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SAM Magazine—Dover, Vt., March 1, 2017—As usual, Mother Nature played the biggest role in how successful the Presidents' holiday period was for ski areas across the country. In general, it appears magic chair esizethat a majority of the nation's ski areas fared pretty well.

In the Northeast, it was nothing short of ideal. Consistent snowfall during the first couple weeks of February dropped several feet of powder on ski areas from New Jersey to Maine—and in the backyards of several million skiers and riders who live in the region. Mild temps and sunshine over the weekend brought out the crowds.

By February 16, Sunday River and Sugarloaf in Maine had each gotten more than five feet of snow for the month. As a result, the resorts reported a 20 percent year-over-year increase in collective lodging reservations for the week (Feb. 17-25), and double the volume of advance online lift ticket purchases leading up to the holiday.

Also in Maine, Shawnee Peak GM Ralph Lewis said it was the best Presidents' week in the last five years, and business was 40 percent ahead of last year. In addition, ski school set a record for number of lessons over the holiday weekend.

In Vermont, Magic Mountain—enjoying a bit of a renaissance under new ownership—got its Black Line chairlift spinning for the first time in three years, just in time to handle the biggest Presidents' weekend crowds the mountain has seen since it reopened in 1997, up 75 percent in paid visits from the previous high in 2005. It set a record for paid visits on Saturday, then broke that record on Sunday by 50 percent before the resort stopped selling tickets at 11:30 a.m. because parking lots were at capacity and lift lines were 20 minutes long, according to Magic president Geoff Hatheway.

Its food and beverage operations did well, too, up 50 percent from the previous high. “While we ran out of a few items in the kitchen, we did not run out of food,” said Hatheway. “Of greater concern was that we ran out of Switchback and Fiddlehead on Sunday, the two top selling beers at the Black Line Tavern!”

Wachusett Mountain, Mass., had a successful holiday weekend, but marketing director Tom Meyers said warm weather hurt business at the end of the traditionally busy week. “The good news is that we were up in visits and revenue from last year—it's hard not to be,” said Meyers.

In West Virginia, mild and sunny weather made for a “spring-like” weekend with good crowds at Snowshoe—a nice respite from the frigid Presidents' weekends of recent years' past. “The mountain was absolutely filled to the rafters,” said spokesman Shawn Cassell.

After a very challenging winter last season, the weather in the Southeast hasn't cooperated again this winter, either. Sugar Mountain, N.C., spokesperson Kim Jochl said it's been “complete drama” between huge fluctuations in temperature, forest fires, drought, and flooding. The holiday was a “thank you weekend,” according to Jochl, because the weather cooperated and people came out in numbers about on par with years' past. The resort plans to make snow in March for the first time in its history in order to extend its season.

Elsewhere in the Southeast, warm weather after the holiday weekend deteriorated conditions so much that several ski areas were forced to close for the season, including Ober Gatlinburg, Tenn., Wisp, Md., Cloudmont, Ala., Sapphire Valley, N.C., and The Omni Homestead, Va.

All ski areas in the vast Midwest region were open during the holiday despite record warm temperatures over the weekend, according to Midwest Ski Areas Association executive director Amy Reents. “Resorts that have onsite lodging, primarily in northern Minnesota and northern Michigan, fared the best,” she said. The region as a whole has shown its resilience through multiple stretches of warm weather; many ski areas are making snow later than ever in order to extend their season, said Reentz. Since the holiday, however, several ski areas have had to end their seasons early, or decided to close midweek as a result of the warm weather.

In the Rockies, where the snow has been falling at a consistent clip for most of the winter, Arapahoe Basin in Colorado had a successful Presidents' weekend, according to spokeswoman Adrienne Saia Isaac. “We had a solid Presidents' weekend here at the Basin, with increases in both skiers and revenue over last season's numbers. We also saw spikes in our pre-arrival online ticket sales,” she said.

Thanks to deep snow in Utah, destination and local visitors alike flocked to the state's resorts, said Ski Utah spokesperson Paul Marshall. He said resorts reported visitation numbers for the holiday week that surpassed their expectations. A side effect of big snow around the holiday was locals came out when they'd normally avoid the busy mountains, “When you get a huge helping of snow like we did, everyone wants to get up to the mountains so it caused a bit of a ‘powder panic' and there were some traffic issues. But everyone got their turns in, and I doubt anyone was unhappy,” said Marshall.

The Pacific Northwest is also enjoying a bountiful snow year, with snowpack for most of the region ranging from 103 to 125 percent above average. Pacific Northwest Ski Areas Association president John Gifford said member resorts reported sizeable increases in visitation—with some up 100 percent over the previous year—and strong revenue during the Presidents' weekend, thanks in large part to the snow.

One PNSAA member resort that enjoyed success was Mt. Ashland in Oregon, which received 18 inches of new snow over the holiday weekend. GM Hiram Towle said visits for Saturday and Sunday were up 48 percent over the previous year, and lessons were popular, too. “The snowsports department [Ski School] was cranking and we sold out of a few size runs of snowboard and ski rentals,” said Towle.