In spite of tricky weather through a large portion of the 2022-23 season, New Hampshire’s ski resorts proved that they’re a resilient bunch. Ski New Hampshire (SkiNH) announced that the state had seen 13% more visitors compared to the 2021-22 season. With a total of 2,263,776 visits to New Hampshire’s alpine ski resorts, this past winter ranked in the top ten seasons of all-time visitation for the state.
The big driver was snowfall in March, which led to around a 54% increase in weekly visitation compared to 21-22. Late-season extensions led to an 81% increase in weekly visitation during March and the first three weeks of April compared to the 2021-22 season. The only bad news from the report came from Nordic skier visits, with a 10% decrease in visits from the 2021-22 season.
Jessyca Keeler, who is the President of SkiNH, gave a recap of how the season went for New Hampshire ski resorts:
“The 2022/23 season was a rollercoaster when it came to weather, and weather is the single biggest factor that impacts visitation. According to a preliminary report by the National Ski Areas Association, nationwide skier visits broke another record in 2022/23, with a total of 64.7 million skier visits – representing an increase of 6.6% over the prior season.
After what initially looked like a season that was going to be plagued by warm weather and little snowfall, it ultimately reversed course and finished in the top 10 seasons historically at number nine for alpine skier visits, with a total of 2,263,776 visits. This represented a 13% increase year-over-year compared to 1,997,185 visits the prior year, and 10% over the 10-year average.”
Visitation is expected to be strong going into next season, as ski resorts in the Granite State will be investing major dough this offseason. Attitash will be opening the much-anticipated replacement of the Summit Triple, Cranmore will be opening their new base lodge, and a new beginner area will open at Loon Mountain.
Image/Video Credits: Kyle Matzke (Featured Image), SkiNH
