The trade group representing most of Colorado’s ski areas is calling last winter and spring “a strong rebound” from the previous season, when operations closed at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

Colorado Ski Country USA on Tuesday announced an estimated 12 million visits to all of the state’s commercial slopes on the 2020-’21 season. The organization reported that as 3.7% short of its projected five-year average, but a 7.6% boost from the coronavirus-shortened ’19-’20 season. The total was down from visitation tallied on the snowy ’18-’19 season, when Colorado Ski Country reported a record 13.8 million visits.

In a news release Tuesday, the group’s president and CEO, Melanie Mills, said member resorts were “pleased with how this season turned out.”

But the reported “rebound” fell short of a pace previously announced for the six states comprising the Rocky Mountain region of National Ski Areas Association. Earlier this month, the association said the region’s estimated 22.5 million visits spelled an 11.9% increase from the prior season.

Measures to limit the spread of coronavirus varied across the West and not all resorts beyond Colorado limited capacity last season, Mills noted in the release. “This created significant operational challenges,” she said, “and is reflected in the more modest increase in our visitation numbers compared with some of our neighboring states.”

In its report on 300-plus hills and mountains around the country, National Ski Areas Association indicated smaller operations faired better than larger ones, drawing on locals rather than international clientele. Major destinations like Aspen and Vail went into last winter bracing for hits due to travel being cut off.

Mother Nature posed another challenge on the winter. While Tuesday’s release credited late-season storms and vaccine rollouts combining for “a surge in visitation” in spring, Colorado Ski Country reported total ski area snowfall was down 15% compared with the 30-year-average.

The trade group represents 22 ski areas around the state, none of them being the five owned by Vail Resorts. Like the broader industry, the company keeps visitation specifics private.

But in a quarterly report to investors this month, Vail CEO Rob Katz said he was “very pleased with our overall results” for North American destinations. Year-to-year, he said visitation to U.S. slopes “was only down 3%” on the three-month period ending in April, in line with reported decreases in previous quarters.

Throughout the season, Vail Resorts suffered revenue losses exceeding 60% due to lines of business like food and beverage and ski school being restricted or shut down.

Katz recently presented optimism to investors: Compared with early June of last year, he said the number of season passes sold was up 50%.

Mills shared the optimism. Skiing provided “some sense of normalcy during a very difficult time,” she said in Tuesday’s release, adding: “If the demand for skiing and snowboarding we saw this past year continues, we expect to see a robust and continuing rebound from the pandemic.”

The trade group representing most of Colorado’s ski areas is calling last winter and spring “a strong rebound” from the previous season, when operations closed at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

Colorado Ski Country USA on Tuesday announced an estimated 12 million visits to all of the state’s commercial slopes on the 2020-’21 season. The organization reported that as 3.7% short of its projected five-year average, but a 7.6% boost from the coronavirus-shortened ’19-’20 season. The total was down from visitation tallied on the snowy ’18-’19 season, when Colorado Ski Country reported a record 13.8 million visits.

In a news release Tuesday, the group’s president and CEO, Melanie Mills, said member resorts were “pleased with how this season turned out.”

But the reported “rebound” fell short of a pace previously announced for the six states comprising the Rocky Mountain region of National Ski Areas Association. Earlier this month, the association said the region’s estimated 22.5 million visits spelled an 11.9% increase from the prior season.

Measures to limit the spread of coronavirus varied across the West and not all resorts beyond Colorado limited capacity last season, Mills noted in the release. “This created significant operational challenges,” she said, “and is reflected in the more modest increase in our visitation numbers compared with some of our neighboring states.”

In its report on 300-plus hills and mountains around the country, National Ski Areas Association indicated smaller operations faired better than larger ones, drawing on locals rather than international clientele. Major destinations like Aspen and Vail went into last winter bracing for hits due to travel being cut off.

Mother Nature posed another challenge on the winter. While Tuesday’s release credited late-season storms and vaccine rollouts combining for “a surge in visitation” in spring, Colorado Ski Country reported total ski area snowfall was down 15% compared with the 30-year-average.

The trade group represents 22 ski areas around the state, none of them being the five owned by Vail Resorts. Like the broader industry, the company keeps visitation specifics private.

But in a quarterly report to investors this month, Vail CEO Rob Katz said he was “very pleased with our overall results” for North American destinations. Year-to-year, he said visitation to U.S. slopes “was only down 3%” on the three-month period ending in April, in line with reported decreases in previous quarters.

Throughout the season, Vail Resorts suffered revenue losses exceeding 60% due to lines of business like food and beverage and ski school being restricted or shut down.

Katz recently presented optimism to investors: Compared with early June of last year, he said the number of season passes sold was up 50%.

Mills shared the optimism. Skiing provided “some sense of normalcy during a very difficult time,” she said in Tuesday’s release, adding: “If the demand for skiing and snowboarding we saw this past year continues, we expect to see a robust and continuing rebound from the pandemic.”