Warm weather has forced the fifth South Island skifield to delay its opening for the season.
Porters Ski Area, near Christchurch, was unable to open on Friday as planned, because of unusually warm temperatures which have virtually stopped natural snowfall and slowed snow-making machines.
NZ Ski chief executive James Coddington says he's concerned about the delays in opening the ski fields.
Other fields affected include the Remarkables, Mount Hutt, Snowpark and Coronet Peak.
Many staff from the closed fields say they're on standby 24-hours-a-day, hoping forecasts of snow falls and lower temperatures in the next week come to fruition.
