BEND, Ore. — While the unseasonably warm weather since early January has made life difficult for skiers and snowboarders in some places, the overall impact on tourism in the Bend area hasn’t been as severe as feared.
“Business and revenue have been up over prior years, even as visitors have shifted their outdoor activities beyond the traditional snow sports to include other outdoor, spring-like activities including hiking, cycling, golf and fishing,” Alana Hughson, CEO of the Central Oregon Visitors Association, wrote in an email.
The association’s tools for tracking visitors to the region bear out Hughson’s claim. While the numbers for January and February are not available yet, hotels and resorts in Deschutes County saw a higher occupancy rate in December than they did the previous year, and a noticeable uptick in revenue per available room.
“Early-season snow helped boost pre-season bookings to support activity during the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s holiday periods,” Hughson wrote.
Since early January, however, Bend has seen minimal snow and high temperatures that have been more than 7 degrees above average, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data. Because of the warm weather, traditional winter options haven’t been as accessible.
“It’s fair to say that we haven’t seen as much snow lower on the mountain this year,” said Drew Jackson, spokesman for Mt. Bachelor ski area.
While Hughson acknowledged that the lack of snow since mid-January has made some winter-related businesses a challenge, Jackson said that things were OK on Mount Bachelor.
“We’ve been slightly ahead of our visitation numbers from previous winters, and we’re near where we thought we’d be going into the season,” Jackson said.
Since Bachelor is at a higher elevation than many of the state’s other ski resorts, the mountain has an advantage during seasons with limited snow.
While the snowpack is not as good as it has been in previous winters, things are more dire at competing resorts. Hoodoo Ski Area on Santiam Pass has been closed since Jan. 12 due to a lack of snow, and other ski resorts at lower elevations in Oregon and California have experienced a similar fate.
“Once you get below 6,000 feet, it gets dicey,” Jackson said. “But above the tree line, there’s enough snow.”
Due to the lack of deep snow and powder, Jackson said, fewer season pass holders have come to Bachelor than in previous winters. However, he added that the influx of those without season passes, drawn to Bachelor by the lack of options elsewhere, has largely made up the difference.
Indeed, Jackson said that the biggest problem was the perception that the winter hasn’t been cold enough for quality skiing. Mt. Bachelor has received about 37 inches of snow since Jan. 1, according to its daily snow reports.
“I think that mindset depresses the industry,” Jackson said. “Obviously, there have been stories written about it, and that conveys the perception that it has been a winter-less winter.”
In addition, the warmer weather has also opened up opportunities for activities that have traditionally been limited to spring and summer.
Smith Rock State Park traditionally gets most of its visitors during warmer parts of the year, said Scott Brown, park manager. He said the park’s 400 parking spots were completely filled during a couple weekends in January and February.
“The weather brought in people who would normally be doing snow sports in the winter, just huge numbers of people,” Brown said.
As evidence, Brown pointed to the large number of hikers at the park recently.
“Rock climbers are willing to climb no matter how cold it is, as long as there’s sun on the rocks,” Brown said. “But hikers don’t come in as much during a typical winter.”
Given the different activities, Bend businesses have had to shift their focus.
Teague Hatfield, the owner of FootZone in Bend, said he’s been seeing more people in his store than in a usual winter season.
“It’s still nowhere near our summer numbers, but it’s definitely been busier than a normal January and February would be,” Hatfield said. “It’s just happening a lot earlier than usual.”
Hatfield said many trails that traditionally close for the winter are currently open, which has led to more demand for trail shoes.
Hatfield isn’t the only vendor who has seen an uptick in business. Chuck Arnold, executive director of the Downtown Bend Business Association, said that downtown has seen noticeably more foot traffic than in previous winters.
“There’s definitely a connection between the warmer weather and people being more willing to get out and stroll,” Arnold said.
It has increased dining and retail by 5 to 10 percent over winter months last year, Arnold said. Those numbers, in conjunction with an advertising campaign designed to bring in visitors from Portland and Seattle, led Arnold to believe that many of these new consumers are tourists.
Hatfield added that, while the limited snowpack could have negative consequences for Central Oregon later on, the number of people he has seen out and about has been encouraging.
“You can only complain about the lack of snow for so long before you want to go out and enjoy the weather,” he said.
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