraging, rather thank having it melt and coming back with man-made snow."
Destination Queenstown chief executive Stephen Pahl said it was the best start to the season in many years, and the combination of several positive factors pointed to a "bumper winter".
"A snow holiday in Queenstown will be more attractive than ever this year to both New Zealanders and Australians. A low Kiwi dollar, easy and inexpensive access into Queenstown and an impressive snow base have drawn excellent winter bookings for the resort."
Mr Pahl said Australians could take advantage of the 15 transtasman flights direct to the resort from Qantas and Air New Zealand each week, with domestic connections from Air New Zealand and Jetstar.
