Vail Resorts on Thursday reported season-to-date total skier visits were down 16.2% compared to the prior year season-to-date period.

However, season-to-date total lift ticket revenue, including an allocated portion of season pass revenue for each applicable period, was up 2.6% compared to the prior year season-to-date period. The measuring period was from the beginning of the ski season through Jan. 7, 2024 and through Jan. 8, 2023 for the prior year for the company’s North American destination mountain resorts and regional ski areas.

Season-to-date ski school revenue was up 5%, but dining revenue was down 5.8% compared to the prior year season-to-date period. Retail/rental revenue for North American resort and ski area store locations was down 13.3% compared to the prior year season-to-date period.

“Given the challenging conditions to start the 2023/2024 North American ski season, we are pleased with our season-to-date results and the guest service delivered at our resorts, highlighting the stability provided by our season pass program and the investments we have made in our resorts and employees,” Kirsten Lynch, Chief Executive Officer said.

“Through the holiday period ended January 7, 2024, conditions across our North American resorts were below average in all regions compared to the strong early season conditions in the prior year period, leading to a decline in both local and destination skier visitation,” Lynch said.

Lynch also noted unfavorable conditions impacted all of Vail Resorts North American resorts, particularly its eastern U.S. — comprising of the Midwest, mid-Atlantic and northeast — and Tahoe (California) resorts, which were impacted by limited natural snow and variable temperatures resulting in delayed openings, reduced terrain offerings, and select resort closure days through the holiday period.

“As a result of the challenging conditions through the holiday period, season-to-date guest visitation and revenue was below our expectations in North America,” Lynch said. “The majority of our North American resorts experienced significant snowstorms leading up to and over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, which impacted the guest experience, but also led to recently improved conditions across our resorts.”

Lynch noted that based on the company’s significant base of early season pass buyers and reserved ahead day tickets, and an improvement in conditions across its resorts in recent weeks, Vail Resorts now expects Resort Reported Earnings: Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA), for fiscal 2024 to be in the lower half of the guidance range issued on Sept. 28, 2023.

“Our guidance assumes a continuation of the improvement in conditions that we are currently experiencing at our North American resorts, normal weather conditions for the remainder of the 2023/2024 European ski season and the 2024 Australian ski season, a continuation of the current economic environment, and the foreign currency exchange rates as of our original September 2023 guidance,” Lynch said.

“We are looking forward to the remainder of the season given the recently improved conditions, the investments we have made to continue elevating the guest experience, and the stability provided by our season pass program.”

The conditions negatively impacted visitation across the company’s North American resorts, Lynch said, and “particularly among our local guests, but our season pass sales results significantly mitigated the impact of the slower start to the season on overall lift revenue and highlight the stability created by our advance commitment strategy.”

“Despite the decline in season-to-date visitation relative to the prior year period, we are pleased with the strength in ancillary spending per visit across our ski school, rental, and dining businesses,” Lynch said.

Vail Resorts (MTN) stock is trading around $220.80/share on Friday, down over $45/share from its 52-week high of $266.26 in January 2023.