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Niche Marketing
Colorado’s smaller ski areas discover a area of interest as they compete with massive resorts
02
Dec
Dec
The old Lenawee lift at Arapahoe Basin, a slow three-person chair installed in 2001 that took skiers from mid-mountain to the summit, was replaced this past summer by a high-speed six-person lift. The old one didn’t wind up in a junkyard, though.
It was shipped to Sunlight Mountain Resort, a ski small area near Glenwood Springs that will begin running it next summer. The Lenawee equipment will replace Sunlight’s Segundo lift, a double that was built in 1973 — and is the oldest operating chair in Colorado. Before it became Segundo at Sunlight, it was lift 1A at Aspen Mountain and dates back to 1954.
“We’re calling this year ‘Sayonara to Segundo,’” said Sunlight marketing director Troy Hawks. “If you want to ride the ’57 Chevy of the ski industry, come and get it now, because we’re going to park it in the garage and put something newer in.”
Arapahoe Basin, a medium-sized area just 4 miles from Keystone — which is one of 41 resorts owned by behemoth Vail Resorts — didn’t remove the old Lenawee because it was worn out. It wasn’t. They didn’t replace it to attract more skiers, either. Resort officials say they simply wanted a faster lift with more uphill capacity to improve the skier experience.
Skiers head up the Lenawee Mountain lift at Arapahoe Basin on their reopening day May 27, 2020. (Andy Cross, The Denver Post)
It’s just one example of how Colorado’s scrappy small and medium-sized ski areas, many of them independent, find ways to compete against the corporate Epic and Ikon pass resort alliances that have dominated the industry’s season pass sales for years.
Broomfield-based Vail Resorts introduced the Epic Pass in 2008. Since then, the company has steadily acquired new resorts and “partners,” which are resorts owned by other companies where the Epic Pass is honored.
In 2018, Denver-based Alterra Mountain Company was formed, launching the Ikon Pass as a direct competitor to Epic. A year later, Vail acquired Peak Resorts, which owned 17 ski areas. Many in the industry worried what would become of small areas.
“We were all afraid that this was going to really cripple us,” said Dan Torsell, chief executive of the Cooper ski area, 10 miles north of Leadville. “But everybody kind of stuck to their guns. We all have strengths. Everybody has done a pretty good job of highlighting those and getting people to come in and take advantage of them.”
For those who enjoy them, the strength and charm of Colorado’s small and medium-sized areas include no-frills skiing and the ability to park near the base area, without the crowds, glitz, glamor and high prices for parking and food that are common at the megaresorts.
“There’s still a strong demand and a big market for folks who just want to drive up, park close to the lift, get their runs in, bring their lunch, and have some extra clothing in the car so they can shed clothes if it warms up during the day — without having to take a shuttle to their vehicle that’s parked for $30 a day,” Hawks said.
Family-owned Loveland ski area is one of many small and medium-sized ski areas in Colorado that is thriving despite competition from megaresorts covered by Epic and Ikon season passes. (John Meyer, Denver Post file)
Loveland ski area is a family-owned, medium-sized area 40 miles west of Denver metro with a base lodge that was described as “modern” by The Denver Post in 1965. Loveland is still going strong, despite the challenges of this era. It remains profitable.
“We’re doing well,” said Loveland’s chief operating officer, Rob Goodell. “We were nervous as the larger guys expanded, but quite honestly, we have not felt an impact from them.
“One caveat was last season when Epic reduced their season pass price by 20%. We think that did take some of our market share from people who tried the Epic Pass for that season, but we feel this season we’re bouncing right back,” he added. “So, in this timeline of the Epic and Ikon conglomerate coming together, our business has remained strong.”
Echo Mountain, a tiny ski area 20 miles west of the metro area, runs only one chairlift, but it has also thrived despite competition from the corporate chains and their pass deals.
The lodge at Echo Mountain ski area is modest, but the tiny ski area near Idaho Springs has carved out a niche in the era of megaresorts. Sellng points include proximity to Denver, affordability and night skiing. From 1960-75, the area was known as the Squaw Pass ski area. The old sign posted at the entrance hangs in the lodge.(Andy Cross, Denver Post file).
“We’re doing great,” said Echo general manager Fred Klaas. “When Alterra formed, and when Vail bought Peak Resorts, there was a lot of concern. We see it as an opportunity to differentiate ourselves, to offer a unique experience and appeal to a customer base that feels overlooked by some of those bigger, broader, more expensive pass products.”
Powderhorn general manager Ryan Schramm also believes the experience that skiers find at Epic and Ikon resorts drives business to his mountain, which sits on the Grand Mesa about 45 minutes from Grand Junction.
“Not everybody wants that experience,” Schramm said of Epic and Ikon. “I’ve been incredibly lucky to have skied all over the world. Some of my best experiences on a pair of skis were at some of the smallest ski resorts in the country. I love small ski resorts. I love resorts that have the culture where it’s about the skiing, and not about being seen at the bar. If I had to park halfway back to Glenwood Springs and catch a bus (to ski at Vail), that’s not the experience I’m looking for.”
Schramm said Powderhorn’s financial position is “exceptionally healthy” and profitable. According to Hawks, Sunlight has seen record season pass sales the past four years. Torsell said Cooper is doing “very well” and has been setting records of its own.
Arapahoe Basin is a partner in the Ikon Pass, but it limits its use to avoid over-crowding.
“I think we’re kind of living in both worlds” said A-Basin chief operating officer Alan Henceroth. “We still sell a lot of our own (season) passes and a lot of our own tickets, and our business is doing great. There is a real niche for some people who don’t want to go to the big resorts. The big resorts, obviously, people love them, but there’s a lot of other things people like, too — the small and medium-sized resorts. There’s plenty of desire and demand for people to have this ski experience.”
Henceroth describes A-Basin’s financial health as “excellent,” despite challenges that the industry faced the past three seasons.
“Getting through COVID was brutal, but last year we had the best year we’ve ever had,” Henceroth said. “We still had big COVID impacts from omicron during the Christmas and MLK holidays last year. To pull off a record year under those conditions is something special.”
Last week, Echo Mountain and Granby Ranch, a small area in Grand County, announced they were joining the Indy Pass lineup of small independent ski areas. Indy Pass ($329) is a coalition of 121 small areas which provides two days of skiing at each of those areas. Two other Colorado ski areas, Sunlight and Bluebird Backcountry, already were members.
Echo operated as the Squaw Pass ski area from 1960-75, went dormant for three decades and reopened in 2005. After a succession of owners, the current owners acquired it in 2016 when the previous owner filed for bankruptcy.
“Echo is healthier than it’s ever been,” Klaas said. “We’ve seen tremendous growth over the last few years in particular, and a growing demand that we don’t see stopping anytime soon. Season pass numbers this year are up, pretty significantly over last year, which was over the year before.”
