Americans bought lots of ski stuff this year

MCLEAN, Va. (June 5, 2006) -- As already announced in May, overall sales for the entire winter sport market (including specialty and chain stores) were up 4% in
dollars to $2.3 billion for the August 2005 through March 2006 period, according
to the SnowSports Industries America (SIA) Retail Audit, conducted by Leisure
Trends Group. Contributing to the banner year in sales were apparel and
equipment accessories. Accessories sales led the charge generating more dollars
than equipment in product sold with an end of the season tally of $779.0
million.

More follows at SnowSports Industry Press Release

I guess the mildly interesting part is how much more accessories were sold compared to equipment. Also it's interesting to see how much helmet sales have grown. I know I've started keeping a bunch around personally.

Skiing sure requires a lot of stuff.