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DISCOVER
Sunday, October 29, 2000 VENTURING OUT: Colorado hopes for snow
All eyes on Vail Late snowfall has pushed business the Northwest's way lately ROBERT WELLER, ASSOCIATED PRESS VAIL, Colo.-- Ross Davis and his partners in a popular bar-restaurant are praying the law of averages will give them good snow, and early.
For two consecutive years, many resorts in the Rockies have had to wait until January or February for their famed champagne powder.
Last year, many Western resorts didn't have good bases until it was too late to draw healthy numbers of skiers. Combined with Y2K fears, the resorts didn't attract large numbers of skiers until after the Christmas-New Year holidays.
Their loss was British Columbia's gain. Whistler-Blackcomb had a record year, drawing more than 2 million skiers and snowboarders.
Early snowfalls from California to Montana have raised hopes for a good season.
"People are getting jazzed about it. They say the last time we had a big fire year it was followed by a major snow winter. We're due," said Brian Schott of Big Mountain resort near Whitefish, Mont.
A stagnant number of skiers and unpredictable snow have kept consumers in the driver's seat this season.
The competition is so intense Vail is trying to draw skiers from its sister resorts, Breckenridge and Keystone. Season passes for Breckenridge and Keystone, only $299, will allow holders to spend 10 days at Vail. Sales were up 25 percent in early October.
California resorts offered similar deals. By mid-September, Mount Rose-Ski Tahoe had sold 10,000 passes for $199 apiece.
In the Canadian Rockies, Banff's Norquay is promoting "ski by the hour" offers, permitting riders to choose tickets good for two hours to five hours.
For those who live too far away to take advantage of season passes or frequent skier cards, good deals are available on travel packages. The best deals are early in the season.
Vail, for example, is offering a "Buy One, Get One Free," $126 package including skiing and lodging. The offer is valid until Dec. 22.
With a small population and a market that caters to out-of-state skiers and snowboarders, Utah is hoping to lure skiers to Snowbasin, where they can try their mettle on downhill and grand slalom courses set up for the Winter Olympics in 2002.
"Everything is done. We will have test events there all winter," said Kip Pitou, president of Ski Utah.
A recent survey by SnowSports Industries America found that the cost of skiing is no longer much of a factor in the industry's failure to grow in recent years. Forty-two percent of those surveyed said skiing is only fun for expert skiers. Forty-eight percent said they didn't ski because they had no one to go with.
For some, safety is an issue.
Vail Resorts created speed patrols at its resorts two seasons ago in response to complaints from senior skiers and families who felt threatened by reckless skiers and snowboarders.
Even resorts like Jackson Hole, famous for steep runs that attract expert skiers, will monitor speeding skiers. "The speed issue has been taken very seriously," said Anna Olson, spokeswoman for Jackson Hole, Wyo.
The industry, for the first time, agreed this fall to set standards for helmets, abandoning its belief that helmets could encourage speeding by creating a false sense of security.
In other developments, Whistler-Blackcomb has a new day lodge, the first stage of development of a new base village at Whistler Creek.
Breckenridge, which has spent $40 million on mountain improvements the past three seasons, is working with the town on a $500 million development that will include a gondola.
The town, whose Victorian charm is a big attraction, has spent $30 million on two ice rinks, a golf course, cleaned up the legacy of mining along the Blue River and built a performing arts center.
Already known for nightly grooming of its blues and greens, Breckenridge ski crews "are going to go for some of the steeper stuff this season," said Roger McCarthy, Breckenridge chief operating officer.
Near South Lake Tahoe, Calif., a gondola being installed at Heavenly will carry up to eight passengers directly from the downtown area of Lake Tahoe's south shore to 9,123 feet near the Von Schmidt trail. It is set to open in December. Kirkwood is installing the Cornice Express high-speed lift. The Olympian Copyright 2000
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