Skier visits to Vail Resorts down 15% so far

While visits are down this season throughout the six Vail Resorts ski areas, the company is not downgrading its earning projections with three-quarters of the season still remaining.

“However, we would acknowledge that those targets will be more difficult to achieve given the results over the holidays,” Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz said in a statement.

Promised Land lift at Northstar opened Dec. 20 with dirt surrounding it. No snow has fallen since then. Photo/LTN

The Colorado-based company that operates Heavenly Mountain Resort and Northstar in California as well as four ski areas in the Rockies released an interim data report this week.

Highlights:

• Season-to-date total lift ticket revenue at the company’s six mountain resort properties, and including an allocated portion of season pass revenue for each applicable period, was up approximately 0.6 percent through Jan. 2 compared to the prior year season–to-date period ended Jan. 3, 2011.

• Season-to-date revenue for ski school was up 0.9 percent, while dining was down 5.6 percent. Not all facilities are open. Even so, it shows the same number of people are not on the mountains to buy food.

• Fiscal year-to-date retail/rental revenue, which includes preseason ski sale events, was down 0.7 percent through Jan. 2 compared to the same period in the prior year.

• Season-to-date total skier visits for the company’s six mountain resort properties were down approximately 15.3 percent through Jan. 2 compared to the prior year season-to-date period ended Jan. 3, 2011, including fewer season pass holders accessing the resorts.

Katz said, “We have had some very unusual weather so far this season. For the first time in 30 years, a lack of snow has not allowed us to open the back bowls in Vail as of Jan. 6, 2012, and, for the first time since the late 1800s, it did not snow at all in Tahoe in December.”

 — Lake Tahoe News staff report