“Providing 90,000 beginner lessons is an accomplishment, all things considered this year,” said Mary Jo Tarallo, director of the initiative. “Almost 70 percent of the 39 resorts that returned the post-event survey said that weather affected their turnout, especially at the beginning of the month.” Resorts in the East cited extremely cold temperatures, and warm temperatures affected conditions in the West. Last year, only 25 percent cited weather as a deterrent, and resorts taught more than 118,000 beginner lessons. Torallo estimates nearly 200 resorts participate in the program.

The average spend for beginners per day at a ski area is $130, according to the National Ski Areas Association’s Demographic Study conducted by RRC Associates.

Fifteen people won product prizes for entering the Bring a Friend Challenge, a related promotion that rewarded those who help newcomers sign up for beginner lessons from professional instructors.

Several signs point to continuing interest in the program. The LSSM Facebook page saw a boost in interaction this year. Resorts and consumers posted more than 100 photos of a first-day learning experience for the #firstdayfaces social media campaign. The Facebook LIVE event on Friday, January 5, 2018 engaged ski areas primarily from the east coast and Midwest and helped launch the official Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month.

Traffic on the learntoskiandsnowboard.org web site benefitted from its affiliation with the FIS Snowkidz web site. Snowkidz listed all January Learn to Ski and Snowboard special offers during the month, including links to each resort listed.

The Winter Olympics also boosted interest in skiing and snowboarding. During the Olympics period—from Feb. 8 to Feb. 25—visits to the learntoskiandsnowboard.org website were up 37 percent over the same period last year. In addition, the number of new users was up 37 percent. LSSM partnered with NBC-TV's Sports Engine website during the Games to help Olympics viewers find locations for learning the sports.

Organizers of Learn to Ski and Snowboard/Bring a Friend are confident that next year, the program will surpass one million beginner lessons over its existence. Organizers will define the 2018-19 goals and objectives at the National Ski Areas Association conference at Marco Island, FL May 3-6, 2018.