It’s been almost ten years since the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and according to Ski Utah, the benefits of hosting the Winter Games is still felt today. On Tuesday, Ski Utah hosted their annual ski and snowboard season opening press conference, where Ski Utah President, Nathan Rafferty, painted a rosy picture of Utah’s ski industry thanks to our current winter tourism climate, record-breaking snowfall, and post-2002 Winter Games growth.
Representatives from South Korea, who are hosting the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, were on hand to check out Salt Lake’s Olympic venues. It was fitting to have them at the press conference, since the 2002 Winter Olympics have contributed to a 42% increase in skier days. “That’s a big, big boost,” Nathan Rafferty said, adding, “we went from 704 million dollars in direct expenditures to 1.2 billion last year. So we’re certainly reaping the benefits of the Olympics.”
Record-breaking snow totals are most certainly a contributing factor as well. Last year Utah saw some of the most impressive final snow totals ever. For example, Snowbird closed a 202-day season on July 4th with 783 inches of snow (65 feet) which exceeded last year’s total of 688 – a huge jump of almost 100 inches. To illustrate how much snow dumped on Utah last season, they hoisted a banner on a 7th floor balcony of the downtown Sheraton Hotel.
Thanks to such impressive snowfall, only a few short months have passed between seasons – hardly enough time to dust off the skis and snowboards, even for Rafferty. “Last year seems like it just barely ended. I’m just now digging my ski stuff out and I think it’s still wet from skiing over the summer. We had an impressive start last year, 90 inches in November and 130 inches in December. If you want a blueprint on how to start your ski season, that’s the way you do it.”
Thanks to the snow, last year was the second best season ever based on skier visits. “We were off our all time record by just 0.62%, so just a hair off our old record which happened in 2008 with 4.24 million skier days. Last year we did 4.22 million skier days,” Rafferty said.
As for our upcoming ski season, it officially begins on Thursday, November 10th as both Brighton and Solitude will be firing up the lifts with 36 inches of snow year-to-date. But Rafferty has both good and bad news for Utah ski resorts. “The good news is it sounds like from the weather guys that La Niña is back… the weather phenomenon that brought all that snow with it last year. If we get half the snow we had last year, we’ll have a great year. The bad news is that economic uncertainty still exists,” Rafferty said.
There are reasons to be optimistic, however, especially when it comes to finding deals thanks to programs Utah ski resorts have started to encourage families to hit the slopes, even during a bad economy. Some deals include Ski Utah’s 5th and 6th grade passport program, Park City Mountain Resort’s Start Now program, Alta’s Ski Free after 3, Snowbasin’s Learn to Earn Program, and the Ski Salt Lake Super Pass for visitors who come to Utah to ski.
Watch this video of the press conference shot and edited by Randy Likness.
Another way Utah resorts are ensuring that skier visits continue to rise is by getting people to learn how to ski, and turn them into life long enthusiasts. Wolf Mountain has just the ticket as they offer one of the best values in the state. $35 will get you a 12-hour pass, which means you can ski the whole day and continue through the evening after the resort turns on the lights for night skiing.
There’s also a family day pass where two adults and two children can ski for under $100. “We claim to be the biggest, smallest mountain, by that we mean best value for families. With our smaller venue, with give greater opportunity to get a bang for the buck,” said Jeremy Maughan, Director of Finance and Marketing at Wolf Mountain.
Wolf mountain also has a unique way for beginner skiers to learn the sport, and for first timers to earn a season pass. For $150, you can get five lessons that include rentals and lift passes. There’s also the Get On Board package for $250, which is geared toward individuals who’ve never been skiing before. You get three lessons, rentals and day passes. And upon completion of the lessons, you get a season pass that’s good for the rest of the year.
With another La Niña winter on the way, coupled with good deals at Utah ski resorts, it looks to be a good season to be a skier in Utah, whether you live here or are planning a visit.
For more information about all of Utah’s 14 ski resorts, visit Ski Utah online.