Word: mountainize
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...year. The backyard syndrome stipulates that if you can't see snow in your backyard, you won't think of going skiing, whatever the economy. If the flakes are falling, however, you'll get silly for the slopes. "Snow makes skiers act irrationally," says Ralf Garrison, director of the Mountain Travel Research Program, which compiles lodging data from ski resorts in the Western U.S. "When there's soft powder, skiing is no longer a discretionary activity. It becomes a birthright." (See 50 authentic American travel experiences...
...Through Jan. 31, March reservations were down an alarming 29% for the Western resorts - traditionally a period of great snow and warmer temperatures. "Good snow helped fuel a slew of last-minute bookings around Christmas," says Garrison, the Mountain Travel Research Program director. "Who knows if the snow will save the day again...
...Wachusett Mountain Ski Area in Princeton, Mass., has access to some 7 million people who live about an hour away in the Boston; Hartford, Conn.; and Providence, R.I., regions. And skiers are staying local: skier days at Wachusett have risen 4%. "We are drawing the people that make a spontaneous decision to go skiing," says Tom Meyers, the marketing chief at Wachusett...
...East's gain is the West's loss. According to the Mountain Travel Research Program, through Jan. 31, occupancy was down 18% at the Western ski areas, while lodging rates dropped 8%. Vail Resorts, a public company that runs four ski areas in Colorado and one in California, reported a 5.8% drop in skier visits through early January and a 7.5% decline in lift-ticket revenue. The Aspen Skiing Company, which operates the Ajax Mountain, Highlands, Buttermilk and Snowmass ski areas, predicts skier visits will drop between 5% and 15% this year. (See the top 10 sports moments...
...others have been stolen. Just as bad, some cyclists have even begun broadcasting Internet videos of themselves engaged in "Vélib free rides" or "extreme Vélib'," in which wannabe urban daredevils put the solid but graceless bikes through punishing stunts usually reserved for BMX or mountain bikes...