RSSJanuary storm revives hopes for ski season
It’s been a long time coming but there is plenty to celebrate with all the new snow that fell last weekend in Colorado’s high country. Here, a boarder rips up the freshies at Aspen Mountain.
QUICKREAD
Winter X Games 15 in Aspen will be Thursday through Sunday.
For the 11th year in a row, more than 250 ski, snowboard and snowmobile athletes from across the globe will land in Aspen/Snowmass this week for ESPN’s Winter X Games on Buttermilk.
All events at Buttermilk are free and open to the public. In addition to the action at Buttermilk, Aspen/Snowmass will host a free Bud Light Hi-Fi concert Saturday at the base of Aspen Mountain.
Information at http://www.aspensnowmass.com.
Friday’s press release from Colorado Ski Country USA contained expected news for snow watchers across the state.
What wasn’t expected were the almost immediate and very welcome results.
Ski Country said the 22 ski and snowboard resorts belonging to the state’s snow-sports trade association reported a drop of nearly 11 percent in skier visits through Dec. 11, compared with the same period in 2010.
About the time the release was issued, snow was falling in the mountains.
While a skier-visit drop of that magnitude is eye-catching, it wasn’t totally unforeseen after the mostly statewide paucity of new snow during the key Christmas and New Year’s holiday period.
“We had a promising start in October with several robust storms giving resorts a solid base and allowing some to open earlier than planned,” said Melanie Mills, Ski Country president and CEO. “But we faced inconsistencies in weather patterns for most of November and December, leading to slower visitation, especially by in-state skiers at some ski areas.”
The urge to get on skis and snowboards grows as days shorten and the first frail skiffs of snow appear in the high country.
In-state snow riders are vital for early season ski revenue and Colorado resorts open as early as possible to sate that demand.
This winter, mid-October snows allowed some areas to jump-start their seasons and open with 18 inches of new powder.
But as more resorts opened, the state entered a long dry spell, and that early-season jubilation sagged.
“In-state skiers make up most of our early season visits,” said Jennifer Rudolph, marketing director for Colorado Ski Country. “I think a lot of our local skiers are so savvy as to what’s happening in the mountains and at the resorts. They know when it’s a good time to be going skiing or boarding.”
And it didn’t take very long for savvy skiers and boarders to read the daily snow report and decide it was a nice day for a bike ride.
Not that resorts didn’t have snow, they just didn’t have much new snow.
Colorado skiers trend to the freshest and best snow, and for a month or so there wasn’t a whole lot of new snow being reported.
Even Powderhorn Mountain Resort, which grabbed an early lead in snowfall and base conditions, didn’t have much to report in the way of fresh powder.
But the resort was able to retain its skier visits while most other resorts saw numbers plunge.
No ski resort will talk about skier visits except in general terms, and Powderhorn spokesperson Tricia Tittle allowed as to how that resort’s visits remained strong.
“Our conditions have been really good, plus I think there has been a buzz about us as well,” Tittle said Monday. “The fact we had really good snow while the bigger resorts didn’t helped (us) attract the drive-by skiers that normally go to other resorts.”
Until this past two weeks, Powderhorn’s snow base was a foot or more deeper than many resorts, which helped attract skiers.
Tittle said many skiers were taking advantage of the resort’s popular 45th anniversary discount card or had a limited season pass elsewhere and decided to save those days until conditions improved.
“I think they were saying, ‘Let’s give Powderhorn a try and save the drive,’ ” said Tittle.
Much of that picture changed over the weekend when a series of storms graced the state’s Western Slope resorts with snowfall ranging from a few inches to 2 feet or more.
As Daily Sentinel colleague Rachel Sauer wrote in Monday’s edition, the efforts to entice more snow ranged from video snow dances to Native American ceremonies.
Powderhorn joined Aspen, Crested Butte, Telluride, Steamboat and Vail in proclaiming powder days to celebrate.
When asked if her press release worked as a reverse-luck charm, Ski Country’s Rudolph said she was happy to share the credit.
“Whenever you get this much snow, it’s good news for everybody,” she said. “That early snow kept us in a better spot than many places around the nation and we’re in an even better spot now.”
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