Skier visits for Vail Resorts destinations are down 20% for the season, the company divulged Thursday in a statement to investors, providing a clue to how Colorado resorts are faring amid below-normal snowfall that has resulted in limited terrain options.
Vail Resorts, a publicly held company based in Broomfield, owns Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Crested Butte in Colorado, plus 32 other resorts in North America. Other resorts in Colorado are privately held, so they seldom reveal skier day numbers.
“We experienced one of the worst early season snowfalls in the western U.S. in over 30 years, which limited our ability to open terrain and negatively impacted visitation and ancillary spending for both local and destination guests during the period,” chief executive Rob Katz is quoted as saying in the company’s statement. “Snowfall at our western U.S. resorts for November and December was approximately 50% below the historical 30-year average. In the Rockies, snowfall was down nearly 60% versus the historical 30-year average, resulting in approximately 11% of terrain being opened in December.”
The numbers released Thursday cover the beginning of season through Jan. 4. Ski school revenue was down 14.9% while dining revenue was down 15.9%, compared to last year.
“Following the holiday period, conditions across our resorts in the Rockies have improved,” Katz said, “although conditions remain near historic lows for this time of the season.”
Colorado’s overall snowpack is running well below 50%. Vail Mountain currently has 56% of its trails in operation. Keystone is at 53%, Breckenridge 33%, Beaver Creek 26% and Crested Butte 53%. Forecasters say there is little prospect for significant snow in the high country until late next week at the earliest.
