Groups and events boost spring break numbers for CBMR

Bookings up 44 percent over last March

Thanks to some key groups and events, Crested Butte Mountain Resort will end the ski season on a high note. Both the International Airline Ski Federation and the Matthew Shepard Foundation Gay Ski Week have chosen Crested Butte as their spring break destinations. It looks like we can expect March to be a busy month.

“The groups and events have had a huge impact on March,” said Daren Cole, vice president of sales and marketing for CBMR. “[Compared to last year] we are up 26 percent in transient or individual bookings, while groups are up 230 percent.” That equates to an overall increase of 44 percent over March of last year.
According to CBMR’s director of sales Jon Walters, it can be challenging to predict skier numbers for new events. But CBMR expects at least 450 airline employees to hit the slopes March 6 for a week of alpine, snowboard and Nordic ski races, and 200 to 250 people to attend Gay Ski Week starting March 19—the lodging and lift ticket proceeds of which will benefit the Matthew Shepard Foundation.
“It’s the inaugural year, so it’s hard to know [exact numbers] for sure,” Walters said of Gay Ski Week. “Guests will likely stay at venues throughout town, and might not advertise the fact that they are here for Gay Ski Week.”
Walters expects both Gay Ski Week and the Airline Federation to bring increased activity throughout the Mountain and Crested Butte. There has already been a community-wide effort to support their stays.
The Crested Butte Nordic Center will host a series of Nordic ski races for the Airline Federation, and the Downtown Crested Butte Lodging Association is hosting a Pajama Day and Night to benefit the Matthew Shepard Foundation and homeless children charities Lifeworks in Austin and the Denver Children’s Home. Events include PJ Speed Dating at Rumors Coffee and Tea House, a PJ Dinner Party at Maxwell’s and a PJ Pub Crawl. Participating restaurants and retailers will donate 5 percent or more of profits to the Matthew Shepard Foundation.
CMBR will end the month with the inaugural FestEVOL (pronounced fest-ee-vuhl) event on March 26. FestEVOL will bring together regional and national environmental groups, alternative energy and transportation exhibits, natural and organic food sampling, and ski and snowboard equipment demos from Nordica and Burton Snowboards. But the highlight of the event will be a concert by O.A.R. and the Pete Kilpatrick Band with special guest DJ Logic.
“We couldn’t think of a better way to illustrate the joys of spring skiing than with an event featuring great music, innovative natural brands, a sustainably focused “eco village” and on-mountain adventure,” said Cole.
Add the festive nature of Big Air on Elk on March 12 to an already jam-packed month, and it seems that on the mountain, at least, March and the ski season promise to go out like a lion.