Bluebird’s founders are closing the lift-free ski area after four seasons at two remote locations
Beaver Creek Resort
Posted inBusiness
How to retain resort employees? Colorado ski areas are building workforce housing — at the resorts
Like nearly every Colorado ski hill, Winter Park needed big money to help fix its employee housing problem. Enter its deep pocketed operator, Alterra, with a blueprint others can follow.
Posted inOutdoors
Vail Resorts sees uptick in skier traffic over last year’s record showing — but not in Colorado
The company’s five resorts here are seeing mellow traffic despite well-above-average snowpacks
Posted inBusiness, News, Outdoors, Outsider
Epic crowds are colliding with epic labor shortages at ski areas
Alex Kaufman thought it would be an amusing website. Something to poke fun at the largest resort operator in North America. So he bought epicliftlines.com for $12 last March, just as Vail Resorts announced a plan to slash the price of its popular Epic Pass by 20%. “I thought ‘Oh, this could become a thing. […]
Posted inNews
You’ve seen the murals. Now meet the pro snowboarder behind them.
AVON — The teacher at the preschool asks for a photo with the artist. As she poses with Pat Milbery, a local passing by on a scooter waves and honks at the muralist’s 40-foot tall paintings covering the cinder-block walls of the rec center. “Your kids have been watching for three weeks. What do they […]
Posted inBusiness, COVID, Economy, News, Outdoors
How Aspen Snowmass hosted six major contests in a season when resorts worldwide canceled events
When just about every other resort in the world nixed contests for the 2020-21 winter, Aspen Snowmass hosted its busiest competition season ever. “It was monumental,” said Eric Webster, the director of events for the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, or USSA. Going into the 2020-21 season, USSA had no events on the calendar in […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Outdoors
Vail Resorts thrills investors with lower-than-expected coronavirus losses
Not as bad as expected. That was the theme Thursday as Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz told investors about declines in revenue, income and visits so far in the 2020-21 ski season. Vail Resorts reported $147.8 million in income through January for the second quarter of its fiscal 2021, a drop of 28% compared to […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, COVID, News, Outdoors
Eager early-season crowds are helping Colorado ski resorts fine tune operations before the holiday crush
Winter Park delayed its opening a couple weeks to early December and the pent-up demand almost overwhelmed the Grand County resort on its first Saturday. Lines were long on Dec. 5 and, as skiers kicked off skis and snowboards to load up the base-area gondola, distancing faded. By midday, the resort had made changes. “We […]
Posted inBusiness, COVID, News, Outdoors
Vail Resorts losses continue as pandemic impacts stretch into ski season
Vail Resorts, the largest ski area operator in North America, reported continuing and growing losses as the pandemic threatens travel and haunts the coming ski season. The company reported a 50% decline in revenue for the first three months of its fiscal 2021, which ended Oct. 31, compared with the same period last year. But […]
Posted inBusiness, COVID, News, Outdoors
Masks up! Colorado ski resorts are moving ahead as state, counties and businesses restrict access
VAIL — The lift operator in the maze at Vail Village’s Gondola One tilts his head back and hollers: “Masks up please!” There are no unmasked skiers in the line, but maybe some masks have slipped below noses. It’s the second day of operations at Vail ski area — a busy Saturday — and skiers […]