How much will you spend on ski/snowboard equipment next season? How much snow will Killington have to make to keep the slopes covered and provide a quality surface? How much heating oil will you need to keep warm next winter? We know that Dec. 21 marks the first day of winter, however, the ski and snowboard season at Killington and colder temperatures across the Northeast will be underway well before the official beginning of winter.
Over the past three years we have exceeded our 20-year average (250 inches) for snowfall, including 280 inches of snow this past season. In fact, the past two years we’ve seen a strong start to the season with early snow and deep base depths heading into the Christmas/New Year’s Holiday season. But what does the coming winter hold?
Many businesses from retail giants such as Wallmart and Target; to clothing, outdoor product and ski manufactures, to major ski resorts are impacted by weather patterns and forecasts. We all know what happened last winter with record snowfall across many parts of the North America – including numerous powder days in December here at Killington - but what lies ahead for the 2009-10 ski and snowboard season?
According to Weather Trends International, the 09/10 winter will see less overall snowfall than the past few, but will get off to a quick start with major storms in November. January will see warming temperatures, followed by a few strong Nor’easters in February.
While predicting the weather is not an exact science, certain models and historical data support weather trends. Those trends are very valuable for large retailers in predicting how many winter coats, boots and shovels to stock for the upcoming season. In the resort business, weather trends provide some guidance on expected business levels for the coming season. For example, if the trend is for above normal temperatures in November and December, many skiers in major metropolitan areas (Boston, Hartford, New York City) won’t have skiing/riding front-of-mind. So we must adjust marketing, staffing, supply plans accordingly. Less natural snowfall also means more diesel fuel and electricity will be required to produce more machine made snow.
As we say in the marketing department here at Killington, snow is the greatest message of all – especially during slow economic times. And while we have the ability to produce a ton of here from the world's most extensive snowmaking system, the best snow message is what Mother Nature delivers.
What are your thoughts, predictions for the upcoming season?
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