SAM Magazine—Lakewood, Colo., May 22, 2024—The U.S. ski industry overcame significant weather challenges in 2023-24 to post the fifth best season on record, according to preliminary data from the National Ski Area Association (NSAA).

Skier visits totaled 60.4 million. The performance follows the two strongest seasons since NSAA began keeping track of skier visits in 1978-79.

“Some ski area operators described the season as a roller coaster, and I applaud those same operators for being flexible, reopening to take advantage of a late season storm or making snow in late March to squeeze in one more week,” said Kelly Pawlak, NSAA president and CEO. “Skiers are a hardy bunch and responded enthusiastically. The strong skier visits speak volumes to their passion for sliding on snow.”

Ski visits were not distributed evenly, however. Small ski areas, which account for 59 percent of all U.S. operators, tallied just 13 percent of visits in 2023-24. On the other hand, the largest ski areas drew 57 percent of all ski visits.

Likewise, while the Rocky Mountain region led the country with 26.7 million ski visits (a little shy of last year’s best-ever 27.9 million), the 4.8 million ski visits reported by Midwest ski areas represented a 26.7 percent decline from the 2022-23 ski season—a performance strongly related to an unusually warm and snow-deficient winter in the region. 

A total of 12.4 million ski visits were reported by Northeast resorts, while Pacific resorts had 8 million visits and Southeast visitors topped 4.2 million. All these totals declined relative to the previous ski season, although Southeast resorts came closest to their 2022-23 numbers.

The ski visit totals for the season are not complete, as some ski areas are still open—in some cases, because they’ve extended operations to take advantage of late spring snowfall, especially in the western U.S. 

The strong visitation numbers came despite an unseasonable warm start to winter, which led many ski areas to delay opening for the season, NSAA noted. Nonetheless, the average length of season was 106 days, a decrease of only seven days from the previous season, “a testament to the importance of snowmaking in a below-average snow year,” said NSAA.

While visits dipped, capital investment remained high, with the average ski area reinvesting $29.20 per skier visit back into the resort, a $4+ increase over last season. Capital investment across U.S. ski areas is projected to reach nearly $500 million for 2024-25, compared to $754.3 million for 2023-24.

—Reported by Bob Curley