Close to 2000 people were at Coronet Peak today for the first day of the season, enjoying fantastic early winter conditions.
David Furness and Tony Russel from Arrowtown camped out overnight to score the coveted first on chair t-shirts on Coronet Express.
David, who had been in line since 8pm last night, says it was his twelfth time getting first on chair at Coronet Peak and he was stoked to be here to kick off the season.
Members of the Cameron family from Invercargill, who also camped out on the snow last night, were excited to take home the other four t-shirts.
Coronet Peak ski area manager Nigel Kerr says it was fantastic to get the season underway and he was pleased with the conditions and the crowd.
“There’s a great energy in the air and everyone seems thrilled to be back out on the slopes.
“We’ve got some awesome early season skiing and riding up here with a good base that we’ll keep building on it with snow making and the natural stuff that’s in the forecast early next week,” says Nigel.
Coronet Peak is open daily during the season with Night Ski on Wednesday and Friday nights from Wednesday, July 1 and First Tracks starting on July 6.
Nigel says they were planning to kick off night skiing with a bit of a bang.
“We wanted to celebrate the beginning of winter in style so thought a party was in order. We’ll have a fireworks display at 6.45pm, live music with DJ Stubaca and the Crown Rangers, and some food and drink deals.”
