Skiers blanket valley
Holiday posts promising numbers
By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer
Though snowfall has subsided in recent
weeks, Sun Valley Co.’s early-season skier numbers are accumulating
better than they did during the previous two years.
As of Dec. 31, the season skier count was
at 95,623, a 30 percent increase over 1999’s Dec. 31 count of 66,640.
This year’s count is also an 11 percent increase over 1998’s Dec. 31
count of 84,981.
The holiday week posted increased numbers,
too.
From Dec. 25 through Dec. 31, 37,548 skier
visits were logged on Bald and Dollar mountains. Last year the number for
the same dates was 29,066, and in 1998, 36,801 holiday skiers took to the
local mountains.
"We had much better skiing conditions
earlier this year than we did last year," Sun Valley spokesman Jack
Sibbach said. "I think that’s important."
Bookings for the coming months are up over
the past two years, too, Sibbach said.
"We’ve had a lot of comments from
our guests that they’ve had a great experience," he said.
"Everybody I’ve talked to said they had a great time."
Several area businesses also reported that
the holiday period was strong.
"For a period of five or six days, we
probably had the busiest holiday period we’ve seen," Rob Santa,
owner of Sturtevants Ski and Sports, said.
He characterized early- and mid- Dec.,
however, as "weird."
"Up until the twentieth, it was pretty
bleak."
Pioneer Saloon manager John Craig said it
was a good week, though not record-setting.
"It was a good, busy week, probably
not quite as busy as last year, but pretty close," he said.
Though December’s local option tax
collections aren’t in at the cities of Sun Valley or Ketchum, November’s
figures, including the Thanksgiving holiday, show a slight increase over
last year.
Ketchum’s receipts for the month were up
7 percent, from $98,664 to $105,489. Sun Valley’s were up from $21,415
last November to $27,116 this year.
To keep the momentum going, Sibbach said,
some added snow will help.
"Obviously, we need help from Mother
Nature to keep those numbers up," he said.
