Can Facebook Save Skiing?

Social media might be the hook to land new skiers.

- Megan Barber

IT’S A BLUEBIRD MORNING WITH EIGHT  inches of overnight snow. The runs are empty, the turns are soft, and there’s never been a better moment to snap a selfie and post it on Facebook. “Epic day today!!!” you write, adding the #no filter hashtag because frankly, with views like these, the mountains sell themselves.

Except they don’t. It’s no secret that the skier and rider population is aging. Overall skier visits have held steady, averaging 56.5 million over the past 10 years, according to the National Ski Areas Association. But as the Baby Boomer generation begins to age out of the sport, insiders worry that there aren’t enough kids joining in to replace them. The slopes need new blood—soon.

There’s one sector of the ski world, however, that’s seeing explosive growth: social media. Sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter might be the key to ski resorts’ success in our 24/7 digital world, and social-media platforms look to be a sturdy plank in the long-sought bridge to the next generation of skiers and riders. 

Whether it’s a tiny ski area in New England or a mega destination in the West, it’s safe to say that virtually every ski resort now uses social media to connect with customers—and maybe create new customers too. But it’s still a fairly new phenomenon. It may seem as if Facebook has been here forever, but in fact it has only been around for a decade or so. Jackson Hole Mountain Resort was one of the first ski resorts to start a Facebook page, in September 2008. The Wyoming resort now boasts the largest following of any ski area on Facebook, with 346,877 followers.