SOLITUDE — Utah's ski industry is healthy and getting healthier with each year.
That was the message delivered last week by Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and Nathan Rafferty, president of Ski Utah, during a media gathering at Solitude Mountain Resort.
Final skier counts won't be available until all the resorts have closed, which will be in late June.
But, said Rafferty, "We expect to be close and could very easily exceed last year's record."
During the 2004-05 season, Utah entertained 3.8 million skier days, which was a 12 percent jump over the previous season. It is very possible, said Rafferty, "We could hit 4 million this season."
Huntsman pointed out that the Utah ski industry accounted for about 20 percent of the state's $5.5 billion tourism industry.
"That's accounts for about $900 million to the state's economy. Now, we're up knocking on 4 million skier days. A few years ago if someone had said we'd be up to 4 million skier days we'd have thought he was hallucinating," he said.
"This is something we need to parade and present more aggressively to the travel and tourism world, and we're prepared as a state to do it."
He said he sees this as an economic engine of growth that will support and sustain needs within Utah for a "very long time. You need to take out and use what it is you got that is a competitive advantage from an economic development standpoint, and I can't think of a greater advantage than the great mountains we use to ski on in the winter and hike and mountain bike in the summer."
Rafferty then gave a "snapshot overview" of the 2005-06 season:
For the second season in a row, Utah's big four resorts — Alta, Snowbird, Solitude and Brighton — received more than 600 inches of snow. The seasonal average is around 500 inches.
The National Weather Service reported that as of this past weekend, Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons had precipitation totals that are 171 percent of normal. The Park City resorts — The Canyons, Deer Valley and Park City Mountain Resort — are 140 percent of normal.
Other resorts in the West, including Colorado, Wyoming and California are also reporting record snowfall and indication of record skier numbers.
SKI Magazine readers rated Deer Valley the No. 1 resort in the country, SKIING Magazine readers rated Alta/Snowbird No. 1 with their combined pass and Transworld Snowboard Magazine rated Park City Mountain Resort's terrain park No. 1 in the country.
With more direct flights, the Salt Lake City International Airport served more than 22.2 million passengers in 2005, which was a record high.
Lodging numbers in Park City are near record highs; the main core of Salt Lake City hotels are up 7 percent this winter season and automobile rentals, an indication of destination visits, are up between 10 and 15 percent over last season.
Park City's transportation system recorded its one-millionth customer for the 2005-06 season on March 23. Last year it didn't hit that mark until April 12 and in 2003-04 it didn't hit one million until June 2.
Rafferty also broke out numbers comparing Utah skier-to-terrain ratios as compared to Colorado numbers.
"Doing the match, comparing elbow room, I found that Utah has 26,000 skiable acres at its 13 resorts. Colorado has twice as many resorts, has only 37,000 skiable acres and expects to be close to 12 million skier days," he explained.
"This works out to 153 skiers per acre of skiing here in Utah, where Colorado numbers work out to 323 skiers per acre. As you can see, it not only means Utah slopes are uncrowded, but it also means we have lots of room to grow.
"We now have the momentum after two great seasons and I think we can look forward to more great seasons in the future."
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