Adirondack ski areas by the numbers: 2015-16 season

Most eastern skiers would probably prefer to forget about the winter of 2015-16, also known as The Winter That Wasn't. Besieged by mild temperatures, lack of snowfall and one rain event after another, ski areas throughout the northeast pushed the limits of their snowmaking plants and crews to salvage what they could of the season. But you can fight mother nature only so much, and skiers suffered through limited terrain, event cancellations and a shortened season. Skier visits in the northeast were down a whopping 28% from the previous winter. Whiteface and Gore followed that trend, with significant decreases in both skier visits (down 21% and 44%, respectively) and revenue (down 21% and 37%, respectively). Here are the numbers:

Ski deals & discounts 2016

Skiing can be an expensive sport, but if you know how to take advantage of the many deals and discounts that are available you can easily ski or ride all winter without buying a single full-price lift ticket. Now that the snow and cold have finally arrived (fingers crossed!) here are the top deals & discounts for 2016 to help you hit the slopes on the cheap:

Adirondack ski areas by the numbers: A look back at 2014-15

After a long summer maybe you've forgotten how cold last winter was. Or, if you're like me, you never stop thinking about winter. Before anticipation for the coming winter eclipses our memory of last winter, here's a look back at 2014-15's numbers. Nationally, skier visits were down by 5% from the previous winter. But record-breaking cold and abundant snowfall in the Northeast helped drive skier visits up 1% over 2013-14. Gore and Whiteface followed that trend, with increases in skier visits and revenue, including a record-setting $10 million in on-hill revenue at Gore. Last season's results are summarized below:

Ski deals & discounts for 2015

With weekend / holiday lift tickets topping $80 at many of the large eastern ski areas (Stowe comes in at a whopping $108), it’s more important than ever to find ways to keep skiing affordable. If you’ve got at least some flexibility in your schedule, there’s no need to pay full rate. Listed below are the top deals and discounts I’ve found for 2015. All information is accurate at the time of publication, but be sure to check each ski area’s website for additional details.

Adirondack ski areas by the numbers: Gore energy efficiency

Some readers know that while I'm a skier in "real" life, I'm an accountant in my "other" life. I guess that makes me something of a numbers nerd, and explains why the page below, from ORDA's recently released 2013-14 annual report, caught my eye.

(click the picture to enlarge)

If the image is too small to read easily, here's the data from the chart:

	2012/2013	2013/2014	change
Lift days*	1071	1209	+13%
Gallons of water pumped	270 million	305 million	+13%
KWH consumed	13,646,411	13,539,776	-106,635
Total revenue	$8,956,910	$9,646,160	+7.7%

*One lift day is the equivalent of running one lift for one day. For example,one ski day with 10 lifts in operation is equal to 10 lift days.

Adirondack ski areas by the numbers: 2013-14 season

Buoyed by an early start and five consecutive months of colder than average temperatures, attendance at the state-owned Adirondack ski areas increased by more than 7% over last year. Handily beating the national (down 1.3%) and regional (up 0.6%) trends cited in the National Ski Areas Association's preliminary report of the 2013-14 ski season, those results should bring smiles to the faces of skiers, business owners in North Creek and Lake Placid, and ORDA board members alike.

Here are the numbers:

Season passes: How about an Adirondack Alliance?

Last week, in my post about season passes, I made note of the increasing prevalence of multi-mountain passes and partnerships. Not only do these pass products deliver significant value to the passholder, they help the ski resorts expand revenue and build skier loyalty. I wondered if there might be an opportunity here in the Adirondacks, but didn’t provide much in the way of specific ideas. Well, here’s what I’d do.

Adirondack ski areas by the numbers: Season Passes

The 2014-15 ski season is more than 6 months away, but now is the time to consider purchasing a season pass if you want to take advantage of early purchase discounts. The decision is easy for our family: we want the flexibility of skiing on holidays and weekends, and we know we’ll ski at least double the number of days it takes to break even on the cost of our passes. So we’ve already plunked down our cash to take advantage of the best pricing on next winter’s Gore-Whiteface-Belleayre Ski3 passes.

Pricey? You bet. But considering the fact that we’ll get enough use out of our passes to drive our per-person per-day cost down to about $20, I consider it a good value. And compared to season pass pricing in Vermont, our Adirondack passes are a bargain.

Season Pass Breakeven, 2014-15

	Daily lift ticket	Season pass	Breakeven # of days
Whiteface	$85	$759	9
Gore Mountain	$75	$759	10
Titus Mountain	$45	$449	10
West Mountain	$45	$399	9
Willard Mountain	$40	$325	8
Oak Mountain	$36	$290	8
McCauley Mountain	$30	$259	9
Killington, VT	$89	$1099	12
Sugarbush, VT	$89	$1049	12

14 Deals and Discounts for 2014

If you have flexibility in your schedule, there’s no need to pay full rate for lift tickets. Listed below are the top deals and discounts I’ve found for 2014. All information is accurate at the time of publication, but be sure to check each ski area’s website for additional details. One more tip: “like” each ski area’s Facebook page to stay up to date on additional promotions that may be announced during the season.

#14 – Price Chopper Ski Any 3 coupon books – The $149 Big Mountain passbook gets you 3 full day lift tickets good at Gore, Whiteface, Bromley, Smuggler’s Notch, Jiminy Peak and Windham. There’s also a $119 Family Mountain passbook for West Mountain, Plattekill, Belleayre and several others. These coupons are good Sunday through Friday, non-holiday.

#13 – Take Your Kids to Gore Weeks - Kids 19 and under ski and ride free with a full paying parent all week, Tuesday, January 21 through Sunday, January 26. If you miss that, there’s a second week scheduled for Monday, March 17 through Sunday, March 23. A family of 4 can ski for $150 on the weekend, $120 mid-week (note: Thursdays and Fridays are weekend rate). This is one of the very few ski discounts available on a Saturday.

Adirondack ski areas by the numbers: 2012-13 season

The National Ski Areas Assocation (NSAA) released preliminary numbers last week indicating that ski areas in the Northeast bounced back with a 20% increase in visitation over the disappointing 2011-12 season. Gore and Whiteface rebounded strongly too, as I reported in this article that appeared in the Adirondack Almanack yesterday.

Jon Lundin, ORDA’s Public Relations Coordinator, summed up the season: “This past skiing and riding season was an outstanding one for ORDA’s ski resorts. The resorts’ crews did an outstanding job with snowmaking and Mother Nature cooperated and provided plenty of snow cover on her own. It was great to see the skiers and riders back on the mountains enjoying the winter fun.”

Here are the numbers:

Adirondack ski areas by the numbers: Trails and Lifts

It’s the end of January and we’re roughly at the mid-point of the ski season. Since there’s an ugly (but blessedly brief) thaw underway I won’t be skiing at West Mountain tonight (missed last week too – bad string of luck lately). Here’s another By the Numbers installment instead.

The "% Currently Open" statistic in the table below is an interesting one. The fact that no one’s at 100% reflects a low-snow January, the multi-day thaw we suffered through earlier in the month, and some mid-week terrain closures (particularly Gore). But the % open statistic is also just a snapshot – most skiers, myself included, are of the opinion that the 2012-13 ski season has so far been much better than last year.

A dozen ski deals & discounts for 2013

If you have flexibility in your schedule, there’s no need to pay full rate for lift tickets. Listed below are the top deals and discounts I’ve found for 2013. All information is accurate at the time of publication, but be sure to check each ski area’s website for additional details. One more tip: “like” each ski area’s Facebook page to stay up to date on additional promotions that may be announced during the season.

Adirondack ski areas by the numbers: Snowmaking

Snowmaking can be a skier’s best friend, extending the season and providing good conditions when natural snow is in short supply. Early season may be the most crucial time of all, when skiing may not even be possible without snowmaking. That’s certainly been the case this year, with practically no natural snowfall to speak of yet. Here’s a quick overview of snowmaking systems at Adirondack ski areas.

Snowmaking Comparison

	Air cfm	Water gpm	acre/ft per day	acres	# of days
Whiteface	32000	6000	30	275	9.2
Gore Mountain	27000	6000	30	400	13.3
Killington, VT	n/a	12000	80	600	7.5
Hunter	90000	10320	60	240	4.0
West Mountain	n/a	2800	n/a	85	n/a
Willard Mountain	n/a	1200	n/a	60	n/a
Oak Mountain	n/a	500	n/a	20	n/a
Hickory Ski Center	No snowmaking
Big Tupper	No snowmaking

Adirondack ski areas by the numbers: Lift ticket prices

Lift ticket prices at Adirondack ski areas for the 2012-13 season cover the entire range from free to $84. If you think eighty-plus bucks is expensive (and it is), consider the fact that season passes, frequent skier cards and other discounts bring down the actual cost per day for most skiers.

Ski Lift Ticket Comparison, 2012-13

	Daily lift ticket	Season pass	Breakeven # of days
Whiteface	$84	$739	9
Gore Mountain	$75	$739	10
Killington, VT	$88	$1049	12
West Mountain	$52	$400	8
Titus Mountain	$42	$379	9
Willard Mountain	$39	$375	10
Oak Mountain	$34	$263	8
Hickory Ski Center	n/a	$250	n/a
McCauley Mountain	$30	$239	8
Mount Pisgah	$15	$150	10
Ski Venture	n/a	$60	n/a
Indian Lake town slope	free	n/a	n/a
Dynamite Hill, Chestertown	free	n/a	n/a

Season pass math

It may seem like ski season is a long way off, but early purchase discount deadlines are approaching and it’s time to do the math. For many, buying a season’s pass is a no-brainer, but for others the calculation may be a bit more involved. For our family, the decision is driven by 3 factors:

Number of ski days – Obviously this is the factor that drives most season pass decisions. Our family will likely ski 20 +/- days at Gore next winter, well above the break-even point of 10-12 days.