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Copyright © 2003 Express Publishing Inc.
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Wednesday — February 11, 2004

News

Skier numbers
up slightly

Crux of season now under way


"I would say we’re seeing an average or slightly
above-average year."

MICHAEL BERRY, National Ski Areas Association president


By GREGORY FOLEY
Express Staff Writer

Having just made a turn into the crux of the 2003-2004 ski season, Sun Valley Resort’s skier numbers are up slightly over last year.

Sun Valley Resort recorded 177,929 "skier days" through the end of January, up from 169,743 skier days recorded at the same point last season. Express photo by Willy Cook

Jack Sibbach, Sun Valley director of sales and marketing, said Monday the resort has recorded 177,929 "skier days" through the end of January, up from 169,743 skier days recorded at the same point last season.

"I would say, overall, we’re doing fair," Sibbach said. "Last year was not a terrific year in terms of skier-day numbers."

Skier day counts at the close of January during the 2001-2002 season and 2000-2001 season were approximately 176,000 and 181,000, respectively.

A skier day is defined as one person visiting a ski area for all or part of a day, including use of paid and complimentary tickets.

The final count of skier days for the 146-day 2002-2003 ski season was 367,631—about 9.5 percent fewer skiers than the previous year’s 405,700 skiers in a 143-day season.

Despite the feeling among resort officials that this season’s totals are mediocre so far, Sibbach said the overall outlook is optimistic.

"We’re not breaking any records by any means, but we’re not losing any market share either," he said. "If the snow continues to come, I think we’ll do fine."

Sibbach noted that bookings for lodging in Sun Valley "look good" through the month of February.

Advance bookings for March can be difficult to analyze because many destination skiers are reserving vacations shortly in advance of their anticipated travel dates.

Skier-day counts in February and March will ultimately determine the success of the ski season, Sibbach said. A "normal" February will attract 100,000 skiers to Sun Valley, with a typical March also bringing large counts of visitors, he said.

"In the last couple of years, March has been down," Sibbach said, noting that exceedingly warm weather and deteriorating ski conditions can wreak havoc on the latter part of the season.

Michael Berry, president of the Colorado-based National Ski Areas Association, said Monday that Sun Valley’s mid-season status is generally similar to that of other ski resorts in the West.

"The destination business seems to be returning to pre-2001 levels," he said. "I would say we’re seeing an average or slightly above-average year."

Berry said ski resorts in Utah, Wyoming "and to some extent Idaho" have benefited from an abundance of early-season snowfall.

However, he noted, it is too early to determine if the national ski industry will match or exceed its record count last season of 57.6 million skiers and snowboarders.


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City of Ketchum

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The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.





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