Featured Image: Chris Kay, Courtesy of Cardrona Alpine Resort
It's been a tricky start to winter on the South Island, as the legendary Cardrona Alpine Resort has now set June 26 as its 2026 opening day after two delays and a myriad of conditions and weather. They say that tough skiing makes tough skiers, and that's probably why so many of the best rippers in the world hail from New Zealand.
The resort put out an announcement after this weekend's weather wasn't what they'd hoped for. "Well... that wasn’t quite the weather we ordered," read the release on Instagram. "The system that moved through this week delivered exactly what was forecast: warmer temperatures and rain instead of snow. As a result, we’re now doing everything we can to open Cardrona on Friday, 26 June."
Remaining optimistic, they continued saying, "Between now and then, our teams will be making the most of every snowmaking window they can get while keeping a close eye on temperatures and the natural snowfall expected this week."
Cardrona's sister resort, Treble Cone, also postponed its opening day to an undetermined later date, stating, "It’s been a warm month, with only a handful of windows where the guns could run. The weekend brought precipitation... just not the frozen kind."
There's no doubt that Cardrona is hungry for a banner winter after a fairly short year in 2025. The mountain operations team still managed to bag a huge milestone last season, becoming the largest ski resort in New Zealand after opening up the new SoHo Basin Express Lift and subsequent SoHo Basin terrain.
From Luca Harrington to Ruby Star Andrews, Ben Richards to Fin Melville Ives, expect to see some NZ local legends heading south over the coming months. Stay tuned for more on opening updates from Cardrona and Treble Cone.
