SUNLIGHT — Skiers and snowboarders filled every seat of the battered orange
Land Cruiser and the passenger trailer it tows, that take skiers and
snowboarders from the lower parking lot to the slopes Saturday at Sunlight
Mountain Resort. A skier occupied the passenger seat next to the operator as
well.

All three parking lots at Sunlight were filled by midday.

“We had a strong weekend,” said resort general manager Tom Jankovsky. “It
was about average compared to (the same time) a year ago, but we were really
strong on season pass holders on Saturday.”

According to Jankovsky, more than 900 season pass holders rode the lifts on
Saturday, and that’s the highest recorded number of season pass holders on
the mountain on a single day.

“It was a huge weekend for us,” said marketing manager Dylan Lewis. “It was
the busiest weekend of the year for us so far.”

For Saturday the resort tracked around 1,400 skiers and snowboarders. Sunday
had about 1,500 on the mountain. The number of skiers caused some small lift
lines, but not enough to keep people waiting for long.

The resort tracks the different types of tickets, such as daily, group and
season passes. The surge in season pass holders last weekend made up for a
slow week of individual daily ticket sales.

“We weren’t as strong with the other ticket sales, we were just really
strong on the season pass holders,” Jankovsky said.

Jankovsky said the great skiing weather was to thank for the heavy ski
traffic on the mountain this past weekend.

“We just had great snow all week and people are excited about skiing,” he
said. “The quality of the snow is great, the mountain is in great shape, and
that’s been great for us.”

Jankovsky said the primary driver of ticket sales in January and February is
usually the Ski, Stay, Swim program marketed by the Glenwood Springs Chamber
Resort Association, in conjunction with the Hot Springs Lodge & Pool and
other area lodges. But there’s been a shift this year with a larger showing
from local enthusiasts who purchase season passes.

“The biggest change we’ve seen in demographics is being strong with local
skiers from western Garfield County, places like Parachute and Rifle,”
Jankovsky said.

If the season persists the way the beginning has been, the rest of the
season looks bright for Sunlight.

Contact John Gardner: 384-9114
jgardner@postindependent.com