SAM Magazine-Denver, Jan. 16, 2007-Colorado Ski Country USA (CSCUSA) member resorts posted record-setting skier visitation for the season through Dec. 31, 2006. Collectively, the 26 resorts hosted 3,285,649 skiers and snowboarders, an increase of 6.74 percent, or 207,533 visits, over last season's record.

"To see such a positive increase over what was a great early season for us last year demonstrates the tremendous momentum Colorado has in its favor. We achieved some great results under some fairly challenging weather circumstances during the critical holiday season," said Rob Perlman, CSCUSA president and CEO. "It speaks volumes to the power of the Colorado brand worldwide."

The state's destination resorts (the Aspen areas, Steamboat, Crested Butte and Telluride chief among them) saw the greatest gains, up 11.9 percent over prior year, followed by the smaller "gems" resorts, up 10.7 percent. This year marks the third consecutive early-season record for the gems, which, like the destination resorts, are more than 100,000 visits ahead of their five-year skier visit average.

Front Range destination resorts (Vail Resorts and Intrawest resorts) gained more than 66,000 visits (3.7 percent) over the 2005-06 period, which had set the old record for early-season visits. Front Range destination resorts are more than 240,000 visits ahead of their five-year early-season average. \