While some people only dream of a white Christmas, ski resorts in NH make it happen. In recent years, they have invested more than $75 million to blanket the state's mountains in white gold.
New England weather is famously fickle. The 2010-2011 winter-one of the best on record with 2.4 million alpine ski visits-was followed by a lackluster 2011-2012 winter with only 1.9 million alpine ski visits, down 13.4 percent from the 10-year average, according to Ski NH. Among the biggest challenges vexing the industry is the dreaded backyard effect. Karl Stone, marketing director for Ski NH, says when people don't see snow in their backyard, they're not excited about skiing, a mindset resort managers blame as the biggest factor in last year's dismal season.
To attract skiers, the state's 33 alpine and cross country resorts are investing heavily in more efficient and powerful snowmaking equipment, while also taking full advantage of the Internet and social media to broadcast improvements and show off photographs of snow-covered slopes.
Sizing up the Season
Though many ski resorts reported a loss of business last year, it followed a prosperous year, allowing many resorts to take it in stride. According to Ski NH, the state was down 20 percent (national figures were down 15 percent) in number of skiers during the 2011-2012 season compared to the previous year. Stone says that the last time the ski industry experienced a decline of more than 15 percent or greater in one winter, the following season saw business levels increase by 22 percent.
While Gunstock Mountain in Gilford had fewer day ticket sales last season, season passes were actually up and group sales were strong.
Granite Gorge in Keene had fewer visitors overall, but it was saved by a strong youth program. The ski mountain had 500 kids signed up before any snow fell-paid in full. That is twice the number from three years ago. Owner Fred Baybutt says the mountain draws mostly from Keene and surrounding towns, making it less susceptible to the backyard effect. You've got to have an identity. We really have a little bit of everything and we have a really good youth program. It truly is about the youth, Baybutt says of the mountain, nordic, alpine and tubing options.
The bottom line is last season was disappointing, but it followed a series of several strong years with increases in the industry, so there is no long-term impact on our ski resorts, Stone says. And when we have seen below average snowfall in the state, the next year exceeded expectations and broke records. We are looking forward to a pent-up demand from skiers and a strong 2012-13 season.
Ahead Full Throttle
No matter how resorts did last year, they all have the same answer when asked what improvements they made this year: snowmaking. I am willing to bet that with any resort this year, the lion's share of capital funding is going toward snowmaking, says John Devito, general manager at Cannon Mountain in Franconia. Cannon spent about $500,000 this year on improving snowmaking capabilities and about $90,000 of its maintenance funds on infrastructure.
At Pats Peak Ski Area in Henniker, General Manager Kris Blomback says he was not sorry to see last season end, but despite a 19 percent plunge in business, the resort is making capital improvements. Early season, with the lack of snowfall and the temperatures hovering just above what we needed to be at for peak snowmaking capacity (26 degrees or below), it was like hand-to-hand combat in the trenches, Blomback says. But we are totally optimistic about this year and we have increased our snowmaking capacity greatly. We look at it like this: Snowmaking has no set budget. If it is needed, we will be making it at full throttle.
Blomback points out that for the past few seasons, Pats Peak has been the first to open 100 percent of its trails and slopes. To remain competitive, the resort has embarked on a long-term expansion project, which is pending permit approval and includes several trails and a new lift.
Ski visits to Loon Mountain Ski Resort in Lincoln were also down slightly during the 2011-2012 season, according to Communications Manager Greg Kwasnik. The mountain doubled its snowmaking capacity between 2010 and 2012.
Cranmore Mountain Resort in North Conway offered skiing from November to March last year on a base depth of almost four feet for much of that season, despite a lack of natural snowfall. This winter, Cranmore is installing 60 new high efficiency snow guns, an investment of $250,000, as well as refining its snowmaking process to offer better snow surfaces earlier in the season. The resort plans to have 60 percent of the mountain open by Christmas-significantly more than in the past.
Our objective was, and is, to provide our guests with the best conditions possible and among the best in the Northeast, says Ben Wilcox, Cranmore's general manager and president. Additionally, we want to be able to quickly recover from inclement weather and improve surface conditions on all open terrain within one to two days.
Baybutt is also investing in snowmaking, but he is not stopping there. The mountain is lowering tubing prices and introducing cosmic tubing, complete with glow-in-the-dark tubes, on Saturday nights. Granite Gorge also added a shuttle to pick up and return skiiers and tubers from the Keene YMCA and, on Fridays, Keene State College. Baybutt says cheap ticket prices, $45 a day at most, also help.
Bretton Woods Ski Resort is adding 50 new snow guns on its popular Range View Trail, and adding a T-bar chair lift and glade skiing for different abilities at Mount Stickney. With the addition of the surface lift, skiers and riders can now spend hours doing laps in the trees without having to return to the main base area.
Tourism On and Off the Slopes
Traditionally, during the winter, NH tourism relies heavily on the ski industry. An economic impact study conducted after the 2009-2010 season showed a total of $910 million dollars spent by guests visiting NH ski areas. Of that total, only 12 percent was spent directly at ski areas, with the remaining 88 percent spent on ski visit-related expenses such as lodging, restaurants, gas, tolls and retail.
So why did tourist spending actually increase 3.4 percent and hotel occupancy go up 9.6 percent last winter, according to the NH Department of Travel and Tourism, when business at ski resorts dropped?
The answer is politics. The southern part of the state-especially the Merrimack Valley-experienced a significant increase in hotel occupancy and rooms and meals tax collected during the winter of 2011-2012 because it was a political primary year, with reporters and supporters flocking to NH, says Mark J. Okrant, director of the Institute for NH Studies at Plymouth State University.
In contrast, Okrant says, the White Mountain region had only a slight increase in tourism versus the prior winter and the Great North Woods region was down significantly, with about one-third fewer visitors from the 2010-2011 season.
The Great North Woods experienced a sizable decrease related to the weather's impact on the ski industry and tourism, while the rest of the state was about even or at an increase versus prior year, says Okrant.
Overall, economic indicators related to winter tourism were positive last year. Okrant says that employment within the hospitality industry was up 2.5 percent and the state hosted 6.3 million visitor trips during winter 2011-2012, an increase of 0.6 percent compared to winter 2010-2011. Visitor spending was up 3.4 percent to $825 million.
I think a number of people came to the mountains and ski regions and just didn't ski, Okrant says. Retail spending was up and rooms and meals tax collected indicates people were staying here.
Ski resorts hope those positive trends will extend to their mountains this winter and that their investments will pay off. This is a very competitive business and it is important to provide the best conditions and keep the resort fresh with something new to offer our guests each year, says Blomback of Pats Peak. N
Mountain Makeovers Spotlight
Cannon Mountain, Franconia
Investment: $590,000 this year
Improvements: New snow guns and fans ($500,000), infrastructure
Cranmore Mountain Resort, North Conway
Investment: $8.3 million since 2010
Improvements: 60 new high efficiency snow guns ($250,000), refined snowmaking process to offer more and better terrain early, triple chair lift, year-round mountain coaster
Granite Gorge Ski Area, Keene
Investment: $750,000 in the last year
Improvements: New base lodge with lounge and liquor license, new nordic ski trail, new rental equipment
Gunstock Mountain Resort, Gilford
Investment: $5 million in the last few years
Improvements: New water cooling tower to aid in snowmaking, new trails, eight zip lines for year-round use
Loon Mountain, Lincoln
Investment: $20 million in the last five years
Improvements: New snowmaking technology and more snowguns (including 600 low-energy tower snowguns), four new trails and additional skiing terrain area
Omni Mount Washington Resort, Bretton Woods
Investment: $70 million multi-phase project starting this season
Improvements: Additional terrain for backcountry adventures, onsite virtual ski shop at the Omni Mount Washington Hotel, 50 snow guns, new ski lift to Mount Stickney
(with a summit warming cabin)
Pats Peak Ski Area, Henniker
Investment: $600,000 this year
Improvements: New trail off the summit, 6 upgraded snowmaking guns, new rental equipment, base lodge renovation, generator, large air bag for practicing ski jumps at the terrain park
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