Ski Country

Colorado Resorts Up And At ‘Em

By Michael Conniff, 1-13-06

Perception is reality in the ski business, and word went forth early in the 2005-2006 that Colorado was getting dumped upon anew and anon. Add in an economy on the rise for the affluent, and the result is 3.1 million skiers—a jump of 5.6 percent compared to the same period last year—in the months from October to December in 2005.

"We surpassed the three million skier visit mark earlier than we ever have, but there is still a long way to go in the season," said Colorado Ski Country USA President and CEO Rob Perlman. "Although we have the majority of the season ahead of us, early reports indicate the first ten days of January have been strong, keeping Colorado on pace for a record year."

In the local market, the quartet of mountains that comprise the Aspen Skiing Company domain posted 5.1 percent increase compared to 2004. Aspen Highlands is surging in traffic—up 20 percent—in large part because of the new Deep Temerity lift that opened up terrain associated with the fabled Highland Bowl.

But the resorts along Interstate 70??Breckenridge, Keystone, Vail, and Winter Park—did even better, with Winter Park jumping over 10 percent in skier visits, according to a story in the Aspen Daily News. Arapahoe Basin, Eldora, Monarch, Ski Cooper, and Sunlight all set records for the period.

So who took the hit? Though Aspen held up as a destination resort, the destination resorts of Crested Butte, Telluride and Wolf Creek took it on the chin. At those resorts, Colorado Ski Country USA reported a 2.8 percent decline to 818,592. Colorado Ski Country blamed a shortfall in snowfall for the drop. Reality can be perception, too.

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