No-Snow Woes | For Some Businesses, A Greener Winter Hurts
Photo/Matt Pilon
A snow-grooming machine sits at the base of Wachusett Mountain Ski Area in Princeton as it prepares to groom the trails.
On the afternoon of Jan. 11, David Veron was hoping for a “slop fest.” It had been 71 days since the last real snowfall, the freak Halloween weekend storm that knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of homes and business. But finally, the forecast was calling for snow.
The owner of Veron Co. in Marlborough, which counts snow removal among its many services, sort of got his wish the next day, as Mother Nature provided Central Massachusetts with more than three inches. Five days later, another two inches followed.
“We really budget for eight months a year, even though snow can be the biggest thing we do,” Veron said.
Veron also sells plows and road salt. Though January has begun to provide a little revenue-generating snow and ice, he worries that the slow start to winter will mean depressed sales for plows and equipment.
As of the middle of last week, the winter has been a strange one for companies that rely on snowfall. The only real storm has been the rare late-October event that dumped 16 inches of wet, heavy snow and knocked out power to nearly 700,000 residents across the state. Several small snow and ice events followed this month. They helped, but didn’t change a lot for plow companies, which are already well behind on revenues compared to last year, when 92 inches of snow fell. But contractors remain hopeful.
Michael Keating, owner of Worcester-base Keating Enterprises, said January, February and March are typically the months when the area gets most of its snow.
“We’ve still got a lot of winter left,” Keating said. “We can make it all back.”
Gregg Jamieson, owner of J.A.M Landscaping in Worcester, said plowing accounts for about 25 percent of his revenues in an average year. But this year has some catching up to do.
“It’s had a very negative impact on us,” he said.
There will be a ripple effect from contractors bringing in less revenue. All three said they will likely not buy much landscaping equipment in the spring. And small-engine repair shops, parts sellers and businesses that sell winter goods, such as shovels, could also feel the impact.
December, which has averaged 16 inches of snow since 2002, provided a measly three-tenths of an inch in 2011. And to keep up with last January, the area will need to get 46 inches from Jan. 19 through 31.
But it’s not just about how many inches of snow an area gets over time; it’s about how much sticks to the ground, as well as the number of storm events.
If plow truck drivers could have their way, Jamieson said, there would be several small storms rather than one medium-sized one, because drivers work more hours in the small storms and make more profit.
Plow companies maintain some revenue certainty through contracts with larger commercial customers. Sort of like a heating oil contract, those who buy them can save money in a heavy snow year when the plows come often. And in a light year, Keating said, the plow companies get the better end of the deal.
But because snowfall tends to average out over the years, so do the contracts, he added. “I think it’s normal in New England,” he said. “Everything averages out in weather.”
Slow Start On The Slopes
For Wachusett Mountain Ski Area in Princeton, the October storm came too early. The mountain wasn’t prepared to open after it, said Marketing Coordinator Thomas Meyers. Wachusett has never opened before late November, and management waited this year until Dec. 12, when there was enough man-made snow for the facility to open.
Natural snow would certainly boost ticket sales. Meyers said lift ticket sales were below Wachusett’s three-year and five-year sales averages. However, the ski area is making as much snow as possible and is far from empty. Last week, on Martin Luther King Day, its parking lot was filling up quickly for a 4 p.m. night skiing session as children and parents enjoyed a holiday together.
Meyers said the past three years were among the best ever for Wachusett, as an annual average of 78 inches fell on the area.
A classic challenge for the ski industry is the battle with customer perception. It’s a battle Wachusett has fought through the New Year. But if snow remains on the ground, skiers are more likely to make the trip up the mountain.
To get those skiers out the door and into their cars, Wachusett has been playing up its snow-making capacity in its advertising, as well as its customer satisfaction guarantee, which allows lift skiers and snowboarders to return their lift passes for full refunds within one hour of buying them if they’re not satisfied with the conditions.
“We really want to reinforce the fact that the snow is here,” Meyers said. “There’s no risk on the part of the skier or snowboarder to buy the ticket.”
He added that customers rarely return their passes.
The ski area’s marketing team has also been posting daily videos on social media websites showing conditions and listing upcoming events, a practice that started three years ago.
“It’s a year like this one where they’ve taken on a bigger role,” he said.
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