This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2005, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
If it snows, they will come.
And they came in record numbers to Utah ski resorts this past winter, a season marked by snow that fell early and often. Cumulatively, the resorts sold almost 3.9 million lift tickets in the recently completed season (although Snowbird is still open through Memorial Day), a 12 percent jump over the previous year's then-record total of 3.4 million.
"That's a remarkable increase for one year," said Kip Pitou, president of Ski Utah, the marketing arm for the state's 13 active resorts, noting that lift ticket sales over the past two winters are up 17 percent. "Colorado would love to be able to say that, but it can't."
Colorado will not release its final season figures until June. In mid-March, however, Colorado Ski Country USA (Ski Utah's counterpart) said lift ticket sales were 2.3 percent above the pace set in 2003-04, when 11.2 million day passes were sold.
Pitou and other ski industry representatives attributed Utah's stellar season to a variety of factors.
An improved economy bolstered the number of destination skiers looking for places to make turns. Fears of terrorism subsided. Ski Utah, visitors bureaus and individual resorts increased their advertising campaigns in national publications.
But most of all, Utah received incomparable publicity from heavy snows that allowed many resorts to open in early November. And unlike a couple of recent winters, when good starts were hurt by mid-season slumps, storms swept through the Wasatch Mountains with regularity.
"We started with our earliest opening ever (Nov. 5), had the most terrain open ever on opening day and then had the biggest base we've ever had," said Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort spokeswoman Laura Schaffer. "The snow kept coming. The people kept coming, and it just took off."
Despite attracting almost half a million more skiers and snowboarders this year than last, Alta General Manager Onno Wieringa was struck by the lack of lift lines at his and other resorts.
"Utah resorts have so much capacity. Everybody got geared up because of the [2002 Winter] Olympics and built roads, parking and infrastructure so they could look good. We overbuilt," he said.
So even though nearly 4 million people bought lift tickets, including many more out-of-staters than a decade ago, locals who live for uncrowded powder days had it good, Wieringa added.
Solitude spokesman Jay Burke agreed with Pitou's prediction that Utah lift ticket sales soon will exceed 4 million and someday could approach 5 million.
Citing high occupancy rates at the Big Cottonwood Canyon resort's new base village, Burke attributed his optimism to residual interest in Utah because of the Olympics, more flights into Salt Lake City from big cities around the country, and prospects of additional out-of-state advertising thanks to the Legislature's $18 million appropriation for overall tourism promotions.
Park City area resorts thrived this winter, too. Lift ticket sales at The Canyons, Deer Valley and Park City Mountain Resort jumped from 1.4 million in 2003-04 to 1.6 million this winter, also a 12 percent increase.
"We're up three years in a row," said Park City Chamber & Visitor Bureau spokesman Mark Bennett. "In the ski industry, it doesn't get any better than that."
Park City Mountain Resort never had a slow spell this winter - not even during the Sundance Film Festival, when ticket sales traditionally drop off, said spokeswoman Krista Parry.
"No doubt snow is what drives people here," she added, especially when resorts in Oregon, Washington and Montana had poor snow years.
Over at The Canyons, spokeswoman Katie Eldridge said her resort's ads, which emphasized its proximity to the Salt Lake Valley, succeeded in attracting more local skiers.
Of all Utah resorts, Sundance had the largest percentage increase in lift ticket sales (19 percent). Said spokeswoman Lucy Ridolphi: "We focused on the locals market and really targeted Utah Valley."
The year was not as stellar at Brian Head Resort outside of Parowan, largely because persistently high winds made a mess of mountain operations during the busy Christmas break. Still, outgoing spokesman Craig McCarthy said "it wasn't a record year, but it turned out to be a good season."