Over 4 million skier visits for Vermont

Okemo Resort picture. SkiVermont.com - Over 4 million skier visits for Vermont.

Over 4 million skier visits for Vermont

Thanks for early and late snow, Vermont got the best season in four years.

The Vermont ski areas association 50th Annual Meeting at Jay Peak on June 5-6 gathered members, supporters and friends of the Vermont ski and snowboard industry. Thanks to good snow in the beginning and end of the ski season, this past season was historic.

Smugglers Notch powder. SkiVermont.com Over 4 million skier visits for Vermont.
Smugglers Notch powder. SkiVermont.com Over 4 million skier visits for Vermont.

Vermont saw 207K more skier and rider visits this season than last, an increase of 5.2 percent. The 4,178,533 total skier visits were the highest since the 2014-15 ski season and a 1.2 % higher than the 10-year average seen at the Vermont’s ski areas.

The state’s history early openings with large amount of skiable terrain allowed the season to have these great numbers. Killington opened on October 19, three weeks ahead of opening day and was the earliest opening in the East. Mount Snow Resort had its earliest opening in its 64-year history, opening on October 27. Smuggler’s Notch Resort opened on November 23 with the most skiable terrain on an opening day – 58 of its 78 trails were opened.

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Colorado Ski Country USA Announces Double Digit Increase in Skier Visits in 2018-19 Season

Eldora-Sam Bass. Colorado Ski Country USA. Colorado Ski Country USA Announces Double Digit Increase in Skier Visits in 2018-19 Season.

Colorado Ski Country USA Announces Double Digit Increase in Skier Visits in 2018-19 Season

2018-19 Sees New Statewide Record, Double Digit Increase in 5-Year Average

Colorado Ski Country USA (CSCUSA) announced today at its 56th Annual Meeting in Denver skier visits at its now 23-member ski resorts increased 13 percent over last year’s total, which is nearly 12 percent above the five-year average. Using publicly available information, CSCUSA is projecting a new statewide record for skier visits of 13.8 million. Today’s announcement reflects a percentage increase that includes the current makeup of the association and is adjusted for the departure of Crested Butte from the membership in 2018-19.

“The 2018-19 season was one for the history books,” Colorado Ski Country USA President and CEO Melanie Mills said. “Not only did the industry set a new statewide record for skier visits, but there were substantial investments in capital improvements across our member resorts and snowfall was plentiful across the entire state.”

Copper Mountain. Photo: CSCUSA. Colorado Ski Country USA Announces Double Digit Increase in Skier Visits in 2018-19 Season.
Copper Mountain. Photo: CSCUSA. Colorado Ski Country USA Announces Double Digit Increase in Skier Visits in 2018-19 Season.

All regions of Colorado received significant snowfall throughout the season with the northern, central and southern mountains all blanketed in white. The early season was marked by significant resort investment with six new chairlifts whisking skiers and riders up the mountain, five new restaurants across the state, the new Limelight Hotel in Snowmass and other new activities and offerings. January and February saw additional snowfall and increased industry wide advocacy on climate change with the formation of the Outdoor Business Climate Partnership and a joint statement from eight state ski trade associations in support of increased climate action. Late February and March featured record or near record snow totals and set up a strong end to the season with five CSCUSA member ski areas announcing season extensions with Aspen Mountain and Arapahoe Basin still spinning lifts on weekends.

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Baqueira Beret has closed its third best season in the decade

Baqueira Beret photo. Baqueira Beret has closed its third best season in the decade.

Baqueira Beret has closed its third best season in the decade

The ski resorts of Val d’Aran and Valls d’Àneu have finshed the 2018-19 ski season. This season which started on December 1st has registered very positive affluency with 876.000 skier-days and a season of 143 days

With 876.008 skier days, Baqueira Beret had the third best ski season in this decade.

Powder skiing at Baqueira Beret. Baqueira Beret photo. Baqueira Beret has closed its third best season in the decade.
Powder skiing at Baqueira Beret. Baqueira Beret photo. Baqueira Beret has closed its third best season in the decade.

The station started with the long weekend in December with 20,000 skiers from Thursday 7th to Sunday 9th and with conditions getting better during that week which allowed to open 40 skiable km. During the Christmas holidays, the resort of Baqueira Beret had 85 km of open trails and lots of family, sport and après-ski activities with DJs on the pistes and a torch-lights parade on Christmas Eve.

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Over 1 Million Skier Visits for the Jungfrau Ski Region

Over 1 Million Skier Visits for the Jungfrau Ski RegionPhoto by Jungfrau Ski Region. Kleine Scheidegg Lauberhorn - Starthuesi .

Over 1 Million Skier Visits for the Jungfrau Ski Region

In the 2018/2019 winter sports season the Jungfrau Ski Region recorded 1.05 million ski visits and increased the number of visitors by 5.9 per cent compared to the 2017/2018 season.

After the challenging start to the 2018/2019 winter sports season, more ski visits were registered over public holidays as well as during the main holiday season in the Jungfrau Ski Region than during last year’s season. Not least, the long-lasting good weather and the excellent snow conditions in February contributed to the positive result. With 1,045,955 skier visits from the beginning of the season up to 28 April 2019, the entire Jungfrau Ski region recorded an increase of 5.9% on the winter sports season 2017/2018. However, visitor numbers are still lower than in the successful winter sports season of 2007/2008.

Over 1 Million Skier Visits for the Jungfrau Ski Region Grindelwald. First Winterski - Wetterhorn. - Photo by Jungrau Ski Region.
Over 1 Million Skier Visits for the Jungfrau Ski Region Grindelwald. First Winterski – Wetterhorn. – Photo by Jungrau Ski Region.

Biggest growth for Grindelwald and Wengen
The Jungfrau Ski Region consists of the sub-ski areas of Grindelwald-First, Kleine Scheidegg-Männlichen and Mürren-Schilthorn. Overall, the areas of Grindelwald and Wengen recorded the largest increase in visitors. In the First area, 6.2 per cent more winter sports enthusiasts were registered than in the previous year. In the Kleine Scheidegg-Männlichen area, a total of 607,333 guests enjoyed their skiing in front of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, an increase of 7.6 per cent. In Mürren 226,807 skier visits (+ 1.9%) were registered for the Schilthorn area.

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SkiStar showcases record results for the first half of 2018/19

A familie in Åre. Photo courtesy SkiStar. SkiStar showcases record results for the first half of 2018/19.

SkiStar showcases record results for the first half of 2018/19

Comments from the CEO Mats Årjes. “Continued strong interest in alpine skiing is the underlying reason that SkiStar can present the best half-year result in its history. Profit after tax is SEK 87 million more than last year.

During the quarter, which includes Christmas and New Year and much of the Swedish spring school break period, the number of skier days increased by one percent from the corresponding period last year. The Christmas and New Year periods as well as the spring school break period have led to new visit and sales records. The quarter ended with total sales growth, including the exploitation business, of 11 percent.

Powder Skiing. Photo courtesy: SkiStar. SkiStar showcases record results for the first half of 2018/19
Powder Skiing. Photo courtesy: SkiStar. SkiStar showcases record results for the first half of 2018/19

This season we have only one Easter week, 15-22 April. Last year we had two earlier Easter weeks, from 26 March to 8 April. This means that our booking situation (through SkiStar accommodation agency operations) for the remaining season is seven percent lower than at the same time last year. The later Easter will of course also mean later bookings, which affects the comparative figures.

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Destimetrics reports that snowy winter set new records at Western Mountains Destinations.

Park City Mountain, view from Jupiter. Photo: Park City Resort. Destimetrics reports that snowy winter set new records at Western Mountains Destinations..

Destimetrics reports that snowy winter set new records at Western Mountains Destinations.

The long winter season that continued to deliver abundant snowfall even through late spring, resulted in a new all-time aggregated record for occupancy, rate, and revenue among participating destination mountain resorts in six western states. Inntopia released their DestiMetrics’* monthly Market Briefing yesterday with the final results of the 2018-19 winter season and an updated report on bookings for the upcoming summer.

Mammoth Mountain- Destimetrics reports that snowy winter set new records at Western Mountains Destinations.
Mammoth Mountain- Destimetrics reports that snowy winter set new records at Western Mountains Destinations.

The winter season wrapped up with the month of April relatively flat. The year-over-year comparison revealed that while actual occupancy rose 2.6 percent compared to last year, the Average Daily Rate (ADR) was down 2.7 percent for a scant 0.2 percent increase in revenues for the month.

For the full winter encompassing November through April, as of April 30, actual occupancy was up 5.6 percent compared to the previous season and was up all six months of the winter season. ADR eked out an aggregated 0.7 percent increase and when coupled with the higher occupancy, resulted in a healthy 6.5 percent gain in seasonal revenues and new all-time records in all three categories.

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Utah had its best Ski Season Ever in 2018-19

Ski Utah - Paul Bundy photo. Opening Weekend in Timberline. Utah had its best Ski Season Ever in 2018-19

Utah had its best Ski Season Ever in 2018-19

Utah ski resorts saw their best season ever in terms of skier days in 2018-19 with a total of 5,125,441 visits. The state also saw one of its best snow years on record, with every ski resort recording above normal amounts of The Greatest Snow on Earth.

All smiles at Sundance Ski Resort. Photo: Marc Piscotty-UOT. Utah had its best Ski Season Ever in 2018-19
SHOT 3/17/16 2:53:33 PM – Sundance Mountain Resort is a ski resort located 13 miles northeast of Provo, Utah. Spanning over 5,000 acres on the slopes of Mount Timpanogos in Utah’s Wasatch Range, alpine skiing began on the site in 1944. Actor Robert Redford acquired the area in 1968 and established a year-round resort which would later spawn the independent Sundance Film Festival and the non-profit Sundance Institute. Sundance is committed to the balance of art, nature and community. (Photo by Marc Piscotty / © 2016) Utah had its best Ski Season Ever in 2018-19

“It was a great season to ski and ride in Utah, and our visitor numbers reflect that,” said Ski Utah President & CEO Nathan Rafferty. “Snow is a big business driver and snowfall numbers across the state were some of the best we’ve seen in recent years. Our resorts invested in programming and capital improvements to elevate experiences on and off the mountain. We also gained new visitors through expanded season pass options. This record season speaks to the strength of Utah’s ski industry and its role in winter tourism for our state.”

Utah’s skier days for 2018-19 were 12% higher than the state’s previous record of 4.58 million in 2016-17 and up 24% from the 2017-18 season. The National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) released preliminary numbers at the end of April putting the 2018-19 season as the fourth best ever on record with over 59 million skier visits nationally. All regions saw an increase in visitation, with the Rocky Mountain region setting a record of 24 million visitors.

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