There are two industries that can’t get enough snow: the ski mountains in Virginia and West Virginia and the retailers that sell everything you need to bundle up for winter recreation.
Last month’s major storm was the best marketing campaign either industry could hope for.
“The blizzard of ’09 brought in the winter season with a bang. The added 31 inches of snow enabled us to open several runs earlier in the season and increase the slope coverage significantly,” said Hank Thiess, the general manager at Wintergreen.
Thiess said reservations are up 20 percent compared with the same time last year. The January and February booking pace is tracking up to 7 percent higher than last year, he said.
Although other area resorts won’t share their booking increases, Snowshoe President and COO Bill Rock and other resort spokespersons credit the sustained cold temperature with allowing them to take full advantage of their snowmaking systems.
The Christmas/New Year’s holiday accounts for about a third of the ski business at mountains in West Virginia, according to a story in the Charleston Daily Mail.
Melissa Pogue, a public relations account director for the Homestead, said the resort’s reservations are “up year-over-year in terms of its winter packages.”
Skiers are also communicating via Twitter and using an iPhone app to get snow conditions, so ski resorts aren’t inclined to exaggerate — if they might have been so inclined in the past.
The winter blast was a bonanza for Peter Glenn Ski and Sport, a local shop that sells skiing gear and winter clothing. “We were twice as busy the Friday of the storm as we were on Black Friday,” said assistant manager Rich Peek.
Peek said the store’s most profitable months for ski equipment and apparel are typically December, January and February. “People seem to forget it snows until it gets cold,” said Peek.
On Dec. 18, Peter Glenn recorded more than $25,000 in sales, mostly in cold weather apparel.
“We sold more gloves on that day than in the entire preceding year,” said Peek, who attributed the high volume to parents simply wanting to let their children enjoy the snow.
For a full list of all the deals at ski mountains, click here.
BizSense reporter Drew Jackson contributed to this story.
There are two industries that can’t get enough snow: the ski mountains in Virginia and West Virginia and the retailers that sell everything you need to bundle up for winter recreation.
Last month’s major storm was the best marketing campaign either industry could hope for.
“The blizzard of ’09 brought in the winter season with a bang. The added 31 inches of snow enabled us to open several runs earlier in the season and increase the slope coverage significantly,” said Hank Thiess, the general manager at Wintergreen.
Thiess said reservations are up 20 percent compared with the same time last year. The January and February booking pace is tracking up to 7 percent higher than last year, he said.
Although other area resorts won’t share their booking increases, Snowshoe President and COO Bill Rock and other resort spokespersons credit the sustained cold temperature with allowing them to take full advantage of their snowmaking systems.
The Christmas/New Year’s holiday accounts for about a third of the ski business at mountains in West Virginia, according to a story in the Charleston Daily Mail.
Melissa Pogue, a public relations account director for the Homestead, said the resort’s reservations are “up year-over-year in terms of its winter packages.”
Skiers are also communicating via Twitter and using an iPhone app to get snow conditions, so ski resorts aren’t inclined to exaggerate — if they might have been so inclined in the past.
The winter blast was a bonanza for Peter Glenn Ski and Sport, a local shop that sells skiing gear and winter clothing. “We were twice as busy the Friday of the storm as we were on Black Friday,” said assistant manager Rich Peek.
Peek said the store’s most profitable months for ski equipment and apparel are typically December, January and February. “People seem to forget it snows until it gets cold,” said Peek.
On Dec. 18, Peter Glenn recorded more than $25,000 in sales, mostly in cold weather apparel.
“We sold more gloves on that day than in the entire preceding year,” said Peek, who attributed the high volume to parents simply wanting to let their children enjoy the snow.
For a full list of all the deals at ski mountains, click here.
BizSense reporter Drew Jackson contributed to this story.