As winter nears each year, ski and snowboard enthusiasts from Fleetwood and beyond cannot help but look forward to flocking to Bear Creek Mountain Resort for a long season full of plentiful powder and frigid conditions.
The 2011-2012 season, however, left many frustrated and disappointed with what they found on the slopes.
“It was, by far, the worst season I’ve experienced,” Zach Noll, a junior at FAHS, said. “We didn’t even get any snow. It was terrible.”
Mother nature’s lack of cooperation was indeed a roadblock for Bear Creek, which is accustomed to supplementing its own artificially made snow with approximately thirty inches of snowfall annually. This winter snowfall totals fell far short of this mark, putting the resort already at a disadvantage.
In addition to the lack of snowfall, uncharacteristically high temperatures plagued Bear Creek throughout the season, delaying opening of the full 21 trails until well after the holidays.
Mild temperatures combined with frequent rain showers also limited snowmaking capabilities by keeping the mountain’s water source well above desirable snowmaking temperatures for most of the season. This unusual warmth led to difficulty both in making the snow last and setting up terrain features.
“The base depth was only about 1/2 of what it typically is, but that does not impact conditions as much as it impacts our ability to weather long warm spells,” Mark Schroetel, General Manager of Bear Creek, saidd. “The constant struggle to keep the hill covered in snow hurt our ability to create terrain park features. When you can’t develop a deep base, there is very little snow to use for creating the features Bear Creek guests are accustomed to.”
Though it may seem as though skiers and snowboarders of Bear Creek have been affected most heavily by this year’s disheartening season, the fact of the matter is that the resort itself has been dealt quite a blow by Mother Nature. Bear Creek’s 86 acres have only seen just above 100,000 visitors this season, compared to over 200,000 in past years. As one might expect, a substantial cut in profits punctuated an already gloomy season.
“It definitely did impact our revenue significantly and eroded all of our profit,” Schroetel said.
He is, however, confident that the resort will not suffer in the long run.
“It should not be a significant impact long-term, but short-term capital projects are on hold,” Schroetel said.
Though the 2011-2012 season at Bear Creek Mountain Resort was a disappointing one for many skiers and snowboarders, some were still able to find the silver lining of the situation.
“This season could have been a lot better if the weather would have been the way it should have been. Overall, though, I still got to ride, the snow wasn’t too bad, and the terrain park was always fun to hit,” FAHS junior Eric Burgos said.
Going forward, Bear Creek will look to learn from this winter and will hope to offer better conditions and a longer season next year–with the help of Mother Nature, of course.
The Tiger Times 
Posted on March 20, 2012 by thetigertimes1
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