It was a standout year for skiing across the western U.S. According to the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA), resorts nationwide recorded the second-highest number of ski visits on record. In the Rocky Mountain region, it was the third busiest season since visitor tracking began in 1978.
So far, skiers and snowboarders have hit the slopes 61.5 million times this year, just shy of the record hit during the 2022-2023 season. NSAA president Mike Reitzell said that year was marked by historic snowfall and people eager to get outside after COVID restrictions.
“But we feel like things have normalized a little bit at this point,” he said. “That makes us feel really good about where we are as an industry.”
The Rocky Mountain region, which includes Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, accounted for about 43% of all U.S. ski visits. Reitzell noted that destination travel plays a big role.
“You can go to a lot of resorts in the Rocky Mountains and not know which day it is,” he said. “You don't know whether it's Saturday, whether it's a Wednesday, because of the crowd.”
As expected, skiers tend to head to resorts when—and where—the snow falls. This year, snowfall was slightly below the 10-year average. This tells Reitzell that the high visitation numbers could stick, at least for years with close to average snow conditions.
However, the picture within the Rocky Mountain region wasn’t uniform. New Mexico and southern Colorado saw lower snowfall and lagged behind other areas in visitation.
Across the country, almost half of resort visits came from season pass holders, a trend nearly a decade in the making as multi-resort passes grow in popularity.
However, for the first time in years, season pass visits dipped slightly. Instead, there was an uptick in multi-day passes and other flexible booking options.
Despite those changes, Reitzell said skier behavior has remained relatively steady in terms of how often individual skiers visit resorts.
“I think we just have more people that have become part of the sport,” he said.
The reported visitation numbers are still preliminary, as some resorts continue to spin their lifts until the snow melts.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
