Queen's Birthday long weekend crowds descended on Thredbo and Perisher for their first ski of the winter after both resorts opened their lifts earlier than planned.

"The numbers are certainly up on the last couple of years," said Richard Phillips of Perisher. "With the good snowfall we had last week, and then some extremely cold nights at close to -10C, the conditions have been the best they've been for years."

Last week's cold snap couldn't have been timed better. Perfectly on schedule, the snow started falling as the calendar rolled over to the first day of winter and then again on Friday, the day that lifts opened in both resorts.

Perisher, now owned by Vail Resorts in the US, received 35cm of powder last week. On Monday, it had 10 of 48 lifts open and is reporting its best opening weekend for several years. Thredbo had five lifts open out of 15, according to its website.

Lara Dawson, a consultant from Sydney, visited Thredbo with her partner and hadn't counted on the early season conditions.

"We weren't sure whether there would be any skiing available, but Saturday was as good as the best days I've skied before in Thredbo," she said of open runs, Cruiser, High Noon and Friday Flat.

Large crowds enjoyed blue skies on Saturday and Sunday. A storm front came through on Monday, bringing with it high winds and forecasts of more snow.