Visits to ski resorts are down significantly, according to industry analysts.
COLORADO, USA — Colorado’s ski industry is facing economic challenges as an unusually warm and dry winter has led to visitor numbers dropping by double digits during the first part of the season, according to industry officials.
The state’s top ski resorts are reporting substantially less snow than their East Coast counterparts, with Colorado mountains holding nearly a third of the snowpack found at some Vermont resorts. Snowpack in Colorado is at its lowest point season to date on record. Major destinations, including Breckenridge, Beaver Creek and Vail have less than 65% of their ski terrain open at the end of January.
“It has not been the powder skiing season of dreams,” said Melanie Mills, president and CEO of Colorado Ski Country USA, the industry group representing the state’s ski resorts. “Our visits the first part of the season are down sizable double digits. That creates challenges for the ski areas themselves, for their employees, for lodging properties.”
The reduced snowfall is creating a ripple effect throughout Colorado’s winter economy. When visitors skip ski trips, hotels remain unfilled, restaurants see fewer customers and retail shops selling or renting winter gear lose business.
“We’re not going to make up the numbers that we lost during the first part of the season,” Mills said. “December was really, really warm. The numbers are down enough at this point that even if February and March are great or average, we’re not going to make the numbers up.”
The snow drought has affected recreation within Denver city limits as well. Ruby Hill Rail Yard, which typically opens in early January for urban skiing, delayed its opening by a month until this weekend due to temperatures too warm for snowmaking.
“It has been unusual. It has been a very unusual winter,” said Stephanie Figueroa with Denver Parks and Recreation. “The fact that it’s been 50 degrees in January some days is absolutely wild.”
The facility finally mobilized its snowmaking equipment after Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend, when forecasts showed colder temperatures approaching. Ruby Hill will host a free Denver Rides Day on Friday before officially opening Sunday, Feb. 1, with the rails and terrain park set up.
“We were in kind of a holding pattern until MLK weekend when our teams looked at the forecast coming up, and we saw that there were some cold days coming, so they just mobilized,” Figueroa said.
While ski areas are utilizing manmade snow to keep available terrain in good condition, the overall lack of natural snowfall could have long-term consequences. The river rafting industry, which depends on snowmelt for high water levels during summer months, may already face impacts if weather patterns don’t change soon.
As meteorologists begin to see signs of a changing weather pattern in Colorado with La Niña, there’s hope the state could see more snow soon, which could help save the winter season.
“You don’t work in the ski business if you’re not an optimist,” Mills said. “Do your snow dances, all of the things we do to make it snow, keep doing them.
