Having opened the mountain on June 16 with one run, Coronet managed to open the Coronet Express on Thursday, despite not being able to make any snow this week and no natural snowfall.
Mr Kerr said the grooming team relied on the huge amount of snow they made last Saturday, which they were then able to "very carefully" manipulate on the M1.
"The weather isn’t going to change. We can’t wait for it to happen — we’ve got to make it happen.
"That put the pressure on, but it’s great now that we’ve got it [the M1 open], Mr Kerr said.
"It’s still very limited. It’s still a bit narrow in places."
MetService meteorologist Andrew James said while there might be "a bit of useful snow" mid to late next week, it was looking likely skifields would have to continue to rely on their snowmaking systems over the next while.
Mr James said last winter’s well-timed snowfalls were thanks to the La Nina system, which was also the driver for the North Island northeast’s flooding earlier this year.
Now, though, New Zealand had moved to an El Nino system, meaning there would be "a lot more westerly stuff through the rest of the winter", he said.
"What that means is it’s going to be a more slow and steady affair in terms of building up that snow base over the next wee while," Mr James said.
Treble Cone announced yesterday it would not open today because of a lack of snow and would reassess conditions later next week.
The Remarkables and Cardrona have remained open though only a few limited runs are open.
Mt Hutt was first to open earlier this month but has since closed because of warm temperatures and heavy rain.
