Vermont ski resorts see upswing despite lingering pandemic
Vermont's ski areas welcomed an additional 230,000 skiers this year, an increase of 6.5% over last year, according to Ski Vermont, an industry organization.
The total of 3.76 million skier visits − the metric resorts use to gauge their business − was 6% below Vermont's 10-year average, reflecting the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, but Vermont resorts outpaced the 4% growth of the rest of the Northeast's ski resorts. A skier visit is defined as one person skiing or snowboarding for one day.
Ski Vermont said in a news release Vermont's growth suggests the state was successful in "recapturing" some of the skiers and riders who were unable to visit last year because of COVID-related travel restrictions and the closure of the Canadian border.
"While the Canadian border was open for most of this past season, Covid testing requirements continued to complicate travel to the US and Vermont for Canadian skiers, resulting in fewer visits from north of the border," Ski Vermont said in a news release.
Another challenge for Vermont ski areas was unfavorable early season weather for snowmaking, limiting the amount of terrain they could open for the Christmas-New Year's holidays and into January. The weather was unreliable throughout the season, leading to a low snowpack heading into March. March was also short of snow, and it's usually one of Vermont's snowiest months, according to Ski Vermont.
"Despite below-average snowfall, several areas were able to extend their seasons, thanks to powerful and efficient snowmaking systems," Ski Vermont said.
Both Jay Peak and Sugarbush welcomed skiers into May. Killington came out on top again with the longest season in the east, opening its lifts on Nov. 5 and not closing them until June 5 for seven months of skiing.
Vermont's 29 cross-country ski areas reported 350,000 skier visits this year, an increase of 5.2% over pre-pandemic numbers, continuing a trend of increase business this decade, according to Ski Vermont.
Contact Dan D’Ambrosio at 802-660-1841 or ddambrosio@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanDambrosioVT. This coverage is only possible with support from our readers.
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont ski areas see rebound in 20221=2022 season
