Snow Shortage Hurts Ski Resorts...01/21/00

DENVER (AP) - While the East digs out from the first true snowstorm of the season, Colorado resort owners are still hoping for a regular winter - and the skiers that usually come with it. A shortage of snow and earlier Y2K stayaways have hit ski lodges hard. And for the second straight year, skier numbers are down in the nation's No. 1 ski state. "The whole industry is suffering from a snow drought," said John Frew, president of Colorado Ski Country USA, noting a nearly 17% decrease. Resorts in Utah and California have also suffered as storms have tracked north and blanketed the slopes of British Columbia.