By Annabelle Tukia
Not everyone in Canterbury is unhappy with the first wintry snap of the year.
Three days ago Mt Hutt was devoid of snow.
But the cold front means it will be among the first ski fields in the country to open on Saturday.
With almost 1m of snow in the past two days, there's almost too much of it at Mt Hutt. But no one is complaining.
On Monday, the mountain was bare. On Saturday, they'll be ready to open.
Barry Whitcombe started clearing snow from the access road at 2am this morning, but with much of the road buried under deep snow, the 14km trip took four hours and he's not done yet.
But despite the huge dump, the snow-making guns are still blasting the ski field’s most popular trails.
The snow guns will top up mother nature’s work enough that they'll have a base that'll last the season.
Last year’s ski season was delayed and then hampered throughout by a lack of snow, but if conditions stay like this, at least 1500 skiers and snowboarders are expected this weekend alone.
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