Summit County Citizens Voice

Most of Colorado's ski areas saw skier visits drop slightly from last season, according to recent releases from a state ski trade group and from Vail Resorts.

State ski group, Vail Resorts both report modest decreases in skier numbers, but Breckenridge bucks the trend with a healthy 4.7 percent increase; VR says planned capital improvements include an alpine coaster ride in Breckenridge

SUMMIT COUNTY — Patchy snowfall across Colorado may have been one of the key factors causing a small dip in skier visits the past few months, according to Colorado Ski Country USA, the state’s ski area trade group.

For the season’s second reporting period, covering January and February, skier visits were down 4 percent from 2009, said Melanie Mills, president and CEO of Colorado Ski Country, which represents 22 ski ski resorts in Colorado.

“Snow conditions are the biggest driver of visitation,” Mills said. “So where conditions were dry during some important mid-season weeks, we saw a sizeable drop in visits. The combination of snow, when it arrived, and a smorgasbord of great deals really boosted visits in February.”

Vail Resorts, which owns the state’s four biggest ski areas, is not part of the group.

Vail released skier totals a day earlier, reporting that visits at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone dropped 1.6 percent from a year ago for the company’s second fiscal quarter, Nov. 1 2009 – Jan. 31, 2010.

Even though skier numbers dropped, ticket revenue was up from last year due to season pass sales, according to the company’s quarterly earnings report.

Breckenridge skiers helped bolster the Colorado numbers, as the resort posted a 4.7 increase in skier visits over last season.

Vail’s other three mountains reported a drop: 7.7 percent at Vail, 3.2 percent at Beaver Creek and 0.4 percent at Keystone.

Together, the four areas posted 2.37 million visits during the period, compared to 2.41 million visits last season.
Skier visits Nov. 1 – Jan. 31
Breckenridge
2009-2010 season: 764,000
2008-2009 season: 730,000
Keystone
2009-2010 season: 513,000
2008-2009 season: 515,000
Vail
2009-2010 season: 684,000
2008-2009 season: 741,000
Beaver Creek
2009-2010 season: 417,000
2008-2009 season: 431,000

For the 22 Colorado Ski Country USA resorts, the dip in the second part of the season came after a strong start, as visitation slowed in January. As snowfall picked up in February, skier visits did too, along with skier spending and participation in ski school, although the trade group did not release specific statistics for those areas.

Vail Resorts also reported that ski school and retail revenue were up about 3 percent for the November to February period.

Mills said that, with more than two months left in the ski season, some resorts in Colorado are looking to capitalize on the late-season snow by extending the season beyond scheduled closing dates and even by shifting to longer operating hours, giving skiers and riders more for their money.

Vail Resorts announced it’s planning to spend about $75 to $85 million on capital projects in 2010, including a new high speed lift at Vail, replacement of grooming and rental equipment and a new alpine coaster slide at Breckenridge. Renovations of guest rooms at the Keystone Lodge are also on the list of capital projects.

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