The company’s five resorts here are seeing mellow traffic despite well-above-average snowpacks
Crested Butte Mountain Resort
Vail Resorts rebounds from pandemic, labor struggles with best-ever financial performance in 2022
The largest resort operator in North America reported a record 17.3 million skier visits and $2.5 billion in revenue for its fiscal 2022
“It changed everything”: How Crested Butte’s first-ever extreme skiing contests 30 years ago birthed the freeskiing movement
MOUNT CRESTED BUTTE — “This place brings back some memories,” says Wendy Fisher, gazing up at the near vertical walls of snow and rock she just skied. “Doesn’t it though,” says Rex Wehrman, pointing to rocky patches of snow with names like Body Bag Glades, Dead Bob’s Chute, Disgusting Trees and Sock It To Me. […]
Jeff Hermanson, developer of Denver’s Larimer Square and Union Station, is investing big in Crested Butte
There’s a new heavyweight investor buying up properties on Crested Butte’s historic Elk Avenue. But this time it’s not a reclusive billionaire from afar. Jeff Hermanson, who transformed Denver’s Larimer Square and Union Station, has lived in Crested Butte for 48 years. And he’s buying commercial properties on what he calls “one of the greatest […]
Mark Walter, who owns the Los Angeles Dodgers, is buying up Crested Butte’s downtown buildings
Billionaire investor Mark Walter, the owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, is staking a claim in Gunnison County. A lot of claims, actually. The Chicago financier this year has quietly acquired six high-profile commercial properties, including the Almont Resort and several iconic buildings in downtown Crested Butte that are home to restaurants, bars and shops. […]
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 […]
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 […]
Black Lives Matter protests in Gunnison County showed people of color they have more allies than they realized
Sun slants through the buildings on Elk Avenue in Crested Butte, turning cottonwood fluff into floating sparkle. The surrounding hillsides glow green and rise up into red-hued peaks, some of which still hold bright, white snow. It’s a real-life snow globe scene, and Chloe Bowman stands at the center of it, suspended in the surreal. […]
Coronavirus has cost Vail Resorts more than $200 million. So far.
Vail Resorts lost $203 million in ski and lodging earnings in the fiscal year that ended in July, a rare downturn for the ski resort operator hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. The company reported $503.3 million in resort earnings for its fiscal 2020, a 29% decline from the previous year. The company cited early […]
Gunnison County bans restaurants, bars from serving people 60 and older to slow coronavirus spread
UPDATED: This story was updated at 1:33 p.m. on March 16, 2020, to report sweeping changes to the Gunnison County public health order, including closing all short-term lodging. Gunnison County has ordered a dramatic step in the fight against COVID-19: Bars and restaurants can no longer serve people 60 years and older. Those establishments can […]