The lack of snow may be causing headaches for ski fields, but with just nine days to go before the opening of the 34th Queenstown Winter Festival its organisers remain upbeat.
Festival director Sally Feinerman said contingency plans were in place, regardless of what happened with the weather.
It was a "winter" festival, not a snow festival, and anything could happen between now and next Friday, Ms Feinerman said.
"The Winter Festival is about celebrating the start of winter, and our calender is jam-packed with events for people to go to.
"We've been going for 34 years and snow [has] never determined its success.
"We have contingency plans for too much or too little snow, and we'll assess the situation closer to the time."
Ms Feinerman said she was "pretty confident" there would be snow before the festival.
Last year, heavy snow closed roads, stopped supplies getting to the resort and - for the first time in the event's history - forced the cancellation of the opening party and many of the events planned for the opening weekend.
