Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Long weekend lures skiers to slopes

Presidents? Day skier count up over last year

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By JON DUVAL
Express Staff Writer

A busy Presidents? Day weekend saw Baldy?s chair lifts nearly running full, as exemplified by the ?chair to nowhere? on Saturday. This year?s holiday weekend saw more than 2,300 more skiers on Bald and Dollar mountains compared to the same period one year previous. Photo by Willy Cook

While Sun Valley Co. marketing director Jack Sibbach said previously that inclement weather can dramatically reduce the number of skiers on Bald and Dollar mountains, it seems as if the opposite also holds true.

Sunny skies and warm weather, combined with the past month's snowfall, resulted in 17,127 skiers from Saturday through Monday, 2,351 more than Presidents' Day weekend last year.

"The skier count for this weekend was the best I've seen in five or six years," Sibbach said. "We're also fairly busy this upcoming weekend and looking good through March."

Sibbach said that on Saturday nearly all of the resort's lodging was full, with only around 10 condominium units vacant.

Sun Valley-Ketchum Chamber & Visitors Bureau Executive Director Carol Waller said that a quick survey taken after the weekend showed that business for hotels in the northern Wood River Valley was as good as or better than during the same period last year, with most close to sold out.

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However, Waller said the response from retailers was split, with about half saying business was better than last year, and half saying it was a little worse.

"A lot of people tell me that when the weather is so nice they see more people up on the mountain, rather than in their shops," Waller said. "Still, it's an important holiday for us."

Waller said the next big event will be the return of the Ski Tour, now called 48 Straight, which will come to Sun Valley on March 14-16.

Restaurants and bars around Ketchum also benefited from the long weekend.

"It went really well, around 5 or 10 percent busier than last year," said Damon Ferrari, owner of the Cellar Pub and Cavallino Lounge. "The rest of the winter has been pretty mellow so far, perhaps because other resorts have been getting good snow as well."

Ferrari said the lounge was full from opening to closing and that on Saturday the Cellar Pub served more food than any other day, except for last St. Patrick's Day.