Mt. Hutt opens for business & launches on-line auction for holiday savings.

Sunny skies, bubbles and smiles all round were the hallmarks for the ski season opening at Mt Hutt out of Christchurch on the South Island of New Zealand over the weekend.

More than 2000 skiers and boarders came to opening weekend, which was two weeks ahead of schedule as a result of one metre base in early snow coverage.

Skiers and snowboarders can look forward to some outstanding deals at Canterbury's Mt Hutt as the ski area gets set to launch an on-line snowsports auction. The high country ski area will be auctioning a range of great deals for skiing and snowboarding with some auctions starting with a reserve price of $1NZ.

The deals will be available on the Mt Hutt website from the 2nd of June until the end of the season in October. Items will include lift passes, combo packs, lessons, rental gear, and retail items. There will also be 'buy-now' prices set for some products.

Dave Wilson, Mt Hutt Ski Area Manager, said the auction was an exciting and fun way for customers to snap up some fantastic deals.

"We know many of our customers are online every day so we thought this would be a great way to interact with them," he said. "We also want to see people enjoying some good deals and making the most of Mt Hutt this winter."

Mr Wilson said to look out for some unusual bargains never before offered at Mt Hutt.

"We'll be having some fun with the auctions so watch this space," he said.

Mt Hutt is expected to remain open until early October, while in Queenstown, Coronet Peak is scheduled to open next Saturday, June 6 with The Remarkables following on Saturday June 20.

To view snow reports and more info visit www.nzski.com