Christmas Week, Great Powder, So Where Are The Skiers?

  With Christmas comes the crowds and more snow means more dough, or so goes the mantra of the ski industry in the Colorado Rockies, but not so this holiday season.  Locals, who often shun the slopes during Christmas week are finding short lift lines and parking spots aplenty as the economic meltdown reverberates in the high country.  Even falling gas prices and ongoing discount pass deals can’t seem to lure more skiers and snowboarders to the slopes this year.  And while short lines during normally busy times are welcomed by hardcore skiers and riders the prospect of poor revenues for mega resorts and small ski areas alike portends bleak times ahead for an industry already in trouble.

  With Vail holiday season reservations rumored to be off by 28% and Winter Park Resort posting 8,500 skiers on the day after Christmas (about half of the usual visitors), more lay-offs and belt tightening can be expected.  One long-time local at The Mary Jane noted that this post-Christmas Saturday didn’t seem to be as busy as a non-holiday Weekend in February or March.  ”I didn’t expect to be able to park in the C-Lot at the Jane at all today, but I had no problem finding a parking spot up close to the C-Chair”.  And one Vail employee opined last week that “this probably wasn’t the best time to hike the parking fee to $25, I mean that’s kinda like a slap in the face to someone who drives up from Denver and has to pony up $96 for a day ticket and $11 for a cheeseburger”.  

  Intrawest’s recent Pow Pow Platter combo pass, $99 for 3 tickets (one each at Winter Park, Copper and Steamboat) with no blackout dates, seems calculated to bring the financially gun shy up to the mountains to sample the abundant snowfall of recent weeks.  Sales of the “platter” are rumored to be good, and with the holiday day ticket rate at $92 you would have to be a fool or the CEO of AIG to pay the full price at the Winter Park ticket window.

  To see video of current conditions at Winter Park Resort, click here.