Colorado Ski Resorts See Slight Increase over Last Year

Colorado Ski Country USA's 26 member resorts have maintained their positive momentum while setting their sights on a new year-end industry benchmark. In total, Colorado ski resorts have hosted 8,487,943 skiers and snowboarders, an increase of 119,271 visits, over the same timeframe last year, defined as October 13, 2006-February 28, 2007.

“We are very pleased with our results thus far,” stated Rob Perlman, president & CEO of Colorado Ski Country USA. “The Colorado ski industry set a record last year by hosting more than 12.5 million skiers and snowboarders. It's been our goal to maintain that growth in an effort to firmly establish a new benchmark for the industry. It is very exciting to see we are one step closer toward achieving that goal.”

In addition to year-end skier visit analysis, the state also uses its five-year skier visit average as another indicator of success and overall growth for the industry. As such, Colorado is more than 720,000 skier visits ahead of its five-year, year-to-date average for this time period. The state has reported a steady three-year growth trend through its second period; further demonstrating the robust momentum of the country's largest ski state.

“We have approximately two months left in the ski season. We anticipate momentum to continue to build as we enter the spring skiing and riding season,” continued Perlman. “With plenty of sunshine, tons of fun events and great snow conditions, March and April are always two of the best months to enjoy Colorado's high country.”

The Colorado ski industry represents a significant portion of Colorado tourism, which is the second largest industry in the state. Last season, Colorado's resorts set an all-time record for visitation with more than 12.53 million skier visits, representing more than 21 percent of the nation's 58.9 million skier visits.

  Colorado Ski Country USA 2006-2007 Second Period Skier Visits

  January 1-February 28, 2007

  Resort Category               Jan./Feb.       Jan./Feb.        Number
                                  2007            2006           Change

  Destination                   1,691,810       1,668,649        23,161
  Front Range Destination       3,036,340       3,137,640      -101,300
  Gems/Front Range                473,114         484,267       -11,153
  Total:                        5,201,264       5,290,556       -89,292


  Resort Category          Percent     5 Year        Number       Percent
                           Change      Average       Change       Change

  Destination               1.39%    1,571,944       119,866       7.63%
  Front Range Destination  -3.23%    2,948,108        88,232       2.99%
  Gems/Front Range         -2.30%      454,586        18,528       4.08%
  Total:                   -1.69%    4,974,637       226,627       4.56%



  Opening through February 28, 2007

  Resort Category                  YTD              YTD          Number
                                   2007            2006          Change

  Destination                  2,593,318         2,472,717       120,601
  Front Range Destination      4,960,004         4,994,934       -34,390
  Gems/Front Range               934,621           901,021        33,600
  Total:                       8,487,943         8,368,672       119,271


  Resort Category         Percent      5 Year        Number       Percent
                           Change      Average       Change       Change

  Destination               4.87%     2,359,207      234,111        9.92%
  Front Range Destination  -0.70%     4,631,079      328,925        7.10%
  Gems/Front Range          3.73%       776,767      157,854       20.32%
  Total:                    1.43%     7,767,053      720,890        9.28%



  *CATEGORY BREAK-DOWNS

  1) Destination Resorts -- Aspen Highlands, Aspen Mountain, Buttermilk,
     Crested Butte, Durango (Purgatory), Howelsen Hill, Silverton Mountain,
     Snowmass, Steamboat, Telluride, Wolf Creek

  2) Front Range Destination Resorts -- Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Copper
     Mountain, Keystone, Vail, Winter Park

  3) Gems/Front Range Resorts -- Arapahoe Basin, Echo Mountain, Eldora,
     Loveland, Monarch, Powderhorn, Ski Cooper, SolVista Basin, Sunlight

  *  The numbers stated above are preliminary and subject to change.
     Colorado Ski Country USA does not release individual resort skier visit
     totals throughout the season. The decision to release individual
     numbers is up to each individual resort. Skier visits from previous
     years can be found at www.media-coloradoski.com in the Media Center.