SAM Magazine—Cambridge, Vt., Jan. 21, 2022—After a break following the busy Christmas period, ski areas are again reporting strong business over the MLK holiday weekend, partially due to favorable weather and continued pent-up demand for outdoor activity. Although resorts still faced a mixed bag of challenges due to staffing shortages, cold temps, and Covid restrictions, the overall sentiment remains positive.

WEST
“Stuck in a tranquil weather pattern,” reads a blog post from Palisades Tahoe, Calif. No new snow and clear skies meant plenty of sun, accompanied in some cases by strong winds. California resorts relied on the unprecedented December snowfall they received to keep powder-hungry holiday visitors satisfied.

China Peak, Calif., CEO Tim Cohee said the lull in active weather patterns wasn’t a problem. “MLK was good due to fantastic conditions, cold nights, 40s [during the] day, ideal grooming and we flattened every run we have, wall to wall.”

Cohee added that Covid-induced staffing shortages brought out the best in many of his line-level employees, after managers from several departments falling ill around the same time. He noted the perseverance of those employees as essential in keeping operations running without managers on-site.

In the Northwest, Timberline Lodge, Ore., dropped ropes, debuted cat-skiing operations for the first time this season, and reported a successful opening of its popular on-hill Phlox Point Cabin. According to Timberline’s director of marketing and PR John Burton, “The demand for winter recreation is thriving. While there have been some difficult traffic conditions, some staffing challenges, and a little bit of a late start, the on-hill product has been fantastic.” Timberline’s Summit Pass area was closed for two full days earlier in the week due to staffing shortages. Burton said despite these challenges, MLK visitation was up 15 percent year-over-year at Timberline.

EAST
In the East, ski areas rejoiced as widespread snow brought conditions back to seasonal norms across the entire region, dropping well over a foot on many Eastern resorts at the tail end of the holiday weekend. While extreme cold and strong winds put a damper on many areas’ operations on Saturday, the timing of the winter storm worked out well for weekend visitation.

At Sunday River, Maine, visitation and revenue for MLK Weekend were up over last year, according to director of communications Karolyn Castaldo. Kids and adult group and private lessons were sold out two weeks prior to MLK, too. Saturday’s severely cold and windy weather significantly impacted visits that day, “but it was balanced out by receiving 11" of fresh snow on Monday, which also wasn’t a blackout day for tickets or pass products,” she said.

Like China Peak, team members have stepped up amid staffing challenges. “Much like many other businesses, we are experiencing a staffing shortage,” said Castaldo. “However, our entire team has stepped up to the plate to position share in areas of high need across the resort, such as guest service, lift operations, food & beverage, and housekeeping. It's been a tremendous team effort during the Christmas and MLK holiday periods, and it shows in the satisfaction from our guests.”

Jiminy Peak, Mass., director of marketing Katie Fogel said the weekend’s nicest weather was sandwiched by challenging days, driving peak visitation to Sunday. “Weather certainly impacted the weekend as both Saturday (cold temperatures) and Monday (snowstorm) were impacted by weather,” said Fogel. “Sunday was the best weather day of the weekend and was the busiest day of the weekend. That is often the case, but that was emphasized this year due to the weather.”

According to Fogel, Sunday was one of the busiest days on record for Jiminy Peak. She also noted a double-digit increase in revenue and skier visits over last year.

Adam White, a spokesman for Vail Resorts in the Northeast, said traffic was busy this holiday weekend at Vail’s Eastern resorts, but not everyone was out on the slopes. “Guests were certainly at the resorts this MLK weekend, but with the extreme temps we saw on Saturday, they were not all skiing and riding,” said White. “Instead, many were taking advantage of amenities offered either in the resort or the surrounding community, bringing much-needed business to local establishments.”

MIDWEST
Weather patterns more normal for winter allowed resorts like Lutsen Mountains, Minn., to open all four mountains just in time for the MLK weekend. The cold only lasted one day, allowing for busy holiday traffic to resume as normal. Staffing shortages did cause some headaches, however, leading to the company asking guests to modify their normal routines by bringing a lunch or snack and using vehicles as a base lodge. While masks are not mandatory at the resort, they asked guests to consider masking up in shared indoor spaces to keep others healthy. The Midwest resort has seen 81 inches of snowfall to date.

Kari Roder, marketing director at Boyne Mountain, Mich., said the resort was able to open 100 percent of its terrain over the weekend for the first time this season, a welcome boost after a slow start to the season due to unseasonably warm December temperatures. Expansion came just in time, too, as the holiday brought good crowds to ski Boyne Mountain’s 60 trails served by all 12 lifts. Roder attributed the terrain additions to Boyne’s Low-E fan guns and ideal snowmaking conditions.