If it feels like ski resorts are more crowded than they’ve ever been, that’s because they are — with one exception.
The 2024-25 ski and snowboard season was the second busiest on record nationwide, according to preliminary data released Monday by the National Ski Areas Association. The organization, which represents more than 300 of the 492 alpine resorts in the United States, has been tracking skier visits for 47 seasons.
The only busier season? That was 2022-23, when Utah and several other regions experienced record snowfall.
In total, NSAA said skiers and snowboarders made 61.5 million visits to U.S. ski areas this season. That’s a 1.7% increase over 2023-24. The season before that, 2022-23, they made a record 65.4 million visits.
Three of the five busiest ski seasons on record have occurred since the 2019-20 COVID-shortened season despite fluctuations in snow totals. Average snowfall nationally this season was 150 inches, which is 25 inches less than the 10-year average.
“The 2024-25 season may come to represent a new baseline for the industry,” Michael Reitzell, the NSAA president and CEO, said in a statement. “Even if ‘normal’ continues to evolve, this season gives us a strong point of reference for what steady, healthy growth looks like.”
Each time someone uses a lift ticket or pass at a ski area, it counts as a skier visit. The total number of visitors is likely considerably lower considering many people go skiing or snowboarding more than once a season (For example, Ogden’s Tom Hart, who is chasing world record for the most vertical feet skied in a season, has used his pass more than 150 days).
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Last year, Tom Hart of Ogden quietly set the Guinness World Record for the most vertical feet skied in a single season with 8,513,340. This year, he's trying to raise the bar as he cranks out the runs at his home resort of Snowbasin on Wednesday, April 9, 2025.
The association also cautioned that these are early numbers. Some resorts, including two in Utah, have refused to surrender to summer. Solitude Mountain Resort and Snowbird remain open. Both have turned to weekend-only operations for the next two weeks and plan to stop spinning their lifts May 26. Once they and other resorts call it quits, NSAA said it will update its data. Ski Utah, the marketing arm of Utah’s ski industry, also does not plan to release its visitor numbers until those resorts close.
It’s clear, however, that Utah, and the rest of the Rocky Mountain region, remains popular with skiers and snowboarders.
The stacked Rocky Mountain region — which also includes Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and New Mexico — recorded its third-busiest winter in terms of skier visits with 26.4 million. That trails just 2022-23 (28.2 million) and last season (26.7 million). Still, that region saw almost more visits than the other five combined this season with 42.9% of all the visits nationally.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Skiers enjoy the terrain park on Solitudes Easy Street run on Solitudes opening day, on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024.
“Ski Utah is pleased but not surprised to see the recently released skier visit numbers from NSAA,” Nathan Rafferty, the CEO and president of Ski Utah, wrote in a text to The Salt Lake Tribune. “We expect to see a similar trend with skiing in Utah. These numbers reflect a healthy and strong industry and we’re happy to continue to see growth and excitement around snow sports.”
Reitzell said in a statement that national industry years ago set an “ambitious” goal of averaging 60 million visits each year for three years straight. This season marked the fourth in a row that U.S. ski areas surpassed that number. Much of this year’s growth, according to the NSAA, came in often overlooked regions and sectors. For example, small- and medium-sized ski areas became more popular and the Midwest experienced a rebound after a dip last season. In addition, the Pacific Northwest, which includes Washington and Oregon, experienced record skier visits.
Not all growth areas were surprising, though. The use of season passes, including multi-resort passes like the Epic or Ikon Pass, grew this winter. According to the NSAA, such season passes now account for 49% of all skier visits, while 32% bought lift tickets.
On average, a day on the slopes cost $75, though both Deer Valley Resort and Park City Mountain in Utah charged more than $300 for a lift ticket throughout most of the season. The NSAA estimated that roughly 28% of the cost of every lift ticket or pass was reinvested into ski area infrastructure and improvements.