Impressive Aspen ski season comes to close

Ajax, Snowmass end epic season Sunday; Highlands will reopen

Scott Condon
The Aspen Times
Aspen, CO Colorado
April 13, 2008

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ASPEN — Some things just can’t be measured solely in numbers, like this ski season.

There were more than 40 days with four or more inches of powder between Dec. 1 and March 31. The snowfall total topped 400 inches at Snowmass and appeared to set a record. The base near Cloud 9 restaurant at Aspen Highlands reached a record 260 centimeters Friday. Six days was the longest stretch of no snow since December.

All of that is impressive, but none of it catches the full essence of the season.

“I like to look back on the season week by week and say, ‘If I was here visiting, would I want to come back?’” said Aspen Skiing Co. President and CEO Mike Kaplan. “The way I like to put it is, we want our guests to leave here deeply saddened that they have to go — energized but depressed they’re leaving.”

And he wants them to be so satisfied that they are already thinking of booking their next trip.

The ski season ends Sunday at Aspen Mountain and Snowmass. It ended last Sunday at Buttermilk.

Aspen Highlands also closed on April 6. However, the Skico is extended the season at Highlands by opening for the weekends of April 19-20 and April 26-27.

The season is ending in a fitting way. The Skico reported six inches of new snow Saturday; 15 inches of the previous 48 hours; and 42 inches in the last week. Fresh snow coated Aspen Mountain once again Saturday and skiers were amazed that those excellent conditions existed in mid-April.

Kaplan said it was a good season for employees, locals and destination visitors — the ski industry term for people who travel from out of state for a ski trip that includes overnight stays. Everything clicked this season, at least after a warm and dry November. It all started with unbelievable amounts of snow.

“Maybe we are simple creatures,” Kaplan said with a laugh. “Snow and we’re happy. Maybe it’s our Prozac.”

The ski season was strong throughout the country. A final tally won’t be available for weeks, but the record of 55 million skier and snowboard rider visits might be challenged, according to the National Ski Areas Association.

Colorado’s ski industry bounced back after a dismal start this season. Cumulative business was nearly on par with the 2006-07 pace at the end of February. The state set a record last season with 12.57 million visits.

The Skico’s numbers are “solid,” Kaplan said. The limited number of hotels beds in Aspen and Snowmass Village and constraints on the number of airline seats create a cap on how much business the Skico can cultivate, he said.

“We don’t expect to grow by leaps and bounds every year,” Kaplan said. “We don’t expect to break our record year any time soon, but we met our targets for this year, it looks like. We’re happy with the way it’s gone.”

The Skico logged about 1.44 million skier and rider visits in 2006-07. Officials expect about the same performance this season.

“The weak dollar and the record snowfall basically overcame the headwinds created by a weakening economy,” Kaplan said.

scondon@aspentimes.com