Skiing Future Getaway

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - With snow already hammering the Pennsylvania slopes, KYW's Jay Lloyd looks at the prospect of a new growth spurt for recreational skiing.

Are we aging ourselves out of skiing? Pricing ourselves out? Swiss researchers have been comparing skiing to golf. They talk about a wealth bubble where occupants can afford the travel and trappings of a downhill, alpine lifestyle.

But they are also slowly advancing in age to the point that, as poet Shel Silverstein taught us, "If the track is tough and the hill is rough, thinking you can just ain't enough."

The researchers take heart in a couple of factors that could bring young blood into the sport. They point to budget airlines combined with Air B and B accommodations that make travel more reasonable for the young. And for European mountains, there's an influx of new, financially empowered Russian and Chinese skiers. But the end line still boils down to the weather. Keep a consistent blanket of snow on the mountain and here in Pennsylvania, day trippers and weekenders will fill the lifts.