Ski areas wary about energy costs Snow Bowl budget includes ticket price hike, schedule cut

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CAMDEN – Ski areas large and small, concerned about the impact the rising cost of energy could have on their operations in the coming season, are already talking about how to meet the challenges.

“There’s some speculation that local areas are going to benefit, and destination areas are going to suffer,” said Jeff Kuller, general manager of the Camden Snow Bowl, the town-owned ski area.

“My suspicion is, I think we’re all going to lose a little bit,” he said.

“A lot of the industry is taking a wait-and-see attitude,” he said.

Tom McAllister, general manager of Saddleback Ski Area in Rangeley, said forecasting what skiers will do next winter “is hard to call.”

He says he has read that many in the ski industry believe more skiers will stay on the East Coast rather than fly west to areas in Colorado or Wyoming, for example. Skiers who stay closer to home could benefit from Eastern slopes such as Saddleback, which serves as a destination for skiers from Boston and points north, and provides a place for local skiers as well, McAllister said.

“We have occasional skiers coming from places like Texas, but usually because they have connections in Rangeley,” he said.

Kuller on Tuesday night presented a 2009 budget to the Camden Select Board. His package included changes in ticket prices and the weekly skiing schedule for the 2009 season.

In his proposed $507,188 operating budget review, Kuller forecast a 12 percent increase in operating expenses and revenues alike.

The budget reflects more money for gasoline, diesel fuel and electricity, including a substantial hike in electricity rates for snowmaking, he said.

“The Snow Bowl has been on a special rate structure for several years through the Ski Maine Association [with] all the ski areas in Maine except for Sunday River and Sugarloaf,” he said, but the agreement expired this year and Central Maine Power Co. decided not to continue it.

“The bottom line is a $37,000 increase in our energy costs compared to last year and an additional $10,000 for the town’s match for the fundraising effort for the Toboggan Nationals competition,” he said.

Meeting his self-styled “conservative budget” would require a 5 percent increase in ticket prices, Kuller said, including daily tickets, programs and season passes, and the elimination of skiing on Tuesdays.

Closing for the seven Tuesdays in the season would eliminate 10 percent of his operational costs, based on a 70-day ski season.

The Select Board approved the budget in a 5-0 vote and approved the increase in ticket rates.

Ethan Austin, multimedia manager for Sugarloaf in Carrabassett Valley, said his company has begun using a percentage of biodiesel fuels in its gas for all the mountain’s equipment as a way to save energy.

“We’re enhancing our shuttle program from Kingfield and hopefully adding a shuttle service from Farmington,” he said, referring to the program started by the Maine Department of Transportation. “The Farmington shuttle is still being considered.”

Austin pointed out that Sugarloaf’s northern location helps in snowmaking.

“When the temperature is colder, it takes less energy to make snow,” he said. Moreover, the ski area is investing in low-energy snow guns which make more snow with less fuel, he added.

Although Sugarloaf sees skiers from all over the country, the area’s primary market is Maine-based. “We do expect to see more local traffic,” Austin said.

He also believes that Maine skiers who formerly traveled out West to get “that big mountain feel” will stay closer to home.

Sugarloaf’s 134 trails make it the biggest ski resort in the state, he added.

Meanwhile, Sunday River ski area in Newry expects skiers to make fewer trips and stay longer, said Alex Kaufman, communications manager for Sunday River, a destination ski area serving an eastern New England market.

“We’re taking a look at our visitation pattern and putting together more skier packages to get more skiing out of their trips,” he said in an interview Wednesday.

“We’re conscious of the pocketbook issue,” he added.

“Of course, snow trumps everything,” Kaufman said, noting that a snowy winter will draw more skiers, despite the costs of travel.

Sunday River has its own “on-mountain” shuttle service to help skiers with fuel and relieve traffic congestion and draws on the DOT’s sponsored shuttle service to the ski area from nearby Bethel.

The energy crisis will require better planning to find ways to reduce the bottom line, said Kaufman.

“We’re all in the same boat on this one,” he said.

gchappell@bangordailynews.net

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