A record 58.8 million skiers and snowboarders hit the slopes across the U.S. this past winter, up 3.3 percent over last season, according to preliminary data released Tuesday by the Lakewood-based National Ski Areas Association.
The six-state Rocky Mountain region, which includes Colorado, saw a 5.8 percent gain in skier visits, or more than 1.1 million people, to finish at 20.8 million skier visits for the 2005-06 ski season.
Those figures are fueling industry hopes that the state’s 25 ski resorts have topped 12 million skier visits for the first time this season.
“If I were a betting man, I’d bet yes,” said Jeff Hanle, spokesman for Aspen Skiing Co., which saw about a 6 percent increase at its four ski resorts. “All growth is good growth for us.”
From October through February, there were 8.35 million Colorado skier visits, up 5.4 percent from last season, according to Colorado Ski Country USA. March is traditionally a high-traffic month because of spring- break vacationers.
During the 2004-05 season, 11.81 million people skied in Colorado, according to Colorado Ski Country, which will release final skier-visit numbers for this past season next month.
“We’re certainly optimistic that we’ll top (12 million); all indications are good,” said Colorado Ski Country spokeswoman Molly Cuffe.
Nationally, industry growth is being spurred by the expanding popularity of skiing and snowboarding with a younger crowd and equipment improvements that allow aging baby boomers to stick with the sport longer, said NSAA president Michael Berry.
“It’s a multigenerational phenomenon,” he said. “Baby boomers, their children and their grandchildren are all out there skiing. The resorts have become true multigenerational gathering places.”
The ski association represents 325 alpine resorts nationwide, accounting for more than 90 percent of the country’s skier and snowboarder visits.
Regionally, the industry’s success is still affected greatly by snowfall patterns. In the Northeast, skier visits declined by 9 percent, thanks in part to below-average snowfall, said Berry.
The NSAA report, known as the Kottke National End of Season Survey, is conducted by Boulder’s RRC Associates. The final analysis is to be released in July.
Summit County’s Arapahoe Basin is the only Colorado ski area still open. It is scheduled to close June 4.
Staff writer Julie Dunn can be reached at 303-820-1592 or jdunn@denverpost.com.
58.8 MILLION | National skier visits in the 2005-06 season, up from 56.9 million in 2004-05
20.8 MILLION | Skier visits in the Rocky Mountain region in 2005-06, up from 19.6 million in 2004-05
