By and large, skiers know the drill: Purchase a season pass, take a gamble on the weather.
Ski areas famously have policies against refunds because of unseasonable weather. While asking for a refund of a season pass due to weather conditions is not unheard of, spokespeople from three Wyoming ski areas said season pass-holder sentiment during an unseasonably warm winter remains positive.
That’s largely because ski areas have worked to give their customers diverse ski pass options. Fewer people are purchasing season passes exclusively for one area, said Cody Johnson, owner of Peak Sports in Rapid City who skis all over the West.
“Resorts make perks to get people to come,” Johnson told Cowboy State Daily.
Ski Pass Revolution
Options including the Indy Pass and the Ikon pass allow snow enthusiasts to ski at multiple mountains, all over the world, for one price.
The Indy Pass includes 2 days of skiing/snowboarding each at its 270 resorts. Four Wyoming downhill ski areas are on the Indy Pass list of resorts: Meadowlark (Ten Sleep), Antelope Butte (Shell), White Pine (Pinedale) and Snow King (Jackson).
The only Wyoming mountain included in the Ikon season pass is Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.
Casper’s Hogadon partners with other ski areas to sweeten the deal for its season pass holders. A season pass at Hogadon includes opportunities to ski at 17 areas, with three days free at most and a 50% discount at others, said Ryan Butler, the ski area’s superintendent.
Antelope Butte Recreation Area in Shell saw a major uptick in business last year, when it started offering free season passes to children under 18, said General Manager John DeVivo.
The ski area is on national forest land. It is the only area in the country that offers such a program. Kids from anywhere can ski free; they don’t have to be local.
Antelope Butte’s revenue jumped by 60% with the addition of the program, DeVivo said.
Weather A Key Factor
Mandy Mertes of Rapid City purchased season passes for her family at Terry Peak and has skied six times this season. Weather had not been a factor for her — until this weekend.
“We were going to go on Sunday,” she said, “but I don’t know if I can ski on a 70-degree day.”
Her sister, from Billings, was skiing with her family over the weekend at Meadowlark in Ten Sleep. They are Indy Pass holders, Mertes said.
“Every time you buy a season pass, it’s a gamble,” said Butler.
Hogadon has encountered “drastically low” snowfall this season, according to Butler. The ski area started tracking snowfall in October.
All the snowfall it received in October and November melted. The ski area that is accustomed to seeing 120-150 inches of snow per year has seen just 20 inches of snow this year.
“We’re not even close to where we should be,” Butler said.
Still, he said, skiers get it.
“This season, we really haven’t had people asking for those refunds,” he said. “I think everybody kind of understands where the whole West is at with the weather in general.”
Meanwhile, business at Antelope Butte Mountain Recreation Area in Big Horn County is up 30% from last year, said general manager John DeVivo.
“We’re sitting on the only snow pocket in the northwest hemisphere right now, it seems,” DeVivo told Cowboy State Daily. “We’ve got a good, skiable surface and we’ve been running on it from day one.”
The ski area is open “top-to-bottom, wall-to-wall,” DeVivo said.
The resort is at 99% of its snowpack average, having received 81 inches of snow so far this season. Wind has not been an issue, as the resort is largely protected by a ridge.
“Someone has to get lucky, and this year it was our turn,” he said.
Families have been traveling from up to 10 hours away in search of good snow, he added.
Jackson Hole Mountain Resort is similarly enjoying significantly better snow conditions than much of the West this season, according to Communications Director Andriana Rogers.
“We're not seeing refund requests from passholders because of snowfall,” Rogers said in an email to Cowboy State Daily.
Because of good snowfall, Rogers said the resort has seen both local and regional ski races relocate there, as other resorts don’t have adequate snow.
“We are also hearing from guests who changed their travel plans to visit Jackson after comparing snow totals at Jackson Hole with other resorts,” she said.
The Snowmaking Phenomenon
Hogadon utilizes snowmaking equipment, but in typical winters snowmaking is not necessary after the middle of January. For the past two years, Butler said, the ski area has had to continue making snow into February.
This year will mark a record for the latest point in the season snowmaking equipment has been utilized.
Terry Peak added additional snowmaking equipment to its mountain this year. Mertes said snowmaking makes all the difference at her local ski area.
Johnson of Peak Sports said many ski areas throughout the West, such as Pinedale’s White Pine and some of the bigger resorts in Colorado, have never had snowmaking equipment because they haven’t needed it. But those areas suffer in warmer winters like this one and may need to rethink their need for man-made snow.
“There are going to be these winters,” said Johnson, who has an Ikon pass.
Going To Get Better
Butler remained optimistic that conditions would improve at Hogadon.
“It’s got to snow at some point,” he said.
Even with little natural snow, Butler said there is really good skiing to be had at Hogadon, with great snowmaking.
Further north, Antelope Butte has no snowmaking equipment and relies strictly on Mother Nature for good winter conditions.
“I feel horribly for the ski areas that are having a season of drought,” DeVivo told Cowboy State Daily, “but this year that is not us.”
Kate Meadows can be reached at kate@cowboystatedaily.com.
