Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning, meaning six more weeks of winter. A welcome sign after what’s been a challenging year for some ski areas like Bogus Basin.
“We had a 60-inch base last year at this time. We have a 30-inch base now,” Bogus Basin General Manager Brad Wilson said.
The ski area even had to shut down in early January after some of the base area melted away.
“It's been a challenging year because we had a little bit of a late start. We've had some spurts and stops and some great skiing followed by some not as good of skiing,” Wilson said.
Although, it hasn’t stopped everyone.
“This is probably day 35 to 45 for me,” skier Henry Schulz said.
“Honestly, I’m going to come up whether it's icy or if there's dirt on the ground because if I get to snowboard, I’ll be happy,” snowboarder Michelle Emery said.
Many skiers, like Schulz, saying not every year can be like last year.
“I love to ski obviously. So I get out here and do whatever I can with whatever snow we have. I mean today is obviously not a perfect weather day, but it's still way nice to get out of town," Schulz said.
The ski area though is feeling some of the impacts of the low snowfall, Wilson says skier visits are down compared to last year.
“Averages are made of highs and lows and last year was a high and this year is one of the lower years,” Wilson said.
The ski area did raise their full-day lift prices by $3 this year to $62. Wilson says right now they have no intention of raising or lowering the price, but added people can buy discounted tickets on their website if they purchase them in advance.
“What we're asking people is make the investment in us, buy in advance, and you will save a substantial amount of money,” Wilson said.
Season passes will remain the same price for the third year in a row. People can start to purchase next year’s pass as early as President’s Day.
“We have some additional values with that pass that we've never offered. Can't quite announce those,” Wilson said.
The ski area is also holding out hope that Punxsutawney Phil is right and there is six more weeks of winter.