Weatherzone meteorologist Max Gonzalez said the resorts were lucky to experience colder overnight temperatures on Friday which enabled snow to be made in time for the opening weekend.

“There were slight falls at the top of Charlottes Pass at Thredbo, but all other snow at the resort would have been made by the snow guns,” he said.

Mr Gonzales said a stubborn high pressure system over the eastern coast of Australia has brought clear skies over the Alps and kept a cold front and snow at bay.

“Any snow on the resorts over the next couple of days will be man-made,” he said.

Perisher spokesman Richard Phillips said the resort had just a sprinkling of snow on Saturday night through to Sunday, although there were favourable snow-making conditions.

“We were able to open one lift on the beginner front valley run for skiing and snowboarding with lessons held for newcomers over the weekend,” he said.

Mr Phillips said conditions got down to -4 degrees on Friday night which enabled 160 snow guns to fire on Smiggn Holes, Blue Cow and Perisher runs.

“We’re hopeful of further snowfalls over the coming week and we’ll be using the snow making machines at every opportunity we get,” he said.

Thredbo spokeswoman Susie Diver said Friday night proved the best conditions for snow making this year and snow was still falling lightly on the peaks.

“We’re hoping for some better conditions soon with natural snowfall expected for the end of the week and temperatures suited for snow making,” she said.

She said the resort was able to open their “snow play area” over the weekend so visitors could toboggan and build snow men.

But Mr Gonzalez said snow-goers will have more to look forward to this coming weekend when the first significant snow fall of the season is expected.

“A frontal system will make its way to the alps by late Thursday and Friday and is expected to bring between 10 and 20 cm of snow fall,” he said.

“Until then, there’ll be mostly clear skies and relatively warm temperatures reaching the high single digits.”