Interesting places and things to do
This may be one of those odd years when one of the ski industry’s growing concerns – climate change – is merging with the Olympics. China has taken a lot of heat (no pun intended) for the way the Water Games (Feb. 4-20, 2022) are being handled and especially the Alpine ski locations. If you …
What Do Climate Change and the 2022 Winter Olympics Have in Common?Read More
In early January, the Cross-Country Ski Areas Association (CCSAA) and Snow Sports Insights conducted a survey of cross-country ski areas to get a reading on how the season is going so far. We learned that season pass sales are up, day pass sales are down slightly, demand for rental equipment is up, retail sales at …
Tips on Purchasing XC Ski Equipment as the Sport SurgesRead More
Vail Resorts properties seemingly have become the resorts everyone loves to hate. Why? It’s true that the network has gotten a lot of not-so-flattering press lately for its long lift lines and ability to open terrain. Much of that changed recently with the storm that brought a significant snowstorm to New England and the lower …
Mother Nature is being fickle this year with her allocation of snow. Western resorts are doing well for the most part. New England and the Mid-Atlantic continue to bounce back from a disappointing holiday period when unseasonably warm temperatures in some areas made it impossible to make snow, much less have it fall from the …
It’s “The Perfect Storm”. Spring-like temperatures in the Mid-Atlantic have prevented resorts from making snow even at night putting the kabash on holiday revenue, New England is on-again, off-again, Lake Tahoe and other west coast areas have unprecedented amounts of snow, Covid is rearing its ugly head and just about everyone is experiencing labor shortages. …
Perfect Storm: Warm Temps, Blizzard, Covid, Staffing Shortages – Happy New Year!Read More
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”. That opening line from Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities might just sum up the start of the 2021-22 ski/snowboard season. Warmer than normal temperatures during December in much of the country have impacted snow making opportunities in the East and New England …
The Start of the 2021-22 Ski Season Resembles a Dickens NovelRead More
December started out looking quite bleak for ski resorts. On December 7, the The Snow Industry Letter trade newsletter was citing the lack of snow in various parts of the country. Headlines screamed! Mt Bachelor had to postpone its opening day. Stowe Mountain Resort, VT, had measured 37 inches of snow this season. Killington in …
From Drought to a Snow Dump in Just a Couple of Weeks – But Where!?Read More
This article was originally written by Roger Lohr, co-founder and editor-in-chief of XCSkiResorts.com. It has been edited to better fit this format and type of content. Cross country (XC) skiing benefitted from a surge of interest during the pandemic last winter as people flocked to outdoor recreation. XC skiing gets you into winter outdoors and …
XC Skiing Offers Affordable Winter Outdoor Recreation Without Long Lift LinesRead More
Isn’t it interesting that Hawaii just got hit with a blizzard while Utah and Colorado are still courting the snow Gods who are starting to hear their pleas. The forecast is finally starting to change for many snow-starved resorts and ski/snowboard areas but the white stuff has been hard to come by. Actually, snow is …
A Blizzard in Hawaii? Can the Rest of Snow Country be Far Behind?Read More
Since 1978, I have been involved in various capacities with the snow sports industry. My observation is that the industry always has struggled to create a more “inclusive” community in the U.S. aside from whites. Maybe the “whiteness” has to do with skiing’s origins in countries like Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy and even Germany (Bavaria). …
Will the Snow Sports Industry Ever Really Be “Inclusive”?Read More
The 2020-21 U.S. ski/snowboard season turned out to be the fifth best with 59 million skier visits according to the industry trade group National Ski Areas Association (NSAA). It was a strong recovery from the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season. Much of the credit goes to robust sales of value-added season passes like Ikon, Epic and Indy …
Will $200-Plus Day Tickets Scare Away Potential Skiers and Snowboarders?Read More
What do ski/snowboard clubs do when hitting the slopes is unlikely? Well, they travel to “parts unknown”. Recently, I joined a group of Baltimore Ski Club (BSC) members on a week-long trip to Croatia. The club has been running non-ski trips for years in an effort to appeal to a more diverse audience who may …
Baltimore Ski Club Organizes Non-Ski Trips to Broaden its Scope: Croatia (Oct/2021)Read More
