After two COVID-hit years, New Zealand ski operators needed this season to be big.
Fortunes have been split by the Cook Strait, as South Island resorts feast on bumper snow, and North Island still praying for late season flurries.
Ruapehu Alpine, which operates the Whakapapa and Turoa fields on North Island's biggest peak, have made the tough call to lay off a third of its workforce this week because of a lack of snow.
Jono Dean, chief executive, said Ruapehu had experienced "one of its warmest, most humid, and wettest winters on record".
"Turoa Ski Area in particular has been heavily impacted, receiving well below its all-time average snowfall so far," he said.
Turoa needs another 20-30cm of snow to get lifts turning, and Whakapapa is operating in a reducing capacity.
The lack of snow has trickle-down effects on local communities, particularly tourist town Okahune.
"We've been in the accomodation business here for 15 years and it's the first time we've had a limited snow year," Ruapehu Mountain Motel and Lodge owner Leigh Berry told Today FM.
"We're all a bit shocked.
"We are hopeful. Historically we do have snow in September. We are still looking forward to a season."
Mr Dean said he had "great empathy" for staff and was grateful for the community rallying to provide meals and discounted accommodation to those affected.
MetService meteorologist Angus Hines said two factors were driving "slim pickings" for skiiers: warmer weather and major rainfall.
"It's been decently above average temperature for much of the country this winter," he said.
"We have had a lack of southerly (winds), it's been an influx of northwesterly rain events from warmer waters ... which for lower parts of the ski fields it brings a lot of rain to just wash the snow away."
Those weather systems - which brought flooding and evacuations to the South Island city Nelson last week - tended to die out before reaching ski fields in the Southern Alps.
"The weather gods have smiled on us," Queenstown mayor Jim Boult told AAP.
"We've been through two and a half very rough years and we desperately needed a good ski season," he said.
"Lots have flocked and there's a smile on the face of many operators."
Data from climate agency NIWA suggests the season is up with the best over the last decade.
Ski fields around Wanaka and Queenstown have responded by lengthening their seasons into October - crucially extending into Australian school holidays for eastern states.
"We couldn't be happier with the amount of snow we've got, and it just keeps coming", Cardrona Alpine Resort and Treble Cone general manager Bridget Legnavsky said.
Mr Hines said "It has been a very good season for the South Island, particularly early on, and they've had top ups off their really good base since".
Mr Boult said there were "lots of Australian accents in town" for the first full season since 2019.
By winter 2020, NZ borders were closed to all travellers due to COVID-19, and last year, hopes for an international season were dashed by the arrival of the Delta variant and the closure of the trans-Taman bubble last July.
