Despite a delayed start to ski season and a slow December, Whitefish Mountain Resort finished winter with its fourth highest attendance ever, resort officials announced Wednesday.
The resort had over 294,000 total skier visits from Dec. 10 through April 8. After postponing its opening by one week due to minimal snow conditions the resort’s attendance totals were still well above the five-year average, according to a press release.
“We’re quite pleased with this year’s results. Despite a difficult start to the season, the snow and the skiers still came in very good numbers,” Whitefish Mountain Resort President Dan Graves said in a statement. “We’re lucky to be positioned in the northern Rockies for consistent year-in and year-out snowfall and certainly we are trending positive over the course of the past several years regarding the number of people visiting.”
Seven feet of snow piled up in January, while a day in February had the most snow ever in a 24-hour period: 20 inches on February 26. March had the most days of measurable snow with 23 out of 31 days accumulating a total of six feet, three inches. All three months accumulated more than the same months in 2011, the resort said. The season ended with 303 inches of total accumulation.
“We think skiers and snowboarders are responding to the overall ski and snowboard experience they get when they are here and the value of that experience for the price they pay,” Graves said.
The record number of season pass holders played a role in making this season a success, the resort said. The resort recently released its early season pass sale offering an unrestricted Adult Season Pass for $580. Sale prices are available through September 30, 2012.
Whitefish Mountain Resort also received several accolades during the winter season. SKI Magazine readers ranked Whitefish Mountain Resort in the top ten for grooming and scenery. National Geographic named Whitefish one of the world’s 25 Best Ski Towns and its Winter Carnival one of the top 10 winter festivals in the world.