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March 28, 2005
Cold March saves the day for area ski resortsSnowmobile season couldn't recover from early thawByRecord-Eagle business editor TRAVERSE CITY - Area ski resorts are summing up their 2004-05 season this way: Better late than never. The winter sports season endured a slow start because of sparse snow before the holidays, and then was hampered by alternating spates of bitterly cold and unseasonably warm weather. But a lengthy stretch of cold and sometimes-sunny weather since mid-February made for excellent late-season skiing. Several operators said the late wintry spell was enough to save a decent season on the slopes. "It's certainly not our best season, but it's certainly not our worst," said Joan O'Neill, a spokeswoman for Crystal Mountain Resort in Thompsonville. "What we've seen in March are the best conditions we've had all year." Kelly Smith, a snowboarder who lives in Traverse City, rated the season "a B- or a C+." "Last season was a little bit better," Smith said. "But this (recent) weather has been great." Skier Jessie Maue of Interlochen agreed. "When we got that rain in December and January, it killed it for awhile," she said. "But it's been nice skiing right now." State tourism officials said the ski season fared better than this year's snowmobile season, which struggled after January rains and limited snowfall since. "Snowmobiling was just devastated by that thaw," said Dave Lorenz, vice-president of Travel Michigan. Ski resorts fared better because of their snow-making capacity, he said, and extended the season long enough to make up for the rough spots. "Luckily, March came in cold and we were able to get a lot of that business back," Lorenz said. Lorenz said some of the season's best skiing was in the western Upper Peninsula. "They had snow up there all winter," he said. That wasn't the case in northwest Lower Michigan, where snowfall totals in most areas were 20 percent or more below long-range averages, according to the National Weather Service. The Traverse City area had around 75 inches of snow through February, compared to a season average of almost 100 inches. "We never really got into a good pattern for our (lake-effect) snow machine to get kicked in," meteorologist Keith Berger said. As a result, ski resorts had to do more snow-making this year, which cuts into their bottom line because of higher utility costs. "We've made 20 percent more snow than last year as a result of the tricky weather," Crystal's O'Neill said. But the season was far from a bust, operators agree. Mount Holiday in Traverse City, in its second season since it was re-opened by a nonprofit community group, saw a 20 percent increase in skiers over the winter. "We see the numbers going in the right direction," said Jim Kalajian, president of the Mount Holiday board. "Revenues were up over (last season)." Shanty Creek Resort spokesman Steve Kershner said the Bellaire-based resort saw skier numbers fall off this year after a record-setting season two years ago and near-record numbers last year. The resort received about half the natural snowfall it receives in a typical winter, he said. "We got a late start in December and some iffy weather in January," Kershner said. "But February and March have been very, very good." Skiers can still get in some spring skiing at a few area resorts. Crystal Mountain and Boyne Highlands will be open through next weekend, while Boyne Mountain in Boyne Falls and Nub's Nob near Harbor Springs plan to stay open through April 10.
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Record-Eagle/Douglas Tesner
