COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Colorado’s ski industry recorded more visits than ever this past season, in line with previously reported national numbers that were credited to more season pass holders and general demand for outdoor fun in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Colorado Ski Country USA celebrated the record in an announcement June 9, with the association’s president and CEO, Melanie Mills, proclaiming the industry “has recovered from the worst impacts of the pandemic.”
The association’s 22 member ski areas — representing most in Colorado besides the five giants owned by Vail Resorts — crossed 14 million visits during the 2021-22 season, according to the announcement. That was 2 million-plus more than the figure provided from the previous season, which was significantly hampered by the coronavirus spread. Colorado Ski Country’s previous high reported was 13.8 million in 2018-19.
The record was “impressive,” Mills said in an interview, “especially when you consider we didn’t have a great snow year; it was a below-average snow year.”
Across the U.S., visitation growth was measured 3.5 percent year-to-year by the National Ski Areas Association. Previously last month, the NSAA announced a record 61 million visits at more than 300 ski areas across 37 states. That included a record 25.2 million in the Rocky Mountain region, which encompasses Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. (For competitive reasons, the industry closely guards specific, individual data.)
In its announcement, the NSAA said the marks “bode well for the long-term health of the sport, especially since participant numbers have been relatively flat over the past decade.”
The difference now, as acknowledged by the NSAA: the boom of season passes.
Vail Resorts’ classic Epic Pass has seen competition from the Ikon Pass, which joined the market with the 2018 creation of Alterra Mountain Co. Buyers have more options with the Mountain Collective and Powder Alliance passes.
Heading into the 2021-22 season, following a 20 percent price cut, Vail Resorts told investors it had sold 2.1 million advance tickets and season passes. That came to be met with criticism later in the winter, when outcry swelled over packed parking lots and long lift lines.
Issues were compounded by staff shortages.
“Like many industries, the ski industry struggled to attract and retain staff for the season,” read the NSAA’s recent industry report. It indicated about 81 percent of the nation’s ski areas dealt with worker shortages, with an average of 75 positions left unfilled.
Vail Resorts was among companies to announce raising minimum wages, now $20 per hour. Vail also is among operators pouring major capital into its destinations, with a pledged focus on workforce housing.
That continues to be a top priority all around ski country, Mills said.
She expressed hope in the American Rescue Plan Act, the federal act that appropriated $500 million to address housing in the state. She hoped, too, that more resorts would achieve projects like one recently announced by Winter Park that would add 300 beds for workers, pending approvals
