My Page: Greg Seitz

Snowblog

Ah, the time-honored winter tradition of the West: the ski road trip. Ever since the veterans of the 10th Mountain Division brought the modern ski industry to our country, winter sports types have made an annual ritual of loading the car and pointing it to our region’s alpine areas. Some, like Warren Miller, even made a livelihood from the ski road trip’s mystique. 

As time passed, however, skiing’s development has reached a fork in the road, between a wholesome family activity and a playground for the rich and pampered. The recent decline in resort real estate sales has exposed the Achilles’ heel of operating a ski area: It’s really, really tough to run a ski resort solely with revenue from ticket sales.

As such, high-end resorts are scrambling to attract premium customers (thus real estate sales) with amenities, and smaller ski areas are competing by getting back to basics with a focus on quality of experience for the price.

Along the way, this distinction has opened the door to some interesting potential road-trip themes. A bargain hunter can seek out deals on a road trip of resorts in bankruptcy or foreclosure, finding luxury bargains geared toward increasing cash flow as reorganization proceeds at places like Moonlight Basin, Snowmass and Tamarack.