According to an article in the Denver Post by Jason Blevins:
"SAN ANTONIO — In the worst ski season in 20 years, the winners stayed flat and the losers lost big.
"I
think we dodged a bullet," said Dave Riley , chief of Telluride ski
area, where visitation remained steady through the 2011-12 season while
nationally visits fell 16 percent to 51 million, a 20-year low.
Telluride
joins a handful of Colorado ski areas - like Eldora, Wolf Creek, Echo
Mountain, Durango Mountain Resort and Aspen Skiing Co.'s quiver of four
hills - that saw visitation remain similar to the record season of
2010-11. Wyoming and New Mexico — home to the thriving Taos Ski Valley
— were the only states to show annual increases in visitation.
Overall, the Rocky Mountain region, which includes Colorado, Utah, New
Mexico, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana, bested the national 16-percent
decline with a mere 7.2 percent drop to 19.4 million visits. Resorts in
California were on the other end, with visits plummeting more than 20
percent in a season that saw a first-ever snowless December.
The
mood at the annual National Ski Areas Association convention — a
typically celebratory confab of several hundred resort operators from
all snowy corners — was not the same as recent gatherings, where
resorts reveled in record showings despite economic turmoil.
Recovery and resiliency reigned at this year's rally of goggle-tanned optimists.
"We
are eternally optimistic. We see an anomaly winter and we know it's
going to get better next year," said Steve Rice , the managing director
of Florida's CNL Lifestyle Co., a real estate investment trust with 16 ski resorts and seven ski-area villages.
"Still, I don't think it's hyperbole to say that this year's silver
lining is that it demonstrates a worst-case scenario. We know what the
bottom looks like."
Indeed, it would be hard to get any worse.
The
20-year low in visitation stalls a record streak that saw U.S. resorts
posting three record showings in the last five seasons. The statistical
litany of last year's declines revealed what every U.S. resort operator
suspected: the 2011-12 ski season will forever rank as one of the ugliest ever, with record levels of decay from coast to coast.
Across
the country, average snowfall at ski areas was down 41 percent ,
marking yet another record low in the last 20 years. Half of the
country's resorts opened late with man-made snow and closed early in a
sweltering March that saw ski-area temperatures reaching the 80s.
"It
takes a season like this to remind us how much snow does inspire
visitation," said Dave Belin , an analyst with Boulder's RRC Associates,
during a groan-heavy presentation of the season's statistics at the
convention of the 321-resort NSAA. "We've survived some of the economic
trouble with no problem but snowfall really goes hand in glove for
visits."
Still, the silver linings are evident. Lessons increased,
as did overnight and international visitation. While season pass use
declined, lift ticket yield increased.
And best of all, season
pass sales for 2012-13 — sold in the spring and a financial bridge for
resorts that typically slumber in summer — appear to be stronger than
last year's average of 9,500 pass sales per U.S. ski area.
"That
really surprised us and we are encouraged," said Scott Myers , a Wells
Fargo lending executive who helps direct $500 million in loans to more
than 20 ski areas.
After this season, all but one of those ski
areas are in compliance with the lending terms, although all are still
making their payments on time. Myers said his team is hoping to increase
its lending to ski areas by another $500 million.
"We definitely
see opportunity in the ski industry," Myers said. "The ski industry has
shown it is insulated through economic cycles and we expect the
occasional rough season. We remain committed and we want to grow."
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