Ski resorts hope to schuss into a better year

Laura Bly, USA TODAY

In the Lake Tahoe area, up to 28 inches of snow fell on a late October weekend and cold temperatures allowed resorts to crank up their snow-making machines. Skier Amie Engerbretson cuts through early snowfall at Squaw Valley.

The $6-billion-a-year ski resort business logged its worst season in two decades last winter
The USA's ski season is opening ahead of a Thanksgiving kickoff, thanks to post-Sandy snowstorms
Some resorts are touting "snow guarantees." Vacationers can rebook trips under certain conditions

Hurricane Sandy may have created misery for millions of sodden East Coasters, but a blanket of white from the Halloween storm was a welcome side effect at U.S. ski resorts hoping for a rebound from last year's paltry snowfall and unusually warm temperatures.

The $6-billion-a-year ski resort business logged its worst season in two decades last winter, with a 15% drop in skier and snowboarder visits and the lowest national average snowfall since the early 1990s, according to a survey by the Lakewood, Colo.-based National Ski Areas Association. About half the responding resorts either opened late or closed early, particularly in the Southeast, Northeast and Pacific Southwest.

But given a flurry of post-Sandy snowstorms from California to Colorado, the USA's ski season is "launching into pretty high gear" even before the industry's traditional Thanksgiving weekend kickoff, says meteorologist Joel Gratz of OpenSnow.com.

At Lake Tahoe, where up to 28 inches of snow fell last weekend and cold temperatures have allowed resorts to crank up what are touted as the largest snowmaking systems on the West Coast, six of the region's seven resorts already are operating or will be by Thanksgiving.

Farther east, Utah's Wasatch Range got more than 4 feet over the same weekend — prompting Alta, Brighton, Solitude and Snowbird to open this week.

Such spectacular early-season dumps aren't unprecedented, Gratz notes, and they may or may not be harbingers of a snowy winter ahead. But, he says, "they sure get the juices flowing, especially after last year."

A sampling of what's new on the slopes at major U.S. ski destinations:

Cakes and candles

Several resorts are marking landmark birthdays this season, including Utah's Alta — where fireworks and a torchlight parade Jan. 13 will commemorate the debut in 1939 of the state's first chairlift (the 75-year-old resort opened a year earlier with rope tows).

Vail's season-long celebration of its 50th anniversary kicks off today with the launch of a 10-passenger high-speed gondola that features heated, cushioned seats and free Wi-Fi. Festivities continue with a birthday celebration Dec. 15 and the Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships from Feb. 25 to March 2.

Deals and discounts

Vail's new, state-of-the-art gondola, One, opened to the public this week as the resort kicks off its 50th anniversary season.

In an attempt to convince leery vacationers that a dismal showing by Mother Nature needn't deep-six ski plans, a growing number of resorts are touting "snow guarantees."

Winter Park, Colo.'s offer for arrivals/departures through Dec. 20 lets visitors reschedule their trips later in the season (on a space-available basis) as long as the resort is notified 48 hours prior to the original arrival.

In Lake Tahoe, Heavenly provides a refund or change of dates between Dec. 15 and March 31 if less than 50% of the resort's 97 runs are open between two and seven days before arrival.

Once aimed largely at locals, season passes are in the spotlight with this year's launch of the Mountain Collective Pass. The $349 deal, available through Monday, is good for two free days each at Colorado's Aspen/Snowmass, Lake Tahoe's Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows, Utah's Alta and Wyoming's Jackson Hole — plus 50% discounts on lift tickets after the two free days are used.

Vail Resorts' acquisition of Tahoe's Kirkwood this year means Kirkwood skiers and snowboarders are eligible for Vail's Epic Pass program, which offers unlimited season access to Colorado's Arapahoe Basin, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Vail, plus Tahoe's Heavenly and Northstar, for $699 per adult through Nov. 18. That's less than a seven-day holiday lift ticket for Vail, the company's priciest mountain. The deal also includes six discounted "Ski With a Friend" tickets for companions and automatic enrollment in EpicMix, Vail Resorts' online and social media program that tracks skiers' progress on the slopes.

Expansion and improvement

Given the one-two punch of a sluggish real estate market and last season's dip in skier visits, "you're not seeing as many capital improvements this year," says Marc Guido, publisher of the Utah-based FirstTracksOnline.com.

But Northeast resorts in particular have invested millions in snowmaking infrastructure and upgrades. And near Flagstaff, the 75-year-old Arizona Snowbowl Resort spent about $12 million on a new system that will use reclaimed wastewater to make artificial snow — the first in North America.

Jackson Hole has dramatically expanded its intermediate terrain in recent years. This season, a new high-speed quad lift in the mid-mountain Casper area will give intermediate skiers easier access to runs such as Sundog.

Long known as a "steep and deep" paradise for experts (its most infamous run is Corbet's Couloir, a near-vertical ribbon of snow that begins with a 10- to 30-foot free fall), Jackson Hole has dramatically expanded its intermediate terrain in recent years. This season, a high-speed quad lift in the midmountain Casper area will give intermediate skiers easier access to runs such as Sundog, a new trail running below the lift. The new ride is just 31/2 minutes, a full six minutes off the old version.

Off the slopes, the venerable Hotel Jerome on Aspen, Colo.'s Main Street reopens in mid-December after a four-month renovation. Now operated by Auberge Resorts, the 123-year-old Jerome was a hangout for late "gonzo journalist" Hunter S. Thompson, who used its J-Bar as campaign headquarters when he ran for sheriff in 1970.

Historic Hotel Jerome's bar reopens after major renovation.

'Rocky Mountain high' time?

Despite Colorado voters' decision to legalize recreational marijuana, the federal government classifies cannabis as an illegal drug, and state law prohibits skiers from being under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Possession of up to 1 ounce will be allowed pending the amendment's certification, but sales from state-sanctioned stores wouldn't start until 2014.

And while Breckenridge powder hounds already sport "You're So High" T-shirts — the "Amsterdam of the Rockies" decriminalized marijuana possession two years ago — a reliance on family business means "they're not going to cash in and use the new law to tout the destination," says Dan Sherman of Colorado-based Ski.com.

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