Winter weather is bringing the crowds to Mt. Charleston this winter season, but the crowds are impacting businesses differently.

“This year it’s been extremely busy,” Alexander Quevedo, general manager of the Retreat on Charleston Peak said. “Of course, with the snow, it brings a lot of guests.”

That helps keep business steady at this Kyle Canyon Rd location that’s about 40 minutes from Downtown Las Vegas.

“This weekend, coming up, we’re going to be sold out,” he said. “Through word of mouth and people kind of getting the word out up here, we’re starting to see more visitors locally and even people from the Strip that come out here.”

Further up the road are the Mt. Charleston Lodge cabins. The lodge burned down in September 2021, but the cabins are open. A spokesperson said bookings are up this year for the business operated by the Ellis family which also owns the Ellis Island brand.

Meanwhile, two women who live on the mountain and sell items by the entrance to the Retreat on Charleston Peak said more people coming up is not resulting in more sales.

“This year has been much slower than the last couple of years,” Kim Koster said. “I think the economy, with inflation the way it's been, people just don't have the expendable cash that they used to”

Koster is the owner of Nature Spirit Crystals. She sets her tables up daily next to her friend, Judith, who sells handcrafted Navajo jewelry and other merchandise. Koster said she noticed the same amount of people are coming to her stand but buying less.

“The average sale per customer is much lower than it was even a year ago,” she said.

That does not stop her from continuing to sell crystals to guests staying on the mountain or visiting for the day.

“Whenever the weather's nice,” Koster said. “If it’s not too windy and there is not a thunderstorm. we're pretty much here.”

It’s advised anyone who wants to visit Mt. Charleston needs to make it up to the mountain before 9 a.m., especially on weekends. Roads will close when there is overcrowding.