Ski resort posts record numbers despite tough start

Despite a slow start to the ski season, with the extreme drought conditions in December and a weeklong opening delay, Whitefish Mountain Resort posted record skier-visit numbers for the 2011-2012 ski season on April 25.

The resort recorded 294,000 skier-visits for the season, well above its five-year average and the fourth best winter ever.

“We’re quite pleased with this year’s results,” resort CEO Dan Graves said. “We’re lucky to be positioned in the northern Rockies for consistent year-in and year-out snowfall, and certainly we are trending positive over the course of the past several years regarding the number of people visiting.”

Big Mountain got hammered with big snowfalls several times in the season that not only made the powder hounds happy but opened up more of the resort for skiers. Seven feet of snow fell in January and 20 inches fell around Feb. 26 — the most recorded in several years over a 24-hour period.

December was slow for sure, resort marketing director Nick Polumbus said, but traffic picked up in January as snow started to accumulate. Christmas Day saw only 31 inches of snow at the summit and 30 trails open. By mid-January, the mountain was 100 percent open.

Snow fell on 23 of 31 days in March, totaling 6 feet 3 inches for the month. More snow fell over the January-March period this year than for the same period last season, which is considered a banner powder year.

The resort closed for the season April 8 with a settled base of 118 inches at the summit and 303 inches of total snowfall for the season — slightly above average.

Season pass sales also were up, with 6,800 compared to 5,200 in 2006-07. The resort seems to have weathered the nation’s economic downturn and a stagnant real estate market. The focus is now on resort operations.

“Real estate has been very flat since 2007, and in many ways that’s just fine,” Graves said. “We’ve re-engineered the business model to focus on resort operations, and any real estate sold would have been icing on the cake.”

Graves noted that the resort’s debt load has been reduced from $11 million in 2007 to $1.7 million today.

“We’ve basically slayed that tiger,” Graves said. “We’re no longer a slave to debt. We’re in the driver’s seat. It feels so good to know we have the money to make choices.”

While the resort’s goal has been to completely eliminate debt by next spring, borrowing rates are so low now it might make sense for the resort to finance improvements, Graves said. Without offering details, Graves said some exciting skiing-related projects are on the horizon.

The summer business has played a big role in reducing debt, and the resort plans to keep expanding their offerings. This summer will bring a seventh zipline, two new mountain bike trails and a few more attractions for younger visitors, including a ropes course.

“We’re coming off two major events that could have really been a serious stumble,” Graves said. “Chair 1 going down in the summer and a lack of snow in December. But we’re going to end up with a record year financially.”

The resort will open for the summer season on June 16.