Denver, CO – Colorado Ski Country USA (CSCUSA), the trade group representing all but four of the state’s ski and snowboard resorts, reported today that total skier visits at its 21 member resorts decreased 11.5 percent during the first period of the 2012-13 ski season, defined as opening day through December 31, 2012, compared to the same period last year, which itself was a tough year for resorts across the state.

Several factors contributed to the first period totals, most notably the variable snow conditions and a few late openings.

“First period is largely fueled by in-state visitors, and an unseasonably warm October and November kept many Coloradans from tallying lots of ski days,” said Melanie Mills, president and CEO of CSCUSA. “Snow did not arrive in earnest until mid-December, but when it came, it was in time for in-state and out-of-state guests to enjoy wonderful wintry holidays at resorts.”

Ski areas across the state reported a strong holiday period with conditions more in line with an average year. Resorts started the New Year reaping benefits of the December storms.

“There is some real buoyancy in the indicators for the months ahead: February and March hotel bookings are pacing ahead of last year by 3.5% and 8.6% respectively, according to MTRiP; Carnival and Easter are well-timed for ski visitation this year and Colorado’s traditional snowier months lie ahead,” continued Mills. “We’re optimistic that some of the best skiing of the season is still ahead of us. We are encouraged by early January numbers and spring bookings, and our resorts are looking forward to an exciting and busy rest of the season.”

CSCUSA tracks skier visits across the state with the exception of four of the largest: Vail Mountain, Breckenridge, Keystone and Beaver Creek. All four are owned by Vail Resorts, which withdrew from membership in CSCUSA several years ago.

Skier visits are the metric used to track participation in skiing and snowboarding. A skier visit represents a person participating in the sport of skiing or snowboarding for any part of one day at a mountain resort.