﻿The 
  capacity 
  of 
  rope 
  tow 
  facilities 
  is 
  difficult 
  to 
  determine 
  because 
  ropes 
  are 
  

   frequently 
  homemade 
  and 
  do 
  not 
  have 
  a 
  manufacturers' 
  rated 
  capacity. 
  Rope 
  tows, 
  

   unlike 
  cable 
  lifts 
  and 
  tows, 
  do 
  not 
  have 
  specified 
  places 
  for 
  each 
  skier 
  as 
  do 
  chairs, 
  

   platters, 
  or 
  T-bars. 
  In 
  general, 
  operators 
  are 
  less 
  certain 
  about 
  the 
  vertical 
  rise 
  

   and 
  the 
  skiers 
  -per 
  -hour 
  capacity 
  of 
  their 
  rope 
  tows. 
  For 
  these 
  reasons, 
  estimates 
  

   of 
  the 
  rope 
  tow 
  capacity 
  are 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  educated 
  guesses. 
  

  

  PROCEDURE 
  FOR 
  COLLECTING 
  ATTENDANCE 
  DATA 
  

  

  Attendance 
  was 
  defined 
  as 
  the 
  total 
  number 
  of 
  daily 
  visits 
  by 
  skiers 
  who 
  purchased 
  

   and 
  used 
  lift 
  or 
  tow 
  tickets 
  for 
  all 
  or 
  any 
  part 
  of 
  a 
  day 
  for 
  the 
  purpose 
  of 
  skiing. 
  Such 
  a 
  

   visit 
  is 
  called 
  a 
  "skier 
  visit." 
  

  

  Attendance 
  data 
  were 
  obtained 
  from 
  the 
  area 
  operators' 
  answers 
  to 
  question 
  6 
  

   (see 
  questionnaire). 
  If 
  complete 
  records 
  of 
  ticket 
  sales 
  were 
  available, 
  attendance 
  was 
  

   calculated 
  by 
  determining 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  each 
  kind 
  of 
  ticket 
  sold, 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  visits 
  

   each 
  kind 
  of 
  ticket 
  represented, 
  and 
  converting 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  tickets 
  sold 
  into 
  total 
  

   number 
  of 
  visits 
  for 
  each 
  season. 
  

  

  In 
  most 
  cases, 
  the 
  interviewer 
  worked 
  with 
  the 
  operator 
  to 
  prepare 
  the 
  estimate 
  

   by 
  using 
  the 
  worksheets 
  shown 
  on 
  the 
  following 
  pages. 
  Basically 
  this 
  involved: 
  (1) 
  com- 
  

   puting 
  the 
  "average 
  cost 
  per 
  visit" 
  for 
  the 
  1963-64 
  skiing 
  season 
  according 
  to 
  the 
  in- 
  

   structions 
  for 
  worksheet 
  1, 
  (2) 
  calculating 
  the 
  average 
  cost 
  per 
  visit 
  for 
  the 
  other 
  skiing 
  

   seasons 
  back 
  to 
  1955-56 
  as 
  explained 
  in 
  worksheet 
  2, 
  and 
  (3) 
  finally 
  converting 
  ticket 
  

   sales 
  revenue 
  into 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  skier 
  visits 
  as 
  explained 
  in 
  worksheet 
  3. 
  

  

  If 
  the 
  area 
  operator 
  had 
  only 
  kept 
  data 
  on 
  gross 
  revenue 
  from 
  ticket 
  sales, 
  he 
  was 
  

   asked 
  to 
  estimate 
  the 
  average 
  amount 
  collected 
  per 
  skier 
  visit 
  (for 
  the 
  use 
  of 
  lifts 
  or 
  

   tows) 
  during 
  the 
  1963-64 
  skiing 
  season 
  and 
  then 
  calculate 
  (1) 
  the 
  average 
  cost 
  per 
  

   skier 
  visit 
  for 
  the 
  other 
  seasons 
  as 
  explained 
  on 
  worksheet 
  2, 
  and 
  (2) 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  

   skier 
  visits 
  from 
  the 
  gross 
  ticket 
  sales 
  revenue 
  for 
  each 
  season 
  as 
  explained 
  on 
  work- 
  

   sheet 
  3. 
  

  

  If 
  the 
  operator 
  didn't 
  keep 
  either 
  ticket 
  or 
  revenue 
  records, 
  he 
  was 
  asked 
  for 
  his 
  

   "best 
  estimate" 
  of 
  total 
  skier 
  attendance. 
  

  

  Using 
  these 
  procedures, 
  we 
  were 
  able 
  to 
  obtain 
  estimates 
  of 
  attendance 
  for 
  almost 
  

   all 
  western 
  ski 
  areas. 
  Operators 
  of 
  only 
  a 
  few 
  small 
  ski 
  areas 
  were 
  unable 
  to 
  provide 
  

   such 
  information. 
  Estimates 
  were 
  made 
  for 
  these 
  by 
  assuming 
  such 
  areas 
  had 
  had 
  at- 
  

   tendances 
  equal 
  to 
  similar 
  -sized 
  ski 
  areas 
  in 
  their 
  vicinities. 
  For 
  the 
  most 
  part, 
  these 
  

   were 
  small 
  rope 
  tow 
  areas 
  . 
  

  

  Although 
  the 
  questionnaire 
  requested 
  attendance 
  figures 
  for 
  the 
  1964-65 
  season, 
  

   most 
  operators 
  were 
  unable 
  to 
  supply 
  these 
  figures 
  because 
  that 
  ski 
  season 
  was 
  still 
  

   underway 
  at 
  the 
  time 
  they 
  received 
  the 
  questionnaire. 
  

  

  40 
  

  

  