BROOMFIELD — Vail Resorts has weathered the recession pretty well so far, but the company’s resort and real-estate operations will suffer more in months and years ahead, according to research analyst Chris Woronka of Deutsche Bank.

Woronka said he believes skier visits have fallen off at the company’s five resorts, and he expects conditions to worsen.

“The typical consumer, especially the Northeast-based destination skier, is going to have to make some difficult decisions,” he told the Vail Daily.

The company reported this week that skier visits have been essentially flat for the winter.

“A lot of (customers) have lost jobs. Many have lost money in the stock market and on their houses. As they grapple with that, it’s going to be difficult for many people to make that trip out to Vail. A lot of customers are going to redefine what’s really necessary.”

The newspaper said prices of shares in Vail Resorts dropped almost 6 percent in response to Woronka’s analysis.

He did say that Vail is “pretty well positioned (financially), but I’m not sure if they’ll have any more luck in getting people to their mountain. People are much more price sensitive now.”

Mountain caribou have declined; sleds to blame?

REVELSTOKE, B.C. — Snowmobilers and wildlife advocates are squaring off in British Columbia over the issue of the endangered mountain caribou, according to The Revelstoke Times Review.

Some wildlife advocates are accusing snowmobilers of further imperiling the threatened species.

Revelstoke-based snowmobilers say they have actually done quite a lot in voluntarily staying out of caribou areas and then self-patrolling other snowmobilers to ensure the limits are honored.

Dr. Bruce McLellan, a senior ecologist with the provincial government, has said intense snowmobiling displaced caribou from some areas.