With wild swings in temperatures, areas all across the country had a Goldilocks winter. In New England, first it was too warm—and rained at Christmas. Then it was too cold—and visitors stayed home in January. But February turned out just right. On the West Coast, conditions were just right through the first week of March. Then temperatures became much too warm, and a potentially great season turned merely good. The Midwest and Southeast were just right for much of the season, though it began a bit late and ended a little early.
For all the ups and downs, warm and cold spells, business nationwide is expected to hit 55 million for the third time in the past four seasons. In the East, many areas will wind up 5 to 15 percent down from last year’s very strong numbers. The Southeast and Midwest will approach last year’s near-record performance as well. Utah areas will likely achieve record visits, and the Pacific Northwest rebounded strongly from last year’s weak showing. All of which shows the resiliency of the ski and rider market.
“Demand is still strong,” said Bob Roberts of the California Ski Industry Association. “It’s just that people are finicky about what they want to play on.”
The West Coast
No region demonstrates this more than the Northwest. Early-season visits were strong. Some areas reached record visits over the holiday period, and February was solid, too. But January was extremely cold, which cut into traffic, and March was unseasonably warm, turning downhillers’ thoughts to gardening and golf. Still, some encouraging trends developed. At Schweitzer and Silver Mountain, destination visits and private lessons were bright spots, said Stevens marketing chief Allison Jeffries.
California, too, had a strong start, marred only slightly by too much snow during the Christmas period—up to nine feet in the Tahoe area—that kept some visitors from reaching the slopes. Heavenly and Mammoth both recorded big seasons. At Sugar Bowl, ”We were on fire and crushing it until it got warm in March,” said marketing vp Greg Murtha. “Then we had 18 days of record temperatures in Sacramento,” and one of the area’s main sources of visits dried up. One reason for the record pace: Sugar Bowl promoted a $39 lift ticket available exclusively at local Safeway stores, and sold 75,000—more than either anticipated. Southern California areas had an early-November start and remained strong into early April. Still, it seemed likely that statewide visits would top out at 7 million, shy of 2002-03’s 7.4 million.
The Rockies
In the Intermountain region, Utah areas will reach about 3.4 million visitors—just shy of the 3.5 million goal, and just above the previous best of 3.3 million. “We had a three percent gain over last year,” said Krista Knowles of Park City, “maybe our best year ever.” Still, with a 30 percent increase in snowfall over the previous season, Utah resorts had expected more. A warm March held visits down to the level of the previous year. Similarly, Jackson Hole was flat on visits, but up substantially in revenue, with growth in kids programs and spending per capita.
Colorado was nearly even with 2002-03 through February, and appeared on the verge of surpassing the previous winter until warm weather and a relative lack of snow throughout March shut off the local market. Still, destination visits and per capita spending were both up.
The Midwest overall experienced an above-average year, one that was strongest in the northernmost areas, weakest at the southernmost. “Overall, it was a great season, given the late start and the abrupt, early-March end,” said one exec in the region. “No blockbuster events, just very solid and steady.”
The East
Even the Northeast had its bright spots. New York state recorded perhaps its fourth-best year ever despite the cold, and Holiday Valley, blessed with lake-effect snow, was especially strong. Also, cold weather in January encouraged many New Yorkers to stay close to home, rather than travel to potentially colder New England areas. New York areas also saw strong beginner business. “The learn to ski and ride thing has caught on, helped by the new learning centers,” said Ski Areas of New York executive director Dirk Gouwens.
Northern Vermont’s Jay Peak was one of the rare New England areas to eke out a gain, despite the extreme January cold. The area was up 2 to 4 percent on the strength of an expanded bed base and strong promotions that drew U.S. and Canadian visitors alike. Okemo was more typical; despite the addition of its new Jackson Gore base, visits were off 7.5 percent—ending a run of 20 years of annual increases in visits.
Mad River Glen epitomized the up-and-down season. December and February were very strong, while January and March were very weak. The area finished about 6 to 8 percent below 2002-03 visits. But it saw huge growth in kids and teens, even though the area bans snowboarding. Expanded ski school programs for kids led to a 135 percent increase in participation.
Jiminy Peak, which also had expanded its bed base, was off 5 percent. CEO Brian Fairbank noted that SkiWee business was up 22 percent, and strong demand has led the area to increase capacity by nearly a third for 2004-05. Beginner lessons were up 12 percent.
In the Southeast, areas had a slow start, but overall enjoyed a solid season. “Getting the two-week late start is like trying to kick-start a 747,” said Snowshoe’s Joe Stevens. Fortunately, snowfall (once it started) was above average, and it extended into the major metro markets, from Atlanta to Virginia Beach. Beginner lessons were strong in the region.
“We saw better spending patterns from guests,” said Stevens. “Visitors had more disposable income and were looking for different activities around the hill.”
For all the weather woes, most areas appeared to take the season in stride. There were enough good days, weeks, and months to offset much of the bad. It was not a golden season for most areas, but it was at least, well, bearable.
