Mission Ridge in WA (near Wenatchee--out of day trip distance for the Seattle/Tacoma/Everett area) is trying to hugely expand--to turn their 2000 acre day use ski area into a destination with almost 1000 condos or townhouses, a hotel, a large expansion of downhill skiing, a new nordic area, new day lodges, new parking, etc etc. They say both that skiing is growing and they want to capitalize that, and that they can't handle the crowds that come some days...and also, that they don't make a profit and won't unless they upgrade and expand. I thought this was interesting in terms of the whole "skiing is dying/skiing is too crowded" debate as they are saying, skiing is really popular but we still can't make money. (Of course we have to take them at their word there). I suppose it's really about the real estate. This is actually a big deal since in WA we don't have ski "resorts" just ski areas.
From the Environmental Assessment:
Use at Mission Ridge has grown steadily since opening in 1966; from 68,000 visits in 1966-67 to 114,000 visits in 2016-17. The projection for the 2019-2020 season is 127,000 visits, an increase of 11% (RRC Associates, 2018). In the Pacific Northwest, snow sports visits during 2015 -2018 were 20% higher than visits during 1995-1998 (US Ski Area Association, 2019). There is increasing interest and demand for developed alpine skiing and associated recreational opportunities on the Forest and near population centers. For example, from 2000-2009, recreation across the nation increased by 7% (Cordell 2012). In general, skiing is anticipated to be one of the top five activities to experience growth (Cordell 2012), while user-days at developed ski areas are estimated to increase by 40% from 2008-2030 (White et al. 2014). The Forest Plan anticipated growth in the alpine ski industry, and subsequently, an increase in winter sports and snow-related recreation on the forest, and specifically increased visitor use at developed alpine skiing sites.
Even in a good year for skier visits, Mission Ridge is not profitable. There are no funds available for capital facility improvement. Mission Ridge has not been able to substantially infiltrate the Puget Sound market because of tough competition from closer Washington ski areas and British Columbia ski-in/ski-out areas. Mission Ridge cannot continue to operate as a hometown day-use ski area with outdated facilities. Continuing changes in the recreation industry, an increasingly sophisticated user, improved ski equipment, and competition from other ski areas demand continual upgrades, diversification, and improvements. Areas that fail to upgrade and remain competitive in the marketplace suffer declining visits and eventual loss of capital for maintaining a quality recreation experience. In order to continue to operate as a successful enterprise and provide quality developed recreation opportunities to the public, the facilities need to be diversified and improved.