Written on December 18th, 2007 at 08:30 pm by Bill
Filed Under: Site News
According to SkiVermont.com, Vermont is having a great start to the ski season and already has 79% of their ski runs open. In fact, Vermont has nearly twice as many ski runs open as Utah does right now:
The snow has momentarily ceased and the sun is shining; the Vermont ski industry is enjoying another blue-bird day; light reflects off the heaps of Winter Wonderland piled over every nook and cranny of the state. After yesterday’s blizzard, ski areas welcomed snowfolks eager to veer away from the office and head to the mountains for perfect early season conditions.
Today marks the highest percentage of terrain open this early in the season in eight years. Apart from last year’s mild temperatures, mid-December typically greets skiers and riders with several hundred trails open state-wide. Vermont has 979 alpine trails open today compared to 512 in Utah, according to skiutah.com.
DATE…………… TRAILS OPEN….. % Open
12/17/07…………… 979…………… 79%
12/17/06…………… 182…………… 15%
12/17/05…………… 731…………… 63%
12/17/04…………… 547…………… 47%
12/17/03…………… 857…………… 73%
12/17/02…………… 880…………… 78%
12/17/01…………… N/A…………… 8%
12/17/00…………… N/A…………… 48%
More than a foot of new snow fell in some locations, complementing the already weighty base depths, ranging from 10” to 66” across the state’s mountains.
Tom Horrocks, Communications Manager at Killington, said that this weather has ripened conditions for 130 open trails, that’s triple last year’s trail count to date. He and many ski areas’ employees share the same snow-sentiment, the more the merrier.
“Four big powder days already and its only December. It really doesn’t get any better,” Horrocks said. “The phones have been ringing off the hook as folks are excited to get out and enjoy all the new snow in time for the holidays.”
While University of New Hampshire researchers predicted an 85% chance that New England would have a white Christmas, in Vermont, this last storm has sealed the deal.
“We couldn’t have scripted this storm any better, JJ Toland, Communications Manager at Sugarbush said. “Getting 15 inches of snow this close to the holidays pretty much guarantees a white and heavily powdered Christmas.”
Reminiscent of spring skiing, this weather has many seasoned skiers, snowboarders and mountain staff in awe of the conditions and awaiting the next gift from the skies. “The strange thing is that when you’re on the mountain skiing, it’s not like December in any way, it’s like mid-February,” Whitney Widger, a Smuggs Service Coordinator commented. “There is snow everywhere you look and everywhere you want to ski – on the trails or in the woods. And according to the calendar it’s actually not officially even winter yet!”
All this snow naturally adds up to fun for sports enthusiasts, but it also accounts for better business. At Stowe, which now has full trail access, numbers are up across the board (and ski), from lodging, bookings and inquiry fulfillment. Scott Reeves, Vice President of Mt. Operations has a theory; “Ever since I arrived in Stowe last February it’s snowed regularly during ski season, we joke that I’ve been the lucky charm around here,” said Reeves. “Stowe is 100% open with the addition of our new halfpipe and terrain park by Christmas.”
Often times, resorts indicate that snow falling in the cities increases sales on the mountain. As the residents of metropolitan areas see the snow first hand, the resorts ticket sales increase, despite snow being on the mountains several weeks beforehand.
“This is shaping up to be the winter we’ve all been hoping for,” Okemo Mountain Resort Director of Public Relations Bonnie MacPherson said. “The only thing better than getting all this snow on the mountain is having it pile up in the backyards of our loyal skiers and riders down-country.”
Ski Vermont’s 30 Nordic areas are reaping the benefits of the snow as well, with full coverage of 885 miles of trails.
“Vermont is experiencing a fantastic start to the winter season, and all of this early season snow is wonderful news for ski areas and local businesses. There’s also been snow in places like Boston and Hartford, all of which prompts people to think about traveling to Vermont for winter recreation,” said Erica Houskeeper, Director of Communications for the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing.
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