A winter without snow in New Zealand

There's a whole lot of context that's missing from this article.

June was the warmest on record in the country. The figures have not come out for July, but I would say it was one of the warmest in our history

Missing from New Zealand's Ski Slopes This Season? Snow!

The Remarkables ski area near Queenstown — one of few New Zealand ski areas that has been making snow the warmest start to winter ever recorded. Scientists said New Zealand’s glaciers and ice are melting at alarming rates due to climate change. (AP Photo/Richard Savoie)

Yahoo,

6 August, 2014

Winter has rolled into its third month in New Zealand, and Nick Jarman says he’s going stir crazy as he stares out at the driving rain on the small ski area he manages in the Southern Alps.

The Craigieburn Valley Ski Area is one of several areas that haven’t opened for a single day this season, and some fear there may not be enough snow to open at all this year — something Jarman says has never happened during his 30 years carving turns on the mountain’s slopes.

Ski operators throughout New Zealand are feeling the effects of the country’s warmest start to the Southern Hemisphere winter since record-keeping began in 1909. And while one bad season doesn’t prove a trend, it comes at a time when scientists say the country’s snow pack and glaciers are melting at an alarming rate due to climate change.

The country’s largest ski areas have managed to open only because they’ve invested in equipment to make their own snow, which they’ve been doing this year in unprecedented quantities. For now, at least, that’s helped protect the nation’s reputation as a winter play land, one that each year attracts more than 60,000 skiers and snowboarders from Australia alone from June to August when it is winter south of the equator.

At Queenstown’s Coronet Peak, 200 snow guns have been blazing day and night whenever the temperature dips a little below freezing. Those guns have turned enough water to fill 100 Olympic-size swimming pools into a white blanket that’s remained on the main trails even on days when some skiers have taken to wearing t-shirts.

But New Zealand also has a tradition of small ski areas that rely entirely on natural snow, and many are facing steep financial losses this year. Typically, the areas are run as nonprofits. They are kept open not only by tourist dollars but also from the work of enthusiastic volunteers. Operators of these areas say they can’t afford to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in snow-making equipment.

Jarman says Craigieburn employs about 10 staff but can only pay them once the area opens. He says it’s not just the ski areas that are suffering, but also the local ski rental stores, the gas stations, even the bakeries. He says he’s been refunding money to tourists who have booked ski and accommodation packages, and the season is putting a strain on Craigieburn’s finances.

"It’s going to be hard, really hard. We don’t have the extra money to spend on maintenance," he says. "We’re not living on caviar and salmon."

It’s a similar story at Mount Cheeseman Ski Area, which employs about 20 staff when there is snow, but which also hasn’t been able to open. Mountain manager Cam Lill says some of his staff, who come from abroad, are taking the opportunity to tour the country while others are earning money doing odd jobs