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Richard Piatt ReportingThere are a lot of reasons the state can feel good about the ski industry this year. And it begins with the pre-Thanksgiving season opener.
Already revved up: Early skiers could be an early sign of the fourth record Utah ski season in a row.
Opening before Thanksgiving is a big deal to the industry, and to Utah's economy.
Nathan Raffery/ Ski Utah: "We want to make sure this growth stays around as long as possible, because it's easy to go up and down. We want to make sure we ride this wave as long as we can."
Ski Utah hypes the upcoming season every year at this time. But this year there's a reason for all the optimism.
The number of people skiing in Utah last year grew above the national average: 4.3 percent. That's more than 4-million people statewide.
All those people mean big money: $692 million dollars to the state's economy.
That includes a rise in local skiers; vacationers spending more cash, and the rising popularity of snowboarding.
Utah's growth isn't just in Park City or Salt Lake County.
Snowbasin poured millions of dollars into improvements to get ready for the Olympics. Improvements here, and at almost every resort in the state, are investments that pay off because the public demands them.
Kevin Stauffer/ Snowbasin: "Now Ogden has picked up its business with a lot of ski related businesses moving to the area. I have to believe that a lot of that business is because of Snowbasin."
Predictions for the 2006-2007 season are optimistic, too. They're based on hotel reservations, hits on ski industry web sites, and of course the forecast of a moderate El Nino weather pattern than may translate into a lot of Utah's trademark powder.
