Record number of skier days at American resorts this year despite so-so snowfall
U.S. ski areas report 61 million visits in 2021-22, marking an all-time high despite unremarkable snow
The Colorado Sun
Chris Dillmann/Vail Daily
For decades, traffic to American ski resorts has relied on one thing: Snow.
Big snowfall meant big business.
But the busiest season ever in American skiing — 2021-22, with an all-time high of 61 million skier days — was not a remarkable snow year.
The previous high points for national skier visits were set in 2010-11, 2007-08 and 2009-10. Those seasons were snowy, with nearly every region reporting above-average snow. The nation was locked in an economic slump those years, which further supported the resort industry’s long-held assertion that snowfall trumps all and business booms when the flakes pile deep.
The 2021-22 season dispels that notion. After a decade of largely flat visitation — dipping as low as 51 million in 2011-12 and as high as 59.3 million in 2019-20 — the rebound to an all-time high bodes well for a 37-state industry that sees growing demand and season-pass sales outstripping snow as its primary driver.
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“Strong season pass sales and a continued desire for outdoor recreation are two of the primary contributing factors to the season’s record-breaking results,” reads a statement from the National Ski Areas Association, which announced the new high mark during its annual conference in Nashville on Friday.
Read more via The Colorado Sun.