A pair of possums with a death wish closed The Remarkables ski area for the day yesterday.
The power to the field went out at 6.45pm on Monday, but darkness and a snowstorm prevented staff from discovering its cause until yesterday morning.
Ski area manager Ross Lawrence said the overhead power lines running up the mountain were inspected from a helicopter at dawn.
It only took 10 minutes to find that two possums had climbed a power pole without a protective metal band and shorted two wires. They had not survived.
Although repairs took only 90 minutes, the affected power pole was in a ''pretty remote location''.
Mr Lawrence said the decision had already been made to close the field for the day.
Staff were unable to clean the base building, food and beverage operations were disrupted and snowmaking had been impossible.
He was looking forward to reopening today.
It is not the first time possums have caused a nuisance on the Remarkables. In 2007, a fire engulfed an area of mountainside near the skifield in the Rastus Burn recreation reserve.
Fire investigators pinned the cause on a possum catching alight as it ran across a power line, then falling to the ground and setting fire to dry tussock.
