All the fun of winter in the summer sun

Snowboarding is even more fun when it’s done in the sun two days after Christmas. Picture / Greg Bowker

Hundreds of people had a different form of summer fun yesterday - great skiing on Mt Ruapehu yesterday

The upper slopes of Whakapapa are expected to stay open for at least another week.

About 1000 skiers, snowboarders and sightseers caught the chairlifts yesterday.

Ski field operators said they had not seen crowds as big since spring. 

It is only the second time the mountain has opened for summer skiing in 10 years.

Leslie Taylor from the North Shore took her children Kate, Alyce and Billy for their first summer snow experience yesterday.  

"It's like it was in the Grand Canyon - snow everywhere but heaps of sun."

Andrew Wilson from Canberra gave his 2-year-old son David his first experience in the snow yesterday.

"It's a bit of a novelty. It's 37 degrees at home."

Hamilton snowboarders Dave Butchart and Simon May enjoyed the mix of seasons.

"We're down here all the time in winter, but this is awesome," said Mr Butchart.

Ruapehu and Alpine Lifts marketing manager Mike Smith said the company had planned to open the mountain on December 11 for summer skiing.

But bad weather limited it to two and a half days before Christmas.

The ski field opened again on Boxing Day.

"There's a lot of people around, a real mix of skiers, snowboarders, sightseers and families," Mr Smith said.

"This is certainly the best snow cover we've had at this time of year."

* MetService forecaster Steve Ready said the weather around the country was expected to stay fine today. Cloud was expected to develop in most places late in the day.