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<br />...:. <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />SUMKARY <br /> <br />Purpose <br /> <br />The purpose of this study is to assess the effects of early-season snow <br />on skier visits in Colorado and to relate skier visits associated with <br />more snow to retail expenditures. <br /> <br />Importance of the Study <br /> <br />The Colorado Department of Natural Resources, ,under legislative mandate, <br />regulates and monitors weather modification activities in Colorado. <br />Colorado law also encourages the Department to research economic and <br />other effects of weather modification on Colorado. This study is <br />important because the economic value to ski areas and surrounding <br />counties of early-season snow is presented by applicants in support of <br />their request to conduct cloud seeding in Colorado. Ski areas indicate <br />that early snow helps them open on time and improves skiing conditions <br />for the peak Christmas season. <br /> <br />Bacuround <br /> <br />Growth of the Ski Industry <br /> <br />Since the 1950's, the ski industry in Colorado has grown dramatically. <br />The number of skier visits, which totaled over eight million in the <br />1982-83 season, has more than doubled in the past decade. The Colorado <br />ski industry accounts for about fifteen percent of skier visits in the <br />United States. <br /> <br />Effects of Low Snowpack in 1976-77 and 1980-81 <br /> <br />Rapid growth of the ski industry in Colorado was interrupted in the <br />winters of 1976-77 and 1980-81 by very low mountain snowpack. In <br />1976-77, sales of lift tickets by members of COlorado Ski Country USA, <br />the trade association for 34 Colorado ski areas, dropped by an average of <br />almost 40 percent from the preceding winter, and in 1980-81, skier visits <br />declined by an aversge of more than 30 percent. <br /> <br />Use of Snow-makin~ and Cloud Seedin~ to Au~ment Snow Depth <br /> <br />Several Colorado ski areas responded to the droughts of 1976-77 and <br />1980-8l by investing substantially in snow-making and/or sponsoring cloud <br />seeding. Snow-making is a process by which ski areas produce artificial <br />snow by spraying fine particles of water under high pressure into the air <br />above the slopes. Snow-msking is most often used at lower elevations. <br />Snow-making systems, for which Colorado ski areas spent approximstely $30 <br />million in 1982, generally are used to establish base in the fall snd to <br />enhsnce heavily-skied or melted areas during the season. <br /> <br />i <br />