Is Skiing a dying sport?

[Ken_R]

Just saw this video:





Its not all doom and gloom in my eyes since a lot of the closed ski areas are so because of a combination of issues in each case but the data seems to point that there are significantly less skiers every year.

I mean, I live in Denver so its a reality that is tough to understand since more and more skiers seem to move here every year.

What do you all think?

 

[Philpug]

No one skis any more, its too crowded.

 

[KingGrump]

No one told these good folks.
I think some of them are still on line from last season.

 

[wooglin]

I agree with @Philpug.

 

[dbostedo]

Somewhat long discussion on that video here:

Are ski areas dying?

Interesting video I ran across. The high point are quotes from sugarbush's president. A lot of the rest is fluff. I'm not sure where they got there stats. NSAA stats show skier days per skier are stable as are skier days per year. http://www.nsaa.org/media/378733/participants2019.pdf My...

www.skitalk.com

 

[slowrider]

Sell your skis, donate the ski clothes.

 

[Ken_R]

Sell your skis, donate the ski clothes.

I am taking donations. PM for details

 

[Bozzenhagen]

The effort and ROI involved in this sport is only really for people who really love it.

Colorado just has an active rotation of never evers + people who barely get more than 5 days a season.
Every dam weekend.
Every dam >= 1" powder day.

 

[scott43]

You know..I was thinking about this as global warming and such..conditions. And here in Ontario..Quebec..etc..the northern states like Montana, Idaho..winter is long and you need recreation or else it can get to you. So I was thinking no, I don't think it will disappear. But then..snowmobiling is way down here..lots of people switching to ATV's because conditions are so variable in the wintertime. So yeah..it could be dying in some places if they can't get enough snow and people out.

 

[Bill Talbot]

No one told these good folks.
I think some of them are still on line from last season.

View attachment 162645

If this was 'skiing', I would not SKI! That is waiting, a far, far less attractive sport.
I'm able to ski midweek and that is how it can still be enjoyable.

 

[scott43]

I'm sitting here in Toronto, it's -7C outside..kids are on March break next week..and the lifts at my local bump are currently ski-on...no lines. Great for us.. But you would think they'd be busier...

 

[Wasatchman]

Most definitely not a dying sport. Climate change might kill it, but otherwise it is not dying.

 

[Paul Lutes]

It's just sleeping ......

 

[KingGrump]

If this was 'skiing', I would not SKI! That is waiting, a far, far less attractive sport.
I'm able to ski midweek and that is how it can still be enjoyable.

Shhhh....

Them folks don't need or want to know they are not skiing. Who are we to judge. Let them be happy "skiing" their way.

 

[Tony Storaro]

No one skis any more, its too crowded.

Cant agree more. Never seen so many kids on the slopes as this season. Dying sport-my a$$

 

[DanoT]

You know..I was thinking about this as global warming and such..conditions. And here in Ontario..Quebec..etc..the northern states like Montana, Idaho..winter is long and you need recreation or else it can get to you. So I was thinking no, I don't think it will disappear. But then..snowmobiling is way down here..lots of people switching to ATV's because conditions are so variable in the wintertime. So yeah..it could be dying in some places if they can't get enough snow and people out.

Yeah, I have always believed that to survive the Canadian winter you need a sport or recreational activity, preferably outdoors and not just as a spectator, to fight cabin fever.

Hockey, curling, ice fishing are a lot less expensive than skiing but at least skiing doesn't require a $10k sled or a $60k truck to haul them around. That said, if I wasn't a skier I'd probably be a sled head. And I have friends at Whistler who years ago stopped buying season passes and instead bought sleds to access backcountry skiing. So I guess I am saying that even if the popularity of skiing wanes, or global warming shortens the season, there will be some who stay skiing and some who do other stuff.

 

[crgildart]

Weekends aren't totally impossible. Sunday mornings are still usually not too bad most places.. But, by about noon fuggettabouttitt.

 

[slowrider]

Weekends aren't totally impossible. Sunday mornings are still usually not too bad most places.. But, by about noon fuggettabouttitt.

The Crack of Nooners.....

 

[Jersey Skier]

I live in a middle class suburban neighborhood and have friends who are more upper income. None of us live near a mountain. We've all brought our kid's skiing, either on vacations to some of the nicest places in the US or to more local day trips, but none of these kids seem to have stuck with it as they got older.

I grew up in Queens, NY. No one's parents skied. Our group of 15 our so kids all skied regularly thru HS exclusively thru Bus trips. Half of us remain skiers 40+ years later. Our kids, not so much.

 

[Rich_Ease_3051]

At some point in the future, some of the 1 billion Indians and 1 billion Chinese will become rich and pick up the hobby as an upper class pursuit. I mean the Chinese already do, but was just interrupted by the pandemic. But the winter Olympic should have given their population the push to become skiers and snowboarders.

The law of big numbers suggests this is just getting started. Pretty soon those Indians and Chinese will compete for a spot in Japanese and European and Aspen lodges against the usual fare of Aussie and American skiers and snowboarders.