Wrightwood, CA – Mountain High’s 2009-10 ski and snowboard season came to a close on Sunday as the longest in the southern California ski resort’s history. This was also the resort’s highest-revenue-grossing winter as the area saw its best attendance since the inception of its “sell out” policy in 2002.nFrom opening day on October 29th to its late close on May 2nd, the winter lasted 186 days. Resort President and CEO, Karl Kapuscinski, credits customer service and consistently cool temperatures with the ski area’s results this winter.

“Despite a sluggish economy and average snowfall we were able to put together our best season ever,” says Kapuscinski. “That says a lot about the team we have built here.”

The 2009-10 season began on October 29th, making it its earliest opening ever on machine-made snow. Mountain High was the first ski area to open in Southern California for the 13th straight year and its 186-day season bested its previous longest season by five days, and its average winter by more than 38 days. When lined up back to back, Mountain High operated in eight different months from October to May, something the area has never done before.

One of the key elements to Mountain High’s success this winter was the weather. The resort received only a modest amount of natural snow — just 120 inches — and snowmaking conditions were fair at best, but there were no major highs and lows. No wash outs, no winter thaws, but consistently cool conditions from start to finish. A Season Pass sale generated more than 12,000 sales prior to Christmas, contributing to the highest-revenue-grossing season ever and skier visits of just over 525,000.