(NewsNation) — Some of the nation’s top ski resorts are short on the one thing they need: snow.
Skier visits at Vail Resorts’ North American properties were down 20% through Jan. 4 from a year earlier, the company said this week.
“We experienced one of the worst early-season snowfalls in the western U.S. in over 30 years,” Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz told investors Thursday.
In the Rockies, snowfall was down nearly 60% from the 30-year average — and roughly 50% lower across the company’s western U.S. resorts in November and December, Katz said.
Vail is the dominant player in North American skiing, operating iconic destinations like Breckenridge in Colorado, Heavenly in Lake Tahoe, Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia and Park City in Utah.
Katz said conditions in Tahoe were near historic lows through mid-December, while Whistler also had a slower start to the season — though both saw significant snowstorms over the holidays.
On Friday afternoon, just 18 of 33 lifts were open at Vail’s namesake resort, according to its website. Live mountain cams showed sparsely covered slopes with a reported base depth of only 30 inches.
The poor early-season conditions come at a time when single-day lift tickets at Vail can run more than $350 — about double the cost of a one-day ticket to Disneyland on the weekend.
The mountain resort company recently started offering discounts of up to 30% on tickets purchased a month in advance.
Vail said conditions have been better at its ski areas in the eastern U.S., though that has only partially offset bad weather elsewhere. Revenue from lift tickets, ski schools and dining is down from the prior year.