Where Have All The Skiers And Riders Gone?

Are Mountain Resorts Slamming the Door in the Faces of the Middle Class...and Shrinking Sport Participation Growth?

Skiing used to be a financially accessible family sport. Let's face it, today, it's not.

I grew up in a solidly average, middle class Montreal area-just a hop, skip and a jump from Quebec's ski resorts. In those days, most families skied on Saturdays, whether the kids liked it or not.

Enduring frozen hair and skin while riding up the chairlift seemed part of my duty to my Canadian heritage...sort of like hockey. If you weren't a hockey family (ie-if you had daughters), you were a skiing one.

We spent our vacations skiing.

Times have Changed-Where is the Future?

Most of my grown friends and all of my siblings (who have great jobs) no longer ski or ride. They also don't take ski vacations any more.

Even worse, they haven't dragged their kids through their Canuck right of passage.

I now live and work in Vancouver, only 90 minutes from Whistler, where your hair rarely freezes while riding the lifts and little boot warmers keep your toes warm. An Express Card makes skiing & riding at Whistler affordable.

Despite proximity and reasonable affordability, my 9 year old daughter is one of the few kids in her school who skis or rides.

A whole new generation of little skiiers and riders isn't entering the sport. An older generation of middle-aged + skiers and riders are dropping it.

Have you noticed the same trend in your neck of the woods? Why is the industry failing to regenerate itself or recruit more people into the sport? Why is it turning off its past customers?

What happened in the industry?

Before I toss my own biased perspective into the pile, tell me what you all think.

I am heading to my first Mountain Travel Symposium in Whistler this April. I want to uncover how big the reality gap really is between the hearts of mountain sport enthusiasts and the Mountain Destination decision makers.

I also want to know what we can do through our ski resort web site to serve serve our industry and get more people back into experiencing pure mountain joy.

Thanks for your time!