Salt Lake City, UT – The Utah ski and snowboard industry closed the 2014-15 winter season last May with a total of 3,946,762 skier days, down 4.9 percent from the previous season’s 4,148,573. Last winter’s number also represents a 2.2 percent decrease from Utah’s five-year average of 4,037,349.

Nationally, skier days were down from 56.5 million to 53.6 million last winter, a five percent decrease from the previous season according to numbers provided by the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA), mirroring the state results from Utah. The drought in the Far West and Pacific Northwest states,and the unprecedented amount of snow and cold temperatures in the Northeast, resulted in decreased skier visitation in all six U.S. ski regions last winter. In the Northeast region, where an inordinate amount of snowfall blanketed cities like Boston and New York, only New Hampshire and Vermont saw an annual increase in skier days. Vermont’s, in fact, set a record.

According to the National Weather Service, Utah’s statewide annual snowfall last winter was 41 percent of average. Mother Nature assisted in the beginning of the season, with Utah ski areas recording between 100 percent and 130 percent of average snowfall as of January 1, 2015. This early season snow, in combination with resort investment in effective, energy-efficient snowmaking, saved the season. By comparison, total snowfall during the disastrous 1976-77 winter season was equivalent to that which accumulated last winter, but skier days in 1976-77 dropped 53 percent in an era before modern snowmaking equipment was available.

“Utah’s resorts did an outstanding job, both getting the word out about early season snow conditions and ensuring that guests had an exceptional experience all winter,” said Ski Utah President Nathan Rafferty.

Total Utah statewide skier days for the past 10 years are as follows: