It may be spring but the conditions are winter pristine in the South Island of New Zealand as a south westerly storm dumped super dry snow onto the Southern Alps. Mt Hutt has received over forty centimetres in the past week and both Coronet Peak and The Remarkables experienced twenty five centimetres each from the storm. It bodes well for the spring season as Treble Cone and Cardrona took the brunt of the storm with over fifty centimetres each. The snow dump was followed by three days of frost cold conditions ensuring the snow remained dry and chalky. It is an excellent top up as the resorts launch their spring programs and events. Mt Ruapehu in the North Island traditionally closes later than the southern fields and currently has a two metre base at Whakapapa. Resorts are scheduled to remain open until the first week of October or longer if snowstorms continue.