The heavy snow that revived Coronet Peak was both long awaited and an inconvenience.
The skifield was due to host the opening day of the FIS New Zealand championships yesterday, but due to the snowfall, the annual event, which comprises giant slalom and slalom races, had to be postponed.
Racing is to begin today, with the giant slalom scheduled for today and the slalom tomorrow.
Skiers will be carving up the same slopes Winter Games NZ competitors raced on just a week ago. Many of the athletes stayed on after the games.
New Zealand competitors include Adam Barwood, Ben Griffin, Nick Prebble, Piera Hudson and Willis Feasey.
This year's event has attracted 95 men and 75 women from countries such as Austria, Italy, the US and Germany.
Included in the giant slalom line-up is UK-based violinist Vanessa-Mae, who will be racing for Thailand, as she holds a Thai passport.
Coronet Peak race secretary Julie Frazier said the races scheduled for yesterday were initially postponed for two hours but ''we just couldn't get the conditions safe for racing''.
The race arena needs to be ''fairly solid'' for racing.
Norwegian athletes dominated the slopestyle qualifying rounds on day one of the North Face Freeski Open of New Zealand at Cardrona Alpine Resort yesterday.
The top three qualifiers were Aleksander Aurdal, Espen Bergh and PC Fosse, all of Norway.
Among the top 15 competitors who made it through to the men's slopestyle semifinals today were New Zealanders Beau-James Wells, Hamish McDougall and Alec Savery.
The women's slopestyle semifinals also take place today, followed by the men's and women's finals.
