A line of cars was winding its way up to Coronet Peak from about 7.30am as the Queenstown ski field opened for an early teaser day this morning.
Dozens of people lined up early to be some of the first to make tracks on the mountain this season.
With clear skies and what promised to be a sunny day, ski area manager Nigel Kerr said it was the "perfect morning" to hit the slopes.
"People are pretty amped to get up here."
He believed there was between 40cm-80cm of snow, which he thought was a "pretty good base".
Low temperatures and early snow meant both Coronet and Wanaka rival Cardrona decided to hold one-off openings this weekend.
Coronet is open today only, while Cardrona will open for the whole weekend.
Both ski fields will open officially for the season on June 16.
