Schweitzer reports hot start to season
WINTER SPORTS -- Maybe the outdoor economy isn't all doom and gloom.
Schweitzer Mountain Resort today reported solid increases in visitation for December and the holidays that grace the early snow season.
Overall visitation for the month of December was up 18.9 percent, while up 7.3 percent for the holiday period, the resort said in a press release.
It helps that the resort has recorded 129 inches of snow in the village already this season, nearly half of its average annual snowfall of 300 inches.
All of the region's ski resorts benefited from the early onslaught of winter and record snowfall for the Month of November in the Spokane area.
"Our lodging occupancy for the holiday period was up 9.1 percent, while rental and retail enjoyed an 8.4 percent increase," said Tom Chasse, Schweitzer’s President and CEO.
The December holiday period is one of three key times for area ski resorts.
The Martin Luther King weekend in January as well as President’s week in February also are critical to their bottom line.