Catamount Sets All-time Record for Skier Visits

By AlpineZone News |
Mar 15 2005 - 10:23 PM

SOUTH EGREMONT, Massachusetts ??” Catamount Ski Area in the Berkshires has set a new all-time record for attendance and revenues, a resort official said.

“This past weekend put us over the top,” said Bill Gilbert, managing partner at the resort. “And we’ll be skiing for quite a while yet.”

Gilbert said that significant growth in midweek skier visits, the addition of several new trails and the use of more sophisticated marketing efforts helped spur visits.

Another contributor was the resort’s generous season pass pricing. The resort is holding to last year’s price ??“ $199 for adults ??“ for early purchase of next season’s passes. Persons purchasing passes for next year can ski free for the remainder of this season.

“We’ll continue to operate as long as there are people who want to ski and ride,” Gilbert said. “The trails are covered wall to wall, and deep. We could ski well into April this year.”

He noted that the record results were especially gratifying in that the early part of the season was disappointing. Unseasonably warm weather delayed Catamount’s opening by several weeks.

However, once temperatures dropped, the resort’s snowmaking system was able to make up for lost time. The resort also received significant amounts of natural snow in February and March.

“The most exciting thing about this season is the number of people who experienced Catamount for the first time, and then kept coming,” Gilbert said. “They raved about the variety of terrain and the quality of the snow. Lots of new faces became old friends this year.”

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