Le Massif Goes to Mountain Collective; Quebec Ski Areas Have Banner Year and Australia is Open

Now that the U.S. ski industry season is in the history books, this might be a good time to check in on what is going on other parts of the ski world. Here is a sampling:

For starters, a number of Australian ski areas have opened ahead of schedule with the earliest opening in 22 years. According to Ski Area Management (SAM) magazine, “The winter season has begun in the Southern Hemisphere. Historically early and abundant snowfall this year in Australia has allowed several ski areas to drop ropes ahead of the traditional June 11-13 opening weekend”. 

The Quebec Ski Areas Association recently announced that 6.3 million visits were recorded at Quebec ski areas during the 2021-22 winter season, an increase of 3 percent compared to 2020-21 making it the second busiest in the last 10 years for Quebec ski areas. The eastern Quebec regions experienced the most notable increase in skier visits, up 22 percent year-over-year, which the association noted was “a result associated with the heavy snowfall from last year, and all the new features offered at resorts in this area,” 

At its convention in May, the National Ski Areas Association in the U.S. announced that United States welcomed a record 61 million skier visits during the 2021-22. Skier visits for the season at the 22 Colorado Ski Country USA (CSCUSA) member resorts were up 14 percent year-over-year, and CSCUSA is projecting a new statewide skier visit record—including non-CSCUSA member resorts—that will edge out the previous record of 13.8 million visits in 2018-19. 

According to SAM and The Storm Snow Journal, the Mountain Collective continued its expansion into Canada by adding Le Massif de Charlevoix, one of the largest ski areas in Eastern Canada, to its portfolio. It is the coalition’s sixth in Canada and 23rd worldwide, but only its second in the eastern half of North America. Mountain Collective passholders will receive two days at each resort, and are eligible for a third, bonus day at Le Massif if they enter the promo code “MASSIF” at checkout.