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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Utah's ski resorts are on pace to match last winter's record for skiers on the slopes -- and that was an extra-long season.
The number of skier visits to Utah resorts is fast approaching the 4-million mark for the season.
That means Utah -- the No. 4 skiing state -- could move up a notch, replacing Vermont -- which usually gets 4 million skier visits but had a bad winter for snowfall.
The marketing cooperative Ski Utah today released an early assessment of the ski season and it looks good. Most ski areas don't close until next weekend and Snowbird stays open longer.
Ski Utah says the winter is shaping up as busy as the last one -- and that was a record-long season, when Snowbird logged 205 days of skiing.
This year Snowbird says it had its busiest March ever for skier days and lodging. Other resorts say their numbers are up too.
Ski Utah's assessment came as Utah's skiing governor -- Jon Huntsman -- hit the sunny slopes at Solitude Mountain Resort.
Huntsman says the secret is getting out -- that Utah has good skiing, lots of snow and easy access from the Salt Lake airport. He says the ski industry contributes nearly 1(B) billion dollars to the economy.
Huntsman calls himself an intermediate skier, but he was seen racing down the slopes today ahead of his bodyguard and other companions.
The governor, says Ski Utah President Nathan Rafferty, can ski like a rocket.
It's something Huntsman might pick up from his favorite sport -- dirt biking.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
