Unseasonable Ski Season Has Area Resort Operators Making Snow
By Cherri Gregg
STROUDSBURG, Pa. (CBS) -- The mild weather is having an impact on ski resorts in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
This time last year it was a winter wonderland in Pennsylvania. But so far this winter, the weather has been extremely mild and ski resorts in the area have been forced to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars manufacturing snow.
"At night, when that mercury dips below freezing, that's when they are able to go in and run those machines 10 or 12 hours at a time," notes Carl Wilgus, president of the Pocono Mountain Visitors Bureau.
The Poconos is home to seven ski resorts and half of the state's skiing and snowboarding activities. Wilgus says an even bigger problem with the mild weather is getting vacationers to think about skiing.
"Right now, with the weather being so pleasant in the places where our skiers come from, they kind of forget about going skiing and spend more time either riding their bikes or maybe even playing golf," he tells KYW Newsradio (see related story).
Still, Wilgus says, there's still hope for the season. The busiest time for Poconos ski resorts, he points out, is at the end of February.
