Skier visits are up 6.2 percent for the season and 3.8 percent for January and February for 21 ski resorts across the state, according to Colorado Ski Country USA.
The numbers are looking even better for Purgatory Resort, which reported skier visits up 13 percent for January and February compared to the same time period as last year.
“We are seeing strong visitation for this week’s spring break period and expect that to continue into next week as well,” Kim Oyler said in an email to The Durango Herald.
“Purgatory has great spring skiing conditions and the snow is holding up really well. We have more snow this season to date than all of last ski season.”
In addition to good snow conditions, the resort is celebrating its 50th anniversary, installed a new high-speed quad at the beginning of the season and changed its name back to Purgatory, Oyler said.
With snow in the forecast for some Colorado mountains, ski areas are hoping to attract spring break crowds and keep the momentum going for the final two months of the season.
“While we would’ve liked to have seen more significant storms come through Colorado in January and February, the weather pattern was not unexpected given that this is an El Niño year,” said Melanie Mills, president and CEO of Colorado Ski Country USA.
“Resorts received enough snow to hold up their fantastic early season conditions, and guests have been enjoying the sunny days and mild temperatures just the same.”
Skier visits are the metric used to track participation in skiing and snowboarding. A skier visit represents a person participating in the sport of skiing or snowboarding for any part of one day at a mountain resort.
shane@durangoherald.com