Breckenridge – Ski towns in Colorado have a crude way of measuring their business during Martin Luther King weekend and other holidays. It’s called the flush factor.
The flush factor gauges the calls of nature felt by both visitors and locals – measuring the amount of water passing through water treatment plants – and provides a comparison to previous busy weekends.
At the Breckenridge Sanitation District, for example, the annual peak usually occurs New Year’s Eve or Day. This year’s peak was 2.4 million gallons per day, a trifle below the previous year’s peak.
From the parking lots and traffic congestion, district manager Andy Carlberg said, Breckenridge seemed much busier this year than last. But the sewage flow didn’t agree.
While sales tax collections – a more reliable measure of holiday activity – will remain unavailable for several weeks, anecdotal evidence in Breckenridge and most ski towns along the Interstate 70 corridor shows crowds surpassing those of at least recent history.
The Aspen Skiing Co. reported a 10 percent increase in skier days for its four ski areas – Aspen, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk and Snowmass – for the 12-day period from Dec. 22 to Jan. 2, compared with the previous year.
Aspen water officials divide the total amount of treated water used in a day by 90, an estimate of the average number of gallons each person uses daily, to come up with their daily population estimate, the Aspen Times reported.
So the flush factor there suggested a few more visitors – 26,444 on Dec. 29, 2005, compared with a high of 26,222 on Dec. 31, 2004, according to the paper.
Vail also handled big holiday crowds, though the resort has not released figures. The town’s flush factor was reportedly down from last year, however.
Unlike other Colorado resorts, Vail limits skier numbers.
At Breckenridge, town officials report up to 22,000 people on the mountain on busy days. A 30 percent expansion of terrain in recent years has ended most complaints about on-mountain crowding, but the roads and parking lots at the base are another matter.
Breckenridge Town Manager Tim Gagen says town officials have discussed, but not requested, a blackout on use of Buddy Passes on holidays. But with drought and recession still fresh in mind, he said, town officials have been reluctant to turn back business.
