YOUR AD HERE »

Snow helps U.S. ski industry rack up its 4th best season on record with more than 59 million skier visits

Aspen Times
Skiers and snowboarders are treated to hot chocolate at the end of the ski day in January at Steamboat Resort.
John F. Russell

ASPEN — U.S. ski resorts topped 59 million skier and snowboarder visits this season — not quite a record but about 11% higher than last season, according to preliminary numbers released Tuesday by National Ski Areas Association, a trade group.

Visits — defined as the purchase of a lift ticket for any portion of the day and including season pass use — were up 15.6% in the Rocky Mountain Region, which includes Colorado, NSAA wrote in a statement.

“Total visitation numbers were highest in the Rocky Mountain region at over 24 million, a record year for the region, followed by the Northeast with approximately 12.7 million,” the statement said.



Record snowfall for many ski areas helped spur business, NSAA said. Snowfall was up 31% nationwide from last season.

“Snow is our greatest asset, and this year was one to remember,” NSAA President and CEO Kelly Pawlak said in a statement. “Skiers and riders were greeted with an awesome on-snow experience.”



The 59 million skier visits this season was the fourth best winter since NSAA started tracking national performance in winter 1978-79. Last season, there were 53.27 million visits during a season that saw poor snow conditions for most of the country.

By the numbers

Top winters for U.S. ski resorts in national skier visits:

  1. 2010-11: 60.54 million
  2. 2007-08: 60.50 million
  3. 2009-10: 59.79 million
  4. 2018-19: 59+ million*
  5. 2006-07: 58.90 million

* Preliminary figure

Source: National Ski Areas Association

This season’s performance was the best since the record 60.54 million skier visits in winter 2010-11. The only other season that topped 60 million visits was 2007-08.

A spokeswoman for Steamboat Resort, which doesn’t release skier visit numbers, said the local ski area also had a strong year.

“With the addition of the Ikon Pass this year, it was a great year for Steamboat,” Digital Communications Manager Maren Franciosi said. “And on top of that, we had incredible snow.”

Colorado Ski Country USA, a state trade group, will release statewide skier visits in June.

This story is from AspenTimes.com.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Steamboat and Routt County make the Steamboat Pilot & Today’s work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.