There's an adage in the ski industry that good snow conditions trump bad economic conditions, but the 2008-09 California ski season proved that even powder has its limits.

Skier visits to Tahoe-area resorts dropped 7 percent last season, and resort operators had to cut ticket prices, slash room rates and offer incentives to keep the lifts loaded. They're being forced to use the same strategy this year.

"People are looking for deals, watching the weather for the right ski conditions and in some respects waiting to make sure they still have a job," said Carl Ribaudo, the director of Ski Lake Tahoe, a coalition of the seven largest Tahoe-area resorts. "All the resorts are re-evaluating the value proposition. Folks want their dollar to go further."

Skiing is an estimated $600 million industry at Lake Tahoe, generating up to 4.2 million skier and snowboarder visits annually – more than half of the 8 million visits to ski resorts recorded annually throughout the entire state. Skiers and snowboarders don't just buy lift tickets and season passes – they take lessons, rent condos, go out to eat and gamble in casinos. The California Ski Area Association figures each skier visit generates about $150 a day for Tahoe businesses.

To keep the business rolling in, Tahoe resorts began selling season passes for the 2009-10 ski season last spring, offering some eye-popping discounts. Adult season passes as Squaw, once $1,500 to $1,900, started at $369 and ranged up to $949, depending on how many holidays were included.

Heavenly Mountain Resort on the south shore of Lake Tahoe dropped its preseason price to $329, $170 less than its former retail price, and is now selling it for $369.

In addition, Tahoe resorts are holding the line on daily lift-ticket prices, offering a dizzying array of ski-and-lodging packages and maintaining lean staffing levels.

They're also offering scores of deals: At Alpine Meadows and Homewood, college students can get season passes for $299 as late as Dec. 1. At Homewood, you can ski free on your birthday. Or you can get a reduced price on your lift ticket just for showing your season pass from another resort, even if that resort is in Japan.

Still, many resorts say they can't base their business strategy entirely on steep discounts.

"We have to continue to deliver a quality experience that lives up to expectations," said John Monson, marketing director for Sugar Bowl. "If you do, the price point is justified."

Sugar Bowl, with 1,500 acres on Donner Summit, was one of the few resorts to expand this summer. A new Summit Chair will give skiers access to Judah Bowl, previously available only to customers willing to hike up to it. It's also added a new Backcountry Adventure Center featuring backcountry tours and avalanche awareness classes.

Sugar Bowl will continue to give free two-hour group lessons, including free equipment rentals, on specially designated "general admission" days.

Skiers this season should be on the lookout for creative package bundles, such as extra nights free when booking a minimum stay, dining discounts, free shuttles, even free boat rides on a Lake Tahoe sternwheeler.

"All kinds of things are being bundled up into packages," Ribaudo said. "We're seeing partnerships we've never seen before."

Although Tahoe has in recent years increasingly courted so-called destination skiers, those who fly in, stay in a rented condo and ski or snowboard for a week or two, many resorts are refocusing on people who come for a shorter visit, like Roland Lucas and his family.

On a recent Sunday morning, Lucas drove from his home in Sunnyvale to Boreal Ski Resort on Donner Summit with his two kids, Isabella, 6, and Max, 8. There was only one lift open, but tickets were cheap.

It was going to be a long day – seven hours of driving for a few hours of snowboarding – but the Lucas family wouldn't spend a lot of money on extras like condos and snowboard lessons. The family will spend about $500 this year on snowboarding, searching for discounts on the Internet and visiting less-expensive areas like Boreal.