The Business Of Skiing: Adding Off-Season Attractions
BOSTON (CBS) - It looks like there will be snow this weekend for some New England ski resorts that have spent millions to attract customers throughout the year.
Bretton Woods has expanded its off-season attractions to include cliff climbing, a canopy tour and mountain biking.
Read: Anthony Silva's Series: Keeping the Hills Alive
Chris Ellms, ski operations director at Bretton Woods, says he's been careful to add off-season attractions.
"You don't want to be spending millions of dollars on your off-season business if it's not going to pay off," Ellms told WBZ NewsRadio 1030.
At Wildcat, GM Brian Henon says the mountain's scenic gondola, zipline and wedding business keeps his small crew busy all year long.
"We are definitely looking to go four seasons," Henon said.
But parent company Peak Resorts is concentrating on snow, spending $2 million to upgrade its snow-making system after new, high-efficiency water pumps blew apart some of the old mountainside pumping last year.
"I think we've taken an old antiquated snow-making system and brought it into the 21st century," Henon says.
But one New England ski resort has written the book on expansion, using more than $50 million in foreign investment, in a deal that promises green cards.
That story is coming up Thursday in part four of our report.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Anthony Silva reports
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