The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Looking for authenticity
In a recent discussion about the changing demographics of the ski industry, the Colorado Association of Ski Towns (CAST) determined that not only is the number of skiers and snowboarders hitting the slopes these days falling, but also that the Millennial generation—18- to 33-year-olds—is likely more interested in technology than in powder shots.
A report put together by RRC Associates, and presented to CAST at its annual meeting in Durango on August 28 disclosed that growing snow sports remains possible but it won’t be easy. The difficulty comes in part because of the appeal skiing and snowboarding have, or don’t have, with different generations.
According to the report, the older generations have more interest and more money to spend on skiing but less energy and life left to actually ski, while the Millennials have less disposable income and interests that align more with current and historic culture. In the closing of the RRC report, were these words: “Mountain towns with strong historical identities and authentic presence are well positioned to appeal to a younger generation.”
With that in mind, the future for Crested Butte and the Crested Butte Mountain Resort may not be quite so bleak.
“Like any business we are always concerned and looking at the potential threats to our business, but like all businesses we adapt,” said CBMR vice president and general manager Ethan Mueller. “The industry that we are in now is drastically different from what we were 10 years ago, 10 years before that, and so on. To that point, I don’t worry about the threats so much as I worry about finding the opportunities.
“CBMR has always and will always be looking for new/better ways to encourage winter visitors,” Mueller continued. “I feel CBMR and the greater community is very much on track to provide services and products that people want. Our challenge and opportunity is in access. Over that last few years we have been seeing well-above-average growth in our statewide visitation, and I feel we will continue to see that for various reasons.”
According to Mueller, the RRC report was not the first to suggest the decline of skiing; however, skiing and the ski industry continue to bring in new users and to experience healthy growth.
“This is a discussion that has been going on for decades in our industry,” Mueller said. “It’s a complicated topic.”
For Mt. Crested Butte, the report provided some insight into how the town might approach marketing and sales efforts and future development efforts, said Mt. Crested Butte town manager Joe Fitzpatrick.
For example, the report suggested ski towns work to capitalize on summer, and advised that a majority of visitors to ski towns visit to enjoy “the scenic beauty of the mountain/area.” In response to these issues Mt. Crested Butte may focus on projects that benefit the summer experience, as was the case with their role in building the Adventure Park at CBMR in 2009, said Fitzpatrick.
“[That] investment has helped our community to attract summer visitors and to attract families that are traveling together,” Fitzpatrick said. “We have been setting summer sales tax records since 2009. And Crested Butte Mountain Resort’s improvement of mountain bike trails, running two lifts, improving the peak hike, etc. have all contributed to the increasing summer business… As a town our focus must remain on maintaining infrastructure that fits the needs of our summer and winter guests.”
For now, a few things are certain. The nights are getting colder. The snow will soon fall. We can’t wait to ski the Headwall. And early season pass sales at CBMR end October 24.
