Becoming a Ski Mogul.

Local resort owners see a green winter as fear of flying keeps skiers home

GOODBYE Rocky Mountain high. Hello Snow Summit, Big Bear Mountain high. Put off by long lines at airports and lingering fears of flying, Los Angeles skiers will be looking to local resorts this season as a convenient and safe alternative to Utah or Colorado destinations.

While it's far too early to tell whether there will be an increase of local skiers and snowboarders, recent weekends have been busy at Big Bear Lake.

"I definitely think that local resorts will be huge beneficiaries this ski season," said Lehman Brothers analyst Felicia Kantor, who covers the resort industry. "The destination resorts could have a difficult time."

Local resort marketers are stopping short of playing upon airline-related paranoia. But the concept of convenience is being highlighted.

"We're definitely not going to go out there and say, 'Don't get on a plane,"' said Mountain High Resort marketing director John McColly. "But we are going to reinforce the fact that you have a resort in your own backyard."

The marketing approach predates Sept. 11. Mountain High long has highlighted the fact that its 75-mile distance from downtown Los Angeles makes it an easier day trip than the resorts in Big Bear, which is 25 miles farther away. Now, Mountain High is expecting to pull skiers and snowboarders from out-of-state resorts.

"This year, we may see an increase in families that usually go to Utah and Colorado -- because of has le," said McColly.

In addition to the travel-related savings of driving, lodging at Big Bear is typically less expensive than staying at Colorado resorts, while the $40-range for local daily ski passes is 20 percent less than those to ski at Vail or Aspen. "If I'm family and I'm kind of strapped and I have my heart set on skiing, I'll go local," said Kantor.

"We're marketing Big Bear Mountain as a relatively inexpensive way to take the family to get away I from it all," said the resort's spokesman, Brad Farmer, who added that Sept. 11 "was something that drove home the point."

Extended stays

While local resorts might benefit from families "buying down," there could be a drop-off in the volume of midweek skiers, who account for about half of Mountain High's business.

Farmer said many of the midweek skiers at Big Bear are from the hard-hit hospitality industry, hence the odd days off. "We will lose people who are involved in the tourism and hospitality business," conceded Farmer.

Kantor noted that individual skiers are ultimately interested in the quality of the experience and less likely to be swayed by recent events and inconveniences. "If I have the opportunity to ski Whistler Blackcomb, the annoyance factor is not going to stop me," Kantor said, referring to a famous ski resort in British Columbia. "(Individual) skiers are a pretty fanatical bunch."

However, Big Bear Mountain is looking to compete with the destination resorts on snow and mountain quality. "We try to promote the complete experience," said Farmer, noting that 70 percent of the resort's terrain is considered "backcountry." While Big Bear Mountain's 700 skiable acres pales in comparison to Mammoth Mountain's 3,500 acres, its skiable area is about three times the size of Mountain High's.

"We have more of a big-mountain appeal here than other local resorts," said Farmer.

Record crowds

This year's upswing -- if it occurs, as expected -- would be a continuation of recent increases for local mountain resorts. Mountain High and Big Bear Mountain each set records for skier days last season, with 577,000 and 300,000, respectively, while Snow Summit's 544,000 skier days were second only to its volume during the El Nino winter of 1997-98. And Big Bear Lake's lodging revenues, which topped $27 million last year, reflected an 85 percent increase since 1995.

Further north at Mammoth, where 85 percent of the business emanates from Southern California, officials say Christmas reservations at their three lodges are up 10 percent over last year at this time.

While convenience has been a factor driving local resorts' business volume, Farmer attributes much of the increase to snowboarders, whose growing presence on local slopes began in the early '90s. "It quite possibly saved (the local winter resort industry) in some way," said Farmer.

Recent terrorism-related events and the economic downturn may shift demand toward local resorts and away from out-of-state destinations, but the effect on the overall industry is not expected to be substantial. National Ski Areas Association spokeswoman April Darrow noted that the domestic ski industry was not adversely affected by the Gulf War and economic stagnation during the 1991-92 season.

"The Sept. 11 tragedies might change where people ski, but they'll still ski," said Darrow. "When it comes down to it, skiers are most affected by mother nature."