Maine’s ski industry sliding to strong season

PORTLAND – Ski areas in the state say a strong March could lead to a record-breaking year.

This winter’s heavy snows have kept their slopes packed from the Christmas holidays through last month’s school vacation week.

This year’s ski numbers are rivaling those of the winter of 2000-01, which had the most skier days, 1,323,542, according to Melissa Rock, the spokeswoman for Shawnee Peak in Bridgton.

“We’re really excited about March,” Rock said. “When the snow is in our customers’ back yards, with 20- to 30-inch dumps coming in every few weeks, it’s like, ‘Wow, let’s go skiing!”‘

Mount Abram Family Resort in Greenwood set revenue and visitor records in the latter half of the Presidents Day vacation week, said Josh Burns, the owner.

Some of the larger resorts with snowmaking equipment could stretch the season into May if it’s a cool spring, said Greg Sweetser, the executive director of the Ski Maine Association.

Sweetser said he’s confident that ski areas in the state will record at least 1.3 million skier days this winter. That figure represents a benchmark, he said, and anything exceeding 1.3 million makes for a good year.

During the past decade, Maine has surpassed that figure just three times, he said.

Potential pitfalls include the possible war with Iraq, a sluggish economy and rising gas prices.

But New England resorts are better positioned than their western counterparts to handle those problems, according to Joe Cutts, senior editor for eastern resorts for SKI magazine.

Western ski areas tend to be destination resorts where people stay for a week after traveling long distances, he said. Those skiers tend to spend more money on average, but people watching their budgets are less likely to commit to such a trip, he said.