By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org
CONWAY – The state’s ski industry has been benefiting from an old-fashioned winter with all Lakes Region events from a massive pond hockey tournament to an ice fishing derby to dog sled races held without a hitch due to snow, ice and cold weather.
In recent years, important vacation weeks for those who enjoy skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing and Nordic skiing and snowmobiling have had to deal with warm, wet weather and a lack of snow and ice to play on and in.
Mt. Washington Valley noted “uneven” business levels last week during the first February School Vacation Week with Massachusetts schools on holiday with ski areas, hotels, restaurants and attractions reported varying degrees of visitation.
“Skiers are raving about snow conditions right now. After a series of storms earlier this month, you could not ask for better snow for skiing, snowmobiling and sledding. It definitely attracted visitors to our region,” said Chris Proulx, executive director for the Mt. Washington Valley Chamber.
Particularly strong was children’s ski lessons, said Becca Deschenes, marketing director for Cranmore Mountain Resort.
She said that while business was down overall compared to last year, kids’ lessons were up significantly.
She also said high winds last Monday and Tuesday impacted business.
Chris McNevich of King Pine Ski Area stated results were “consistently solid” for the week.
Ellen Chandler, Executive Director at Jackson Ski Touring, also noted that windy conditions at the start of the week deterred some skiers, but the week finished strong with a huge turnout for the UNH Winter Carnival.
The White Mountain Hotel reported they were sold out for both weekends, and midweek was strong while not sold out.
Alex Foti, president of Bretton Woods Vacations, said “Business this February vacation week was fantastic! We were sold out on a few days, and the number of future bookings we received during the week outpaced last year by 3-fold, which gives us a very optimistic outlook for the coming months.”
A survey of members of the chamber found 42 percent reporting that business was above their expectations; 28 percent reported it was what they expected and 28 percent reported that they were hoping for more business.