Image by Bruce Stanfield

Colorado ski resorts logged more than 12.6 million skier visits during the 2013 – 2014 ski season making it a record season. That is up about 10 percent compared to the 2012-13 season and up about 8 percent from the state’s five-year average.

Nationwide, skier visits were down by about 700,000 or 1.3 percent this season, according to National Ski Areas Association.

Many site the above-average snowfall for the historic season, but others point to the legalization of marijuana as the real fuel behind the growth.

Melanie Mills, president & CEO of Colorado Ski Country USA, points to these two factors in a statement. “From the start of the season Colorado was in the national spotlight as media focused on the snow and the legalization of marijuana,” said Mills. “All eyes were on the ski industry as the two stories unfolded during the ski season.”

[Image credit: Shutterstock]