Snowpack Driving Economy All The Way Down To The Sierra Foothills

AUBURN (CBS13) — Business isn't just booming in the high Sierra, but also in the foothills and just about anywhere it's been snowing.

The heavy Sierra snowpack is giving the drought-stricken slice of the gold country in Auburn a nice shade of green. Money is finally falling into the parched hands of business owners just a short drive from the snow-covered mountains.

Restaurants, hotels and snowboard shops are seeing more business. The Placer County Visitors Bureau sold 10 snowpark passes last year. This year, they can't print them fast enough.

"Winter really has been slow, so his has been really nice," said Mora Rowe. "It's fun to see people heading up to the snow."

The Auburn-based Academy Snowboard Company, which sells to snowboard shops and runs a demo location for the public to check out their product, is carving out a nice profit after a rock-filled bumpy run. The company says its local business is up 300 percent year over year.

Auburn business owners are hopeful the upcoming Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday will be their best weekend ever.