May 11--The region's ski season ended with an important distinction.

It wasn't the winter of 2006-07.

"It's a crazy businesses. You rely on a short season," said Greg Confer, general manager at Elk Mountain ski area near Union Dale. "Last year, we had the worst January in our history and the best February in our history."

Ski resorts escaped the uncooperative climate fluctuations they weathered a year ago, resulting in increased visitors and revenue. Some had record season lengths.

"This year was just one of those years that you hope to get every year," said Craig Low, marketing director at Camelback Ski Area.

"We had our longest seasons ever," added Brian Bossuyt, spokesman for the Tannersville skiing and water park complex.

Big Boulder resort at Lake Harmony opened Nov. 10 and closed April 13, a 139-day run.

"That was our longest on record," said Michael Cloeren, public relations director for Jack Frost/Big Boulder resorts. "It was the best revenue winter that we've ever had. Big Boulder is 60 years old, and Jack Frost is 36 years old."

The 2006-07 season sputtered to a late start. Relatively mild and rainy conditions in December and January curtailed skiing during the crucial Christmas holiday period. Ski areas rebounded, with cold weather lingering into March.

But the late winter chill didn't make up for empty chairlifts earlier in the season. Skier visits in the 2006-07 winter at Elk Mountain were down about 15 percent from the 2005-06 and activity dropped 6.5 percent at Camelback.

"It was torture last year," Mr. Confer said.

A longer season this winter keep resorts' turnstiles revolving, ski rental areas more crowded and snack bars busy.

Camelback's season ran 120 days, up from 100 the preceding year. Skier visits rose 9 percent to 350,000.

At Sno Mountain in Moosic, the former Montage ski area, the season ran 93 days, up from 78 in 2006-07.

"We were up about 30 percent in the number of people, which is a big movement from the first year," said Denis Carlson, president of Sno Mountain, a Philadelphia investment group that bought the former Lackawanna County-owned complex for $5.1 million in November 2006.

About 100,000 skiers took to the slopes at Sno Mountain, up from 70,000 a year earlier.

"We had projected 100,000. We felt pretty good getting where we were," Mr. Carlson said. "This season was much better. We had everything more established."

Sno Mountain installed more than 100 snowmaking guns after the new owners took over. Snowmaking there and at other resorts helped them build up snowpacks to keep skiers on the slopes longer this year.

"We invested $6 million in 2005-06 on snowmaking and grooming equipment," said Mr. Cloeren, of Jack Frost/Big Boulder, which is owned by Peaks Resorts, of Wildwood, Mo. "It was a fabulous season."

Success in the fickle ski industry has a geographic link. Results can vary for resorts in relatively close proximity, based on weather patterns.

Elk Mountain had a 113-day ski season, up from 99 last year. But workers there battled to keep conditions favorable.

"This year was a real roller coaster. We'd get the place in great shape, and it would rain," Mr. Confer said. "It would get cold, and we would make a lot of snow, and it would rain again.

"It just shows that Mother Nature is in charge."

Contact the writer: jhaggerty@timesshamrock.com

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