Bright sunshine, excellent snow cover and all lifts operating made for a beautiful day in the mountains at The Remarkables near Queenstown for the start of the 2009 winter season.

It was all smiles at the alpine resort as people drove up through the low cloud over Queenstown to discover the mountains bathed in sunshine. First on the chair honours went to Will Orr, Adie Lawrence, Connor Gambles and Conor Dolman all of Queenstown. The four arrived at 5.30am to secure their first on the chair spot in the lift queue.

Early birds to The Remarkables were welcomed with a glass of Lindauer bubbles to celebrate the occasion while mascots Spike and Shred entertained the young and not-so- young.

Ski Area Manager Ross Lawrence said the opening was the best in years.

“It was an awesome day. Just one of those beautiful days with excellent snow and everything running the way it should be. There was a laid back atmosphere with music on the deck, kids with their faces painted and people really enjoying the day. We were able to open all lifts including the shuttle for Homeward Run, which we thought was a pretty good effort for opening day.”

The Dirty Dog Terrain Park and Tararua Ice Coffee Mini Park were also open with a full range of features on offer.

“The feedback on snow cover, quality and terrain available has been awesome,” said Mr Lawrence. “It was also great to see people using the FReemarkables bus service. The bus drivers reported strong numbers and the feedback is that people are finding the service easy and stress free.”