Mt Hutt to give skiers a taste of the season to come - in March

A polar blast has brought an early skiing opportunity at Canterbury's Mount Hutt.

Mount Hutt ski field will be open to skiers and boarders on Saturday after a dumping of more than 50 centimetres of snow.

Ski field general manager James Urquhart planned to open the mountain for walkers and mountain bikers on Saturday as part of an Open Day, but says this dump of snow had worked in their favour and the field will also be open to skiers on Saturday.

The fresh snow greeted ski field workers this morning and video shows Blair James skiing down the mountain this morning.  

Buildings and facilities at the resort are blanketed in snow after lower parts of the field received between 30 and 40 centimetres of snow, while upper parts of the mountain got over 50cm.

Metservice spokesman Mark Bowe says a front from the deep South has caused a cold but short snap across the area, with temperatures expected to return to normal for this time of year, tomorrow.

However another cold front is due to hit the country on Wednesday.

The scheduled opening day for Mt Hutt's ski season is June 7.