"It started slow — in fact you couldn’t really tell we got out of the blocks, really, could you?
"And then the tortoise waddled along ... and then right at the very end he really started to whack it, almost in injury time, he gave it a go."
The ski area closed for the season yesterday, having already extended by a week to make the most of recent snowfall — including an additional night ski and a couple more first tracks.
However, it had arrived slightly too late to be fully maximised.
By yesterday afternoon, the food and beverage department had seven staff left, and the lifts had a crew of 18, "which, for a place this size, means we can run just about nothing".
While the skifields, generally, had a tough start to the season, something Mr Kerr said was common two out of three years, they also contended with "dry July", where there was no precipitation for almost the entire month.
The benefit was the sun shone every day, meaning skiers and snowboarders had a good time, he said.
"The problem with dry July was a lot of the weather came from the east ... It wasn’t as consistent and easy for snowmaking."
Coronet averaged being closed about two days a season — this year it had to shut on six days.
Mr Kerr said that number would have been higher were it not for this season’s heroes, the grooming team.
And in terms of visitation, that had been good throughout the season, with consistent numbers of Australians.
Included in the visitors from across the Tasman yesterday were the Skiwibutts, a group of 85 university students from the University of Technology Sydney on their annual ski trip.
While they usually travelled to Thredbo, this year they decided to make the shorter trip to Queenstown, for the first time.
Decked out in custom made budgie smugglers and bathing suits, featuring a customised map of Coronet Peak’s trails, the Skiwibutts did a snake run down the mountain earlier yesterday, before getting among the pond skimming action.
Amber Rudgley said the group were impressed by the snow conditions, and Queenstown.
"I think there’s a lot to offer — I was kind of imagining New Zealand was going to do it a little bit more low-key than Thredbo, but you guys show up."
