The prayers of the snow sports community were answered on Thursday night when up to 25cm of manna from heaven fell across the NSW and Victorian alps, allowing several resorts to open up after a long and challenging hiatus.
Snow continued to fall through the day on Friday, as green slopes turned to white and skiers and boarders returned to Falls Creek and Mt Hotham for the first time since the opening weekend of the season.
On Saturday, Selwyn Snow Resort will open to visitors for the first time in 2026 and chairlifts will start spinning again at Perisher.
"What a difference a day makes on the mountain," said senior communications manager Dani Wright from Perisher, Falls Creek and Hotham owner Vail Resorts.
"There's also colder temperatures in the forecast, which is perfect for snowmaking. Our teams will be making snow at every opportunity. Winter is finally here!"
Ski resorts have been struggling to attract visitors given the dire conditions, as June ended with zero natural snow cover for the first time since 2015.
That's not uncommon for this time of the year, said Pete "The Frog" Taylor, a veteran snowcaster at snowatch.com.au.
What's made this season particularly bad has been the high temperatures and humidity, which have limited the ability of resorts to run their snowmaking infrastructure, he said.
"A couple of days ago it was up there with the worst on record," Mr Taylor told AAP.
"But with this snow now, you're not really that far off average for this time of year."
Historical records show a late start to the season can still deliver decent snowfalls.
Recorded snow depth measurements taken by Snowy Hydro at Spencers Creek, near Perisher, show that June had ended with less than 10cm of natural snow in seven years since 1967..
In those years, the peak snow depth has averaged 192cm, roughly in line with the long-term median.
But with an El Nino underway and the Bureau of Meteorology forecasting above-average temperatures for July and August, the chances of a better-than-average season are limited.
In the short term, cooler conditions will allow resorts to top up that natural snow with artificial stuff and fire up more lifts through the week, Mr Taylor said.
Just in the nick of time too, with over 7000 students set to descend on the alps for the interschools snow sports championships, which begin at Thredbo this week.
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