Snow, snow, snow aye %%First Name%%,

If you are a weekend warrior in the North Island you will be getting sick and tired of these weekend blizzards. Sorry folks, it's 'Groundhog Weekend'. Snow will be falling down to somewhere around Hutt Flat and the Wintergarden. With heavy rain/snow forecast from Friday until Sunday it will put another dampener on your weekend in the North. Unfortunately the freezing level will also be to low for Manganui and Rainbow with heavy northerly rain forecast for tomorrow and the weekend at Manganui, although conditions should clear at Rainbow on Saturday before returning from the southeast on Sunday.

Perhaps it would be a good weekend to head to Snowplanet or watch the Burton Open Live on the web . The Slopestyle final is on Friday from 9:00am and the Halfpipe final is on Saturday also from 9:00am. With 7 years already under its belt, the New Zealand Open kick-starts Burton's 2011 Global Open Series. If you want to see some of the best snowboarders in the world getting impossible air and fitting in impossible tricks then get in front of your computer tomorrow morning. Comprising of Half Pipe and Slopestyle disciplines the 2010 Burton New Zealand Open yet again promises to be the pinnacle of the New Zealand winter calendar. The weather forecast for the Open looks great with light winds and mostly fine conditions, just a little cloud on Saturday afternoon.

Likewise the entire Southern Lakes area will get a pretty nice weekend with frosty mornings and clear calm conditions. All six ski & board areas have been having a great season with consistently stable weather, the snow arrived early and snow depths have remained average compared with previous years. For a completely different experience, check out the night riding from 5:00 until 9:00pm at Coronet and Snowpark. A little rain tomorrow should turn to heavier snow by the afternoon setting the MacKenzie country up nicely for a mostly fine weekend. Roundhill has a busy one with the Alpine Junior InterField Cup Series in town and also their annual Chinese Downhill on ‘The Wall’.

Canterbury... well, there’s no sweet way to say it. Tomorrow is a washout with strong nor-westers and rain (heavier in the west), a freezing level of 2800m dropping to 2400m later in the day. Saturday looks great although it is anyone’s guess what rain will do to the current wind affected powder off-piste. It depends how high, and how far west you go. On-piste, no doubt conditions will be great. Sunday will start fine with some snow due from the South east in the afternoon.

Wherever you are in the country, get outside and enjoy the mountains, we are so lucky to have them in our backyard. Get into it, have fun and be safe.