Formerly there was a certain snob appeal about having skied in the United States — a woman might display her Jackson Hole pin while skiing in Austria, for example. Few people did it and it was sort of reverse chic. But all that has changed in recent years with the advent of overseas tour operators and wholesalers packaging ski holidays in the U.S., which has brought American ski vacations into the forefront of the general skiing public.
Several things happened to make the international business — and particularly the British ski business — come alive in the U.S. Several consecutive seasons of poor snow conditions in the Alps encouraged dedicated skiers to look for other destinations; the currency exchange rate improved, making an American ski holiday more competitively priced and the incredible exposure generated by the World Championships held at Vail two seasons ago showed off American ski conditions at their finest.
Moreover, years of marketing evangelism from Ski USA, Colorado Ski Country and major U.S. destination areas like Snowbird and Jackson Hole began to attract converts.
None of that would have meant much unless the people who came to the U.S. to sample the skiing had a good time. And they did. Speaking for the British, they found a surprisingly high level of service, no lift line hassles, generously sized and well appointed condominiums and a concern on everyone’s part that they have a good time. It’s different in Europe.
In Europe, the mountains are bigger — 5,000 vertical is more the rule than the exception — and there is more sheer quantity of terrain to ski, with inter-linked resorts quite common. In the U.S. the mountains have less of an “Alpine” feel, seeming more like “hills” to experienced European skiers, and the ski terrain is more strictly limited to marked, groomed runs well within the resorts’ parameters. (Popular exceptions in the U.S. include Telluride, Taos, Jackson Hole and Crested Butte.)
Liftlines in Europe are more of a free-for-all, with pushing and shoving and stepping on another’s ski equipment quite common. In the U.S., lines are orderly and organized and skiers are polite and well behaved. A lift attendant who says, “Have a nice day,” and seems to mean it, is a revelation to a British skier used to the rough and tumble of Europe.
Food on the mountain in the U.S. is generally a severe disappointment, for in Europe some of the finest dining experiences imaginable can be had over a leisurely lunch on the mountain. But apres ski dining gets high marks for its quality, diversity and especially price. As one British skier put it, “The cost of a holiday to come to America was about $200 dearer than Val d’Isere, but in two nights out, I made the money up.”
British skiers are amazed at the accommodations here. For example, in Val d’Isere six people might share a 900 square foot apartment with a double bedroom, a bunkroom, a bath and a pull-out sofa. There’s no television, no stove, no telephone and no fireplace. For the same price in Colorado they would have a 1,200 square foot two-bedroom condo, with color television — complete with cable movies — telephone, fireplace with wood supplied, a deck with a view, a complete kitchen including microwave, a second bath, complete linens and towels that are changed every day with maid service (extra in Europe).
Although Europe has a tradition of professional service personnel — being a waiter is a profession; in the U.S. it’s a job until something else opens up — British skiers rate the service ethic in the U.S. quite high. British perceive that in the U.S., nothing is too much trouble on the part of resort personnel and if they can’t do something a guest would like, they’re genuinely upset. What U.S. service personnel lack in professional competence they make up for in hussle.
The British appreciate the distinctly different ambience in the U.S. — they are not looking for Neo-Europe. The Old West and historic mining town flavor of Breckenridge, for example, has a lot to do with the huge influx of British business that resort has seen. So too with Aspen and Jackson Hole. What is less desirable is the pseudo Tyrolean look of Vail, to the British perception, which is an imitation Europe and not the experience for which they came to America.
In this vein, the next American resorts to be discovered by British skiers look to be Crested Butte and Telluride, both offering the remote old mining town feeling.
As for the skiing itself, British guests appreciate the consistent snow and high standards of grooming — very unlike Europe — but also see U.S. resorts as over-regulated and too groomed and controlled. There’s more above-tree-line skiing in Europe because the resorts are less structured in controlling slopes and because the tree line in the Alps is at 8,000 feet; in the Rockies, it’s at 11,000 feet. Whiteouts are common in Europe and seldom seen in the Rockies.
The average base area in Europe is at about 5,000 feet in altitude, in the Rockies, bases range from 7,500 to more than 9,000 feet. Often the last several thousand feet of skiing in Europe is lost, thus negating some of the benefits of 5,000-plus verticals, but still, the British see American runs as shorter with more lift yo-yoing.
The average British ski vacationer tends to be more advanced than his counterpart in the U.S. and more interested in “extreme” slopes. Those resorts with extensive terrain (2,000 acres-plus), trams, cable cars and gondolas feel better to him.
The worst experience a British skier is likely to have is at major U.S. airports where the systems aren’t in place for dealing with ski luggage and transportation, or so it appears to him in the hassles he encounters. Even airports that should know better, like Salt Lake and Denver, make a poor impression. This is unlike Europe where ski baggage and transportation to resorts is accommodated much more smoothly.
Is the British market worth going after? It is if you have the kind of major league destination resort that offers a distinct American ambience, with good air access. British ski vacations of two and three weeks are common — unlike the workaholic Japanese, for example, who typically take short one-week vacations — and selling a 13-day lift ticket is a sale worth pursuing. Also, British skiers have the time and inclination to sample several resorts in a single trip, so joint promotions and tours are possible.
Even after the snow starts falling in Europe, Europeans will continue to ski in the U.S. It’s a good value and they come back smiling.
Bob Gillen is assistant vice president for corporate communications at Crested Butte, Colo., and Sandy Best is a British journalist who spent last winter gathering material for an article to appear in Ski Special magazine.
