A snowboarder killed in an avalanche near Queenstown had recently met someone, fallen in love and was in a 'really happy space'.

A Queenstown man was killed at Coronet Peak yesterday when a member of his group triggered an avalanche that buried him in over two metres of snow.

A snowboarder died in hospital after being rescued from an avalanche at Queenstown's Coronet Peak ski resort last night.

Low fare airline Pacific Blue will start weekend flights between Auckland and Queenstown in September.

nzherald.co.nz readers share their experiences of the 7.8 magnitude quake that hit Southland last night.