Despite Historically Bad ‘17-‘18 Winter, Skier Visits Only Dropped 2.8%
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Despite a somewhat slow start to the season, JHMR posted record visitors this year. Flickr photo.
A report published this week by the National Ski Areas Association tallied up annual visitors to U.S. ski areas. The important industry metric sits at 53.3 million total for 2017-2018, down 2.8 percent from last season’s 54.8 million. Considering how historically dry Colorado and Utah’s seasons were, that downturn is pretty small, and a hopeful outlook for skiing’s future. In a nutshell, it didn’t snow much this year, but people still want to go skiing.
Despite the slight overall decrease in visits, several ski areas including Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and Montana’s Bridger Bowl set visitor records this year. Midwestern resorts like Michigan’s Boyne Mountain and Mount Bohemia also fared well thanks to epic late-season snowfall.
Colorado’s Crested Butte and Telluride, both resorts typically known for epic pow days and rowdy terrain, experienced one of their driest winters ever, posting snowfall totals of 164 and 171 inches, respectively. Even with only 164 inches, Crested Butte was still able to open its signature steeps and extreme terrain, and is looking forward to its summer mountain biking season.
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“You never know what you will get with a winter season, and despite this one being pretty dry, we were still stoked about what we did get,” says Crested Butte’s Zach Pickett, “besides, we get to ride bikes in our area when it doesn’t snow.”
Throughout their history, ski areas have recognized a need to diversify their offerings to guests, and this diversification has intensified in the past few seasons. While it may not be immediately obvious to the ski bums we all aspire to be, remember, it’s the guests who pay full price that keep the lifts running for the rest of us.
“I am pleased that the 2017-18 season was right in line with our 40-season average, with Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Northwest performing above the 40-year average,” said Kelly Pawlak, NSAA president and CEO. “Ending on a positive note with many spring records will help drive season pass sales.”
