The California Ski Industry Association reports that California resorts hosted 6.2 million visits last winter, a drop of more than 20 per cent from the 7.8 million skier visits the areas recorded in the 2005-06 season. The state has averaged 7.3 million visits over the past 10 years.
"The culprit, as has been well chronicled, was disastrous weather," Bob Roberts, California Ski Industry Association executive director, told Ski Area Management magazine.
From Lake Tahoe in the north to Mammoth Mountain in the central part of the state and the ski areas in the San Gabriel Mountains near Los Angeles, ski resorts struggled through an abnormally warm and dry winter.
Despite the drop in visits, California remained the second most-visited ski state in the nation, lagging only behind Colorado.
