[bobthepanda]

There is also the issue of the massive migration to the Sunbelt. Once you have to take a plane to ski you shrink the market significantly.

Where I am in Washington has seen massive population growth and the ski resorts have not kept up, but I have not heard anything about new ski areas opening in the state.

[Ichthypresbyter]

That's another problem, particularly out West (but also in Vermont). Most ski resorts operate at least partly on public land such as national forests. The relevant land management agencies, particularly the Forest Service, have been extremely slow/reluctant to grant the permits for new ski resorts to operate, or for existing ones to expand.