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It Wasn't A Turkey, But It Wasn't A Gravy Boat Either
By Craig Altschul
November 26, 2007
It was a multi-course meal for Thanksgiving 2007. It's just that ski resorts in several parts of the country were without the main course: much snow. So, while about half of all Americans were searching for non-poisonous toys, a small proportion of the other half were searching for ski and snowboard terrain.
The "glass is half full" attitude reigned at Massachusetts' Wachusett Mountain where Tom Meyers told The Industry Report. "We were a little nervous heading into the season with all the economic indicators pointing in a not-so-encouraging way, plus a warmer than average fall. Our pass sales were sluggish, we were concerned, but if the first three days were any indication, things are looking very positive." Wachusett, which hasn't seen any skiers in November in five years, saw 500 ticket buyers each day and night, along with several hundred pass holders.
It was a Maine event for Boston skiers who headed to Sunday River. Alex Kaufman told the IR that about 1,000 skiers were on the trails each of the four days. "It was more of a feast than we've had on Thanksgiving in many years here. We're not complaining. It bodes well for Christmas."
Vermont's Okemo Mountain opened 100 acres and 19 trails, but closed the weekend with 163 acres on 30 trails. Bonnie McPherson said it was "way better" than last year, and "we're not going to lose any trails." Forecasts are for cold weather arriving and staying that way as the post-Thanksgiving weekend moves on.
You had to head North and West for the biggest opening. Whistler had 5,000 acres and 3,600 feet of vertical rolling by Saturday (11/24). Doug McFarlane said it was the result of the week's cold weather and sunshine. Another snow cycle was heading in.
It was a decidedly mixed bag in the Rockies and Wasatch. Steamboat delayed its opening from the day before the Turkey roast to Friday, Nov. 30. Still, 3,000 visitors were booked into lodging properties for Saturday night (11/24).
Vail Resorts cranked it up Wednesday (11/21) thanks to six inches of new frosting mid-mountain at Breckenridge and Beaver Creek, and four inches at Vail and Keystone.
Copper's Lauren Pelletreau said the crowds were "healthy all weekend long" on 150 acres of open terrain, the most terrain available in the state.
"I think the Front Range folks are dragging their feet a bit in getting excited for the season," she told the IR. "They're still golfing and playing tennis." She said the destination guests, who obviously book well in advance, came to Summit County "and had a great time." The resort did manage to open the first Super Pipe in the nation for the third year in a row.
The Beehive state buzz was clearly based at Solitude, Utah, where Jay Burke told us just before the holiday he hoped other resorts would open (a few did) to take some heat off his runs. "We're exceeding budgets every day. Substantially," he said; as it was the only resort open prior to Thanksgiving. A good number of people from Park City were able to drive over Guardsman Pass (normally closed) and drop into Big Cottonwood Canyon. Three lifts were open serving four runs.
The Canyons opened Saturday (11/24) with two lifts and four runs. "The crowds were steady and everyone was impressed with the snow quality," said Elizabeth Dowd. "We even had some features open in our terrain park."
Ski Utah's Nathan Rafferty just chuckled when the IR asked him about prospects Wednesday(11/21). "I'm going home to Portland for Thanksgiving, but when I leave it usually snows." He was safe this time. Park City Mountain Resort, Brighton, Snowbasin, and The Canyons did get open by the weekend, but nary a new natural flake fell.
The California snapshot depended on who was taking it. The numbers were either "a lot" (Heavenly); "pretty steady" (Northstar); or "a little bit on the light side" (Sugar Bowl).
"There were a lot of people, a lot of good energy," Heavenly's Russ Pecoraro told the IR. He said the number of skiers and snowboarders split about evenly on the gondola, and "it was a great opening weekend, and not only from the attendance standpoint." The only significant run open was the 5,000-foot long Orion trail.
Jessica VanPernis acknowledged the "no gimme" nature of Thanksgiving weather, but the resort got two runs open Friday (11/23) and four by Sunday (11/25), with 12 terrain features. "The number of customers was steady all weekend. It was fun… really good, considering."
Greg Murtha said Sugar Bowl skiers and riders "made the most of it on Trailblazer." The intermediate run was the sum total. "Seems like people around here just aren't into it yet."
Mammoth was open with 24 inches as a base and no new snow fell on the Sierra resort, while LA-close ski areas Mountain High, Snow Summit, and Snow Valley were open as well.
The Midwest checked in as usual over Thanksgiving, most waiting for the early season storms to do their thing. But, the IR's Mike Terrell notes that "one clipper after another will move in by this weekend (12/1-2), with perhaps a major snowstorm tossed in." Only Boyne, Mount Holly, Nubs Nob, and Ski Brule were open in Michigan, with Granite Peak, Trollhaugen, and Tyrol Basin open in Wisconsin.
Cars were definitely on the road to Grandma's house. Some 30 million drivers weren't scared away by gas prices, says AAA. That's a slight increase and a good sign.
El Nina? "Who's that?" asked Solitude's Nick Como. "I think El Nina can still turn out a great winter." OK, we're convinced, pass the dressing.
(Thanks to OnTheSnow.com Regional Editors and IR reporters Jill Adler, Dan Giesin, Roger Leo, Shannon Luthy, and Mike Terrell for their work on this story.)
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