New Zealand

Invincible Snowfields

28 / 100 Powder Score
Poor Weather Clear
Snow 48h
5cm
Next 72h
0cm
Snow 24h
0 cm
Next 24h
0 cm
Temperature
0°C
Max wind
3 km/h
Elevation (est.)
1,927–1,927 m
Across
5.8 km

Updated: 17 Oct 2026, 08:29

Elevation range is estimated by sampling points across the ski area.

We do not show a snow depth here. The weather model we use reports snow lying on the ground — it knows nothing about grooming or snowmaking, and it is not the base depth a ski area publishes. In Japan we can check our figures against 234 weather stations. Outside Japan there is nothing to check them against, so we do not print a number we have not verified.

7-day outlook

Date Weather Snow (cm) Low / high (°C) Wind (km/h)
Sat 17 Oct Partly cloudy 0 −9 to 4 3
Sun 18 Oct Clear 0 −5 to 6 8
Mon 19 Oct Cloudy 0 −7 to 4 7
Tue 20 Oct Fog 0 −7 to 4 6
Wed 21 Oct Fog 0 −7 to 4 5
Thu 22 Oct Fog 0 −7 to 4 4
Fri 23 Oct Fog 0 −11 to 4 7

Score breakdown

Fresh (48h) 12/40
Forecast (24h) 0/25
Snow quality 4/20
Wind 10/10
Base 2/5

The five add up to the 100-point Powder Score: more fresh snow, more on the way and colder air all push it up. How we measure

Invincible Snowfields is a ski area in New Zealand, on slopes between roughly 1,927 and 1,927 m. Its mapped area is about 5.8 km across.

Over the last twelve winters the ERA5 weather model gives it 392 cm of snowfall a season, 190th (tied) of 3,069 worldwide and 1st in New Zealand. It swings a lot from year to year: the biggest winter, 2024 (515 cm), brought more than twice as much as the leanest, 2016 (234 cm). Snowfall days average −5.0°C at mid-mountain, and its snow-quality score ranks 1st of 25 in New Zealand.

Runs and lifts

Counted from the marked runs and lifts on the map, within 3.4 km of the centre of the ski area. These are not the resort’s own published figures.

Marked runs
0
Lifts
1

Lift types

  • Rope tow1

Source: OpenStreetMap (ODbL 1.0). How finely ski areas are drawn varies by region, so treat the counts as indicative. Difficulty uses the European grades, which do not map onto North American green / blue / black.

How much snow it gets

Measured by us across 3,069 ski areas by one identical method. These are not the resort’s own published figures.

Seasonal snowfall
392cm
per season
Worst of 12 winters
234cm
The middle winter of the 12: 418 cm. The best: 515 cm.
World rank
190
of 3,069 worldwide
Rank in country
1
of 26 in New Zealand
Elevation rank
2
Highest to lowest, of 26 in New Zealand. The centre point sits at 1,927 m, 308 m above the national median.
Quality rank
1
of 25 in New Zealand
Temp when snowing
−5.0°C
Japanese median: −3.5°C
Rain days
21%
Japanese median: 16%
Days over 5 cm
21%
Japanese median: 15%
Wind when snowing
13km/h
Dryness 50
Frequency 61
Freedom from rain 47
Calm when snowing 100

The tick marks the median across every Japanese ski area we measure. All four bars run the same way — longer is better.

The quality score leaves out how much snow falls (it uses temperature, frequency, rain and wind).

Compared with what is nearby

Within 50 km in a straight line. Ski areas in the same weather-model cell (about 30 km across) get the same figure.

Ski areaDistanceSeasonal snowfallWorld rank
Treble Cone29.0 km282 cm561
Coronet Peak Ski Area29.0 km116 cm2148
Cardrona Alpine Resort37.0 km154 cm1612
The Remarkables Ski Area45.0 km142 cm1775
Snow Farm48.0 km116 cm2148

When it falls, and how winters differ

Month by month

Month by month, the most snow falls in September. September brings as much as July, or more. In amount, September brings 121 cm, more than the median of 32 cm.

59cm
Jun
100cm
Jul
87cm
Aug
121cm
Sep
Average snowfall by month, last 12 winters

Winter by winter

Across the 12 winters measured, the average is 392 cm, and 6 of them fell short of it. The leanest was 2016 with 234 cm; the biggest was 2024 with 515 cm (2.2 times as much). For 54% of the 26 ski areas in New Zealand, the leanest winter was the same 2016.

349
234
335
387
271
450
449
476
304
515
467
466
’15’16’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25’26

Snowfall each winter (June–September total). The dashed line is the average; the numbers mark the leanest and the biggest winter.

Map

The weather map, and where it sits among nearby ski areas.

More places to look

Guides covering New Zealand

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