'Amazing snow' a skier's delight

Ski visits soar along with the snowpack

The season for Christmas carols is over, but area ski resorts haven't given up the Yuletide refrain:

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

Thanks to more or less constant snowfall, both local ski resorts are reporting great business, a welcome relief after last year's dry and dreary season.

"It's all about snow," said Steve Spencer, general manager at Blacktail Mountain Ski Area near Lakeside. "We've been getting wonderful snow."

Currently in its eighth season, Blacktail is experiencing what Spencer called a normal year, characterized by growth.

"We've pretty much grown every year," he said, "except last year, which we consider an anomaly so we throw it out. We see growth every year."

Blacktail has 95 inches of snow at midmountain, compared to 28 inches at the same time last year.

Big Mountain business also is flourishing, spokesman Brian Schott said.

"What we're looking at right now, our ski visits are doing exceptionally well," he said.

To date, the mountain is nearly 40,000 visits ahead of last year.

"It's telling us that we have amazing snow conditions," he said. "There's no secret to that. Good snow drives skier visits."

The increased number of visits this year are primarily a result of local skiers and snowboarders taking advantage of the "wonderful snow." Big Mountain has 119 inches of snow at the summit and 50 inches at the village area, compared to 65 inches and 14 inches last year.

Last year, Montana ski resorts experienced an 18 percent decline in skier visits.

Norma Nickerson, director of the Institute for Tourism and Recreational Research at the University of Montana, said locals were to blame.

"It's your fault," she told a crowd in Kalispell at an economic outlook seminar last week. "You folks know when it's good skiing, and when it's not, you don't go."

Locals aren't the only ones hitting the slopes, though.

"We're getting a lot of out-of-staters and a lot of Canadians," Spencer said.

Big Mountain also has experienced a resurgence of Canadian visitors, Schott said. He and Spencer attribute this primarily to a favorable exchange rate, which is currently 87 cents on the dollar.

Canada does have its own popular ski resorts, some close to the Montana border.

"But they still want to go to another country," Spencer said. "I think they like to come across the border. We've certainly seen more of them this year than we have in the past."

Blacktail sees its fair share of out-of-state skiers and snowboarders, too.

"To get as many destination skiers as we do is something we didn't really count on," Spencer said.

One reason for this, Spencer said, is that a number of nonresidents with homes on Flathead Lake are visiting the area in the winter as well as summer. But Blacktail also takes advantage of the action in Whitefish.

"We get our fair share of people who come to ski the Big Mountain who spend a day or two at Blacktail for variety," he said.

A good year on the ski hills doesn't necessarily result in a good year for other businesses, though.

"Lodging mountainwide is down slightly from last season," Schott said.

Lodging in Whitefish in general has suffered this year despite Big Mountain's success.

Many people on the slopes apparently are locals who drive home at the end of the day, leaving hotel rooms empty.

"We have seen a decline in December and January, and our forecast doesn't look good for February and March," said Janet Gideon, director of sales operations at Grouse Mountain Lodge in Whitefish.

"The bulk of the decline seems to be outside the drive market," she added. "The fly-in market is where we're seeing the biggest decline."

Business from folks who stay at Grouse Mountain Lodge after flying in to Glacier Park International Airport was 11 percent lower in December than it was the year before, Gideon said.

Rhonda Fitzgerald, owner of Whitefish's Garden Wall Inn, also blamed a decrease in fly-in business for her empty rooms.

"We have more convenient access than anywhere else, but we don't have the flights and we don't have large enough airplanes," she said.

In December, the number of airline passengers arriving at Glacier Park International was down 22 percent from a year ago, airport director Mike Daigle said.

"December is a tough month, not just for the hoteliers," he said.

The decrease was primarily a result of the reduction of available seats, he said. After declaring bankruptcy last fall, Northwest and Delta, two of the airlines that serve the airport, had to make some major changes.

Northwest trimmed 80 aircraft from its fleet, Daigle said. Furthermore, through February it will operate only one aircraft daily at the local airport instead of its usual two.

Delta and its affiliate SkyWest, which serves Glacier Park International, made schedule changes as well.

Despite a reduced number of seats, Daigle isn't convinced this is the reason area hotels have struggled this winter.

"I don't know if the number of seats is the whole reason hotels are less busy," he said. "Is it part of the reason? Maybe. Are there other reasons? Maybe."

There are still more than enough seats available for the numbers to be as high as they were a year ago, Daigle said. People simply aren't coming.

These "destination skiers" are probably flying somewhere else instead, Gideon said.

"It doesn't help that Colorado has had record snowfall this year," she said. "It's having its best season ever.

"It's easier and cheaper to get to Colorado this year than it is to get to Montana."

Fitzgerald also thinks expense has played a role.

"They can fly to almost any ski area cheaper than to Big Mountain," she said.

Daigle, however, maintains that ticket prices have remained relatively consistent.

Tickets are more expensive, he said, but that cost is up nationwide, not just for flights here. Furthermore, the increase hasn't been more than $10 or $15, he said.

But flights may not be the only contributors to decreased hotel business around Big Mountain. Fitzgerald believes there has been a decrease in nonlocals who drive to Montana, too.

High fuel prices contribute to this, she said, as does the fact that the snow was less than spectacular last season.

"Sometimes it's hard to overcome that," she said.

This year's snow will likely go a long way toward reversing the decline next season, though.

"What we'll hope to see, coming off a fantastic winter like this, is … an increase in destination visitors next year," Schott said.

This season isn't over, though, and the snow at Blacktail and Big Mountain might attract more people yet.

"Destination bookings for February and March are looking strong," Schott said. It's "probably a factor of people seeing all the snow and taking a last-minute vacation."

Even if the lodging business remains slow, a little down time isn't always a bad thing. What do area hoteliers do on a slow business day?

"Ski," Fitzgerald said with a laugh. "That's the great thing about living here. The snow's fabulous, the skiing's great."

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.