The Weather Outside Is Frightful

Sandy Cleveland, who works at the rink maintained by Tri-State Ice Management, said she has to sweep away the melting ice every hour.

"Kids aren't going snowboarding like they used to, and they still want a winter activity," she said.

Times are almost as tough for retailers who count on the snow-sport trade. They get some traffic from ski enthusiasts who are headed west, where blizzards have blanketed the base of some resort areas with up to eight feet of snow. But it's not enough, store managers say.

"The winter has been killing us," said Rob de Luca, manager of the Helly Hansen store in Georgetown. "Our cash cow is our winter products. Fewer people are out here searching for a winter coat . . . and without any snow, not as many people are even taking ski trips."

He said sales of spring and summer gear will help offset the drop in revenue from cold-weather products. Other stores, like Ski Center in northwest Washington, depend almost exclusively on snow-sport sales. The sales of equipment tune-ups and rental packages are "way down," said buyer Jimmy Martin.

"We still have a lot of customers going out west, but they're not getting that extra jacket for this year," he said.

Princeton Sports, with stores in Columbia and Baltimore, is refunding the price of lift tickets purchased through the store. And it canceled its annual customer appreciation day, which was scheduled for Wednesday. The event at Whitetail Resort usually attracts major ski manufacturers to show off their new products.

Ski Chalet, which has three stores in the area, has lost much of its business since some of the local resorts shut down. "This weather makes people want to stop thinking about skiing and play golf," said Steve Choi, manager of the Arlington store.

Back at the resorts, a little revenue is coming in from warm-weather sports. Paintball players are flocking to Roundtop. Vacationers are toting kayaks and fishing poles to Deep Creek Lake. At Wintergreen Resort in central Virginia, golfers and day-spa customers are helping to offset the loss of skiing revenue. Massanutten Resort puts on murder-mystery dinners and magic shows.

Resort managers point out that all it takes is a few days of frigid air to blanket the mountain with snow. Wintergreen has 400 "guns" that can coat its 24 slopes with a thick layer of snow in a matter of days.

"We're counting on that pent-up demand to break out once the first snow hits," said Bob Ashton, president of Wintergreen Resort. "We can still salvage the year."