Snow blanketed the higher-altitude Wakatipu suburbs and skifields overnight, cooling down the ground in anticipation of the mountains opening next month.
The Remarkables Ski Area manager Ross Lawrence said while it was hard to tell exactly how much fell on his side, he guessed about 30-50cm.
At noon, he and his team were still attempting to make their way through most of the road.
And while he did not believe it would last, he said the dumping would not "go as quick as it has in the last couple of falls that we’ve seen ... but I’m not anticipating that it’ll all still be there in three weeks time".
On the other side of the basin, Coronet Peak was partially open for people to "come have fun", its manager Nigel Kerr said.
While the skifield was not expecting to open until around mid-June, the snow makers were having a good workout and visitors were welcome to have a play in the snow, he said.
Mr Kerr and his team measured 20cm at Coronet’s base and reckoned at least 30cm was at the top.
He added it would not last, and echoed Mr Lawrence in his concerns for the roads — especially about the formation of black ice.
At Cardrona there was a good dumping along the same lines as Coronet Peak while there was just a dusting at Treble Cone.
