Denver (Ski Press)-As powder pummeled Colorado’s ski resorts during the holidays, skiers and snowboarders stayed true

to their sport. Despite fears that a troublesome economy could cause hard times for the ski industry, Colorado Ski Country USA resort operators were greeted with booming holiday traffic. The non-stop snow along with reduced gas prices, cheaper air fares, and a broad menu of creative new deals from resorts made it hard for skiers and riders to stay out of Colorado Ski Country over the holidays.

Some Colorado Ski Country USA (CSCUSA) member resorts are reporting that holiday visits exceeded expectations. CSCUSA’s President and CEO, Melanie Mills, explained, “Last week, we saw stronger visits than we had anticipated. Colorado delivered great snow and blue skies the way only Colorado can. The weather trumped the economy and Colorado Ski Country USA resorts came out strong.” Resorts across the state saw encouraging amounts of visitation during the holiday season.

Part of the holiday cheer in ski country could be due to record snowfall, with December snowfall at Silverton, Crested Butte Mountain Resort, and Telluride easily shattering records. Gobs of snow poured down in December throughout Colorado, with the southwest seeing particularly prolific amounts of the white stuff.

CSCUSA’s early pass sales kept apace with the pounding snow. Ever the optimists, skiers and riders picked up ski passes en force this fall and early winter as they sought out the best deals of the season.

Sales of some of CSCUSA’s discount cards and passes are a good example of this trend. Gems Cards are CSCUSA’s signature discount cards, offering cardholders free and reduced lift tickets and other discounts at nine of Colorado’s ‘hidden gem’ resorts. By late December, CSCUSA had sold every card in stock.

The CSCUSA Gold Passes have been selling strong as well. Gold Passes are good for unlimited skiing at 21 of CSCUSA’s member resorts throughout the 2008-09 ski and snowboard season. CSCUSA sold all of its early-sale Gold Passes by mid-December.

Skiers tend to be one of the more dedicated sectors of the leisure travel market. Snow devotees are still flocking to Colorado from other states, which can be seen in Denver International Airport’s (DIA) strong air travel numbers. Despite record drops at other airports, DIA has not lost a proportional amount of business. Skiers and riders are finding fares that suit their budgets and taking advantage of rare travel deals offered by resorts and airlines in order to explore Colorado’s high country.

Ski resorts in Colorado are hopeful that unbeatable snow, heavy pass sales, and continuing travel from out of state signal happy days to come despite a grumpy economy.

Photo Credit: Crested Butte/Nathan Bilow