SAM Magazine—Broomfield, Colo., Jan. 16, 2017—Before the snow started piling up this month at its properties in western North America, the ski season got off to a slow start for Vail Resorts' destination areas in Colorado, Utah, California, and British Columbia. According to an interim period report from VR, skier visits were down more than 13 percent since the beginning of the season through Jan. 8, 2017, compared to the same period ending Jan. 10, 2016.

Even so, lift ticket revenue for the same period was up 4.3 percent year-over-year, a number that includes an allocated portion of season pass revenue for each applicable period. Ski school revenue is up slightly, 1.5 percent over last year. Dining revenue is down 6.4 percent, and retail/rental revenue fell 2 percent compared to last year. All of these metrics exclude Perisher in Australia and VR's Midwest urban properties, but include Whistler Blackcomb as if it had been a part of VR for both years.

Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz pointed to poor early season conditions and reduced visitation from local guests as the primary culprits for the dip in skier visits, but things have improved as of late. “We had much more normal conditions at our U.S. resorts in the holiday period between December 19, 2016 and January 8, 2017, during which time we saw strong visitation from our destination guests and growth in lift revenue and in each of our ancillary revenue lines, with ski school performing particularly well,” he said. “Results at Whistler Blackcomb have also been strong, with increases in visitation and revenue at the resort compared to the prior record year."

As long as the weather and economy continue to cooperate, Katz said he expects the company to meet its anticipated financial goals, thanks also in part to “very strong season pass sales growth leading up to the ski season.”

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