After Hot Start of Snow Season, Colorado Resorts Seek Help


“I always think it’s incredible that a billion-dollar industry is dependent on something you have zero control over,” Ms Duke said.

Skiers said they carefully monitor the weather and snow forecasts.

Phillip Luxner, 44, of Denver, said he waited “til the last minute” to purchase an Epic ski pass, which gives access to multiple resorts throughout the season. He said he got his passports on Sunday while sitting on his porch in 60-degree weather wearing shorts and sandals.

“It feels strange to buy a ski pass with flip-flops,” said Mr Luxner, noting that he is not planning to hit the slopes anytime soon. He said he would expect a number of major snowstorms to come and the resorts to open up more land.

“I have no desire to ski there on a green run with a thousand people,” he said.

Collin Race Fenimore, 27, said Friday that his first ski trip of the season at Copper Mountain Resort in Summit County was uncomfortably hot. Noting that the slopes started as ice in the morning and then turned into snow, he added that only a few chairlifts and ski slopes were open.

“It was probably a high of 50 degrees, but it really felt like 75 degrees when you were in your ski gear,” said Mr Fenimore. “The early season is never a great snow, but I’ve never been a part of something this bad. So I’m definitely hoping for a slump and some more snow.”

The resorts are hoping to recoup the huge losses they inflicted during the high season in March 2020 when pandemic restrictions shut down all Colorado ski areas. Melanie Mills, president and CEO of Colorado Ski Country USA, said the closures reduced ski visits by nearly four million.

Alan Whyroth, chief operating officer of Arapahoe Basin in the Rocky Mountains, said this season has been devastating.



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