Page 30 - NSAA_Fall2015Journal
P. 30

ON AN OVERALL NATIONAL BASIS, THE                      of the operating winter season declined in all regions except
           TICKET MIX HELD RELATIVELY STEADY ON A                     the Northeast (which edged up 0.3 percent).
           PROPORTIONATE BASIS, WITH SLIGHT YEAR-
                                                                      LESSONS
                 OVER-YEAR DIPS IN PAID TICKETS.                      The importance of lessons, particularly beginner lessons,
                                                                      to the long-term health of the industry has been clearly
    The 2014-15 season also stands out for exceptionally              documented and received particular attention and focus
low snowfall in longer-term perspective. In the 24 seasons of         in recent years. The NSAA Conversion Cup competition
available Kottke snowfall records (back to 1991-92), the              highlights successful and innovative learn-to programs, and
2014-15 season had the lowest average snowfall for                    Learn to Ski/Snowboard Month has been gaining traction
responding resorts in the Pacific Southwest, Pacific                  with more and more ski areas participating. These efforts are
Northwest, and Rocky Mountains, and the second-lowest                 showing success, as documented in the Kottke results.
snowfall on record for the country as a whole.
                                                                          Aggregate lessons given declined by 3.3 percent
    Snowfall in the 2014-15 season was 25 percent                     nationally this season, similar to the decline in visits at
below average nationally, 68 percent below average in                 the same sample of resorts, with decreases in lessons in
the Pacific Southwest, 46 percent below average in the                all regions except the Northeast. The share of visits that
Pacific Northwest, 25 percent below average in the Rocky              included a lesson (i.e., lesson participation rate) held steady
Mountains, and 13 percent below average in the Midwest.               at 7.8 percent this season.
By contrast, snowfall was 12 percent above average in the
Northeast and 8 percent above average in the Southeast.                   Lesson volumes were variable by geographic region, with
                                                                      absolute lesson volumes down in almost all of the geographic
    The snowfall patterns, among other factors, impacted the          regions, with the greatest decreases in the Midwest (-21.6
number of days of operation. On an overall national basis, US         percent) and Pacific Northwest (-18.1 percent), followed
ski areas were open an average of 19 days this season, down           by the Southeast (-4.7 percent) and Pacific Southwest (-3.0
from 125 days in 2013-14, a drop of 4.8 percent. The length           percent). Average total lessons were down just slightly in the
                                                                      Rocky Mountains (-0.3 percent) and Northeast (-0.4 percent).

     FIGURE 2 AVERAGE ANNUAL SNOWFALL BY REGION, 2011/12 TO 2014/15; 24-SEASON AVERAGE

600 Overall                    Northeast         Southeast            Midwest              Rocky Mountain Paci c Southwest Paci c Northwest
     SNOWFALL (INCHES)
                                                                                                                                                      333

                                                                                                                                                           530
                                                                                                                                                               451
                                                                                                                                                                   377
     24-Season Average (91/92 - 14/15) 2011 | 2012                    2012 | 2013          2013 | 2014           2014 | 2015

500

400

300                                                                                        268                   277
                                                                                               210                   217
                                                                                                   214                   228                                            204

     180                                                                                               277
         149                                                                                                204

200          172
                 187
                           136                                        75                                                      157
                      141          149                                    53                                                      89
                                       150
                                            157                               90
                                                                                  117
 100                           92                65
                                                     28                                74
    0
                                                         66
28 | NSAA JOURNAL | FALL 2015                                83

                                                                  66
   25   26   27   28   29   30   31   32   33   34   35