Visitors are bailing on Colorado’s mountain towns this winter as the snow drought stretches into February, historically one of the state’s best months when it comes to conditions on its iconic ski slopes.
Colorado, alongside Utah, is posting notably weak hotel bookings when compared with other western ski destinations such as California, Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana, according to data provider DestiMetrics. The occupancy rate for lodging properties in Colorado and Utah is down 6.7 percent from last winter. Meanwhile, occupancy dipped just 0.5 percent in the rest of the western states.
“Differences in overall seasonal performance are profound between the two regions,” according to Tom Foley, a senior vice president of Inntopia, which runs DestiMetrics. “Snow is the story … While Colorado and Utah resorts have added terrain in the last month, the lack of natural snow is taking a toll. And while the rest of the West is also struggling with very warm temperatures and a lack of snow, an earlier snowpack and some reasonable early and mid-month snowfall has made a huge difference.”
The falloff in visitation is putting pressure on the finances of Colorado’s mountain communities, which rely heavily on winter tourism to power businesses and fill town coffers. The state’s resort towns were already ratcheting back on spending as the pandemic-fueled boom in outdoor activities faded even before the winter started. Now, money is only going to get tighter.
Vail Resorts, arguably the biggest name in skiing in Colorado and around the world, told investors last month that visitation to its U.S. properties was down 20 percent due to a lack of snow in the western states. The Broomfield-based resort giant lowered its financial outlook at the time, adding that the outlook might get even worse if conditions didn’t return to normal by President’s Day weekend.
A spokesperson for Vail said no financial update is available at this time. But, snowfall in Colorado is far from normal.
Scientists say snow cover and snow depth are both at the lowest levels they’ve seen in decades, while at least 67 Western weather stations have measured their warmest December through early February on record.
“Our focus remains on delivering excellent guest experiences and we’re encouraged by snow in the forecast,” John Plack, a Vail spokesperson, said in an emailed statement. “Despite below-average snowfall, our teams across Colorado have been creative and nimble to open terrain wherever conditions allow, while also doing a great job maintaining the slopes we have open.”
Plack noted that Vail Mountain opened popular areas, including parts of the Back Bowls and Blue Sky Basin, in the last week. Additionally, Keystone opened the Bergman Bowl, and Breckenridge opened the T-Bar.
Vail is due to report financial results to Wall Street investors next month.
Unpredictable weather has always been a challenge for ski areas and the businesses and communities built around them. It’s not all that unusual to have years with uneven snowfall.
But the relentless dearth of snow this ski season is unique, according to Foley, who has been in the mountain resort business for 28 years.
“I don’t, in my memory, recall one quite like this, where it’s just been persistently lacking,” Foley said.
The unseasonably warm weather across the Western U.S. adds a new layer for ski resorts competing for customers, he said. Ski areas are always competing with one another, as well as with warm-weather options like beaches, for winter visitors. This year, they’re also up against the bike paths and skate parks in the cities, he said.
“There is no backyard snow in Denver,” he said.
This year’s lack of snow could make it harder to sell season ski passes going forward, according to Foley.
“It is challenging for the industry, and people worry about ‘Will it happen again? And what does it mean for season ticket sales?” he said. “The snow afterglow of a good season does wonders for ticket sales next year … and vice versa.”
