US skier numbers up!

I just learned that for this past winter, US. ski areas reported a record visitation with 61 million skier visits, a 3.5 percent increase over 59 million for 2020-21. The Rocky Mountain region, that includes Colorado and Utah reported a record high number of skier visits, with 25.2 million. 

This growth is traced to 11 more operating ski areas (473 this past season) and continued capital investment. Next year will see another $728 million invested in the infrastructure. Historically, high skier visits have correlated to high snowfall.

The previous records years were for 60 million in 2010-11 and 2007-08 seasons that enjoyed exceptional snow. Conversely, the worst year, since 1978-79 when these numbers started to be tabulated, was 39.7 million in 1980-81, a lackluster snow year. 

This year, however, the average snowfall was 145” nationally, compared to a 10-year average of 166”. Ski areas experienced huge staffing challenges this season, with approximately 81 percent of them not fully staffed. 

The national ski area association attributes this strong season to a continued interest for outdoor recreation and I would add to that a generalized laziness and hedonism in this post-Covid era. 

For the third season in a row, season passes surpassed day tickets in share of skier visits, with season pass holders comprising 51.9 percent of visits and day tickets accounting for 37.3 percent of visits (the remainder is made up of off-duty employees, free products, etc.). 

In all regions, ski areas of all sizes, from small to large, saw an increase in number of season passes sold. If there are indeed 12 million skiers in the US, this means that they skied an average of 5 days per season. If they were all as passionate as I am, we’d be at 1.2 billion skier days. Thank god, they don’t!