Despite moderately poor snow conditions, the U.S. ski industry recorded 59.7 million visits. The stellar ski season trails only to the winter of 2007/08 which saw 60.5 million visits, 1.2% higher than that of the current year. Along with poor conditions, the 4.2% boost in skier visits came in the wake of a struggling economy.
According to the 2009/10 Kottke National End of Season Survey, all regions except the Northeast achieved substantial gains in total visits. The Pacific Southwest, Midwest and Southeast posted gains of 15%, 7.2% and 6.7%, respectively. And keeping to tradition, the Rocky Mountain region continued its dominant overall position in terms of total visitation, increasing by 3.4% over last year, and again exceeding the 20 millions visit threshold. The Northeast region was the only negative, with skier visits dropping 2.7%t when compared to the prior year.
Adding more surprise to the unexpected season was the decreased level of snowfall in four of the six regions. The industry as a whole exceeded its 10-season average by 3.9% in the 2009/10 season, a pattern echoed by all regions.
The Northeast saw a 1.1% gain from its 10-season average, followed by the Midwest with a 2.1% surge in skier visits. The Rocky Mountains followed with a 4.3% rise, as the Pacific Southwest, Pacific Northwest and Southeast rounded out the top three finishers with gains of 4.7%, 5.7% and 9.9%, respectively.
