I made my first turns of the season yesterday, on Aspen Mountain. My legs were reminded of the sport as I led them slowly (at first) down runs like Copper, North American and finally Spar Gulch. I heard the sounds of the World Cup as I finished the day at the bottom. It felt good to ski and there was a surprising amount of people on the mountain, which should make the Aspen Skiing Company feel good too.
The Ski-Co is gearing up for a season that it hopes will match last winter, when it comes to ticket sales and general business. The Company logged 1.36 million skier visits last season, which was down more than 7 % from the 2007/2008 season. The Ski-Co is using more marketing dollars this year and aggressively promoting deals. Ski-Co Senior Vice President David Perry told the Aspen Times recently "We're still battling economic headwinds."
Despite the challenges, everything seemed in its place yesterday with a packed Ajax Tavern and lift lines at the Silver Queen Gondola. Let's hope the early-season visual signs are representative of what's to come throughout the rest of this 2009/2010 ski season.
No comments:
Post a Comment