In the shadow of battling behemoths, smaller, independent ski areas are thriving. “It’s not just that the big areas are crowded and skiers want to escape crowds,” said Bob Nicolls, the owner of Monarch ski area, which saw record visitation in 2021-22, with income for the ski area climbing 20% above the previous season. “I […]
Vail Resorts
Posted inBusiness, Housing, News
Vail Resorts plans big investment in affordable housing. Town of Vail promises a fight.
Vail Resorts last week announced plans to fast-track four housing projects at resorts in Utah, British Columbia, Vermont and Vail, adding 875 units for the company’s workers as part of a promise made last month to refocus on employees with more pay and housing. The projects will be somewhat easy at Park City Mountain Resort, […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Carman: Backcountry with a side of bacon is a soulful alternative to the corporate ski experience
I was stepping out of my bindings at the base of Steamboat one sunny afternoon after a glorious day of spring skiing with my kids. It was the 1980s — a lifetime ago in the evolution of alpine skiing in Colorado. “We have to keep doing this before we get old,” I said to my […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Outdoors
Vail Resorts promises $175 million more for employees, bumps starting pay to $20 an hour
Vail Resorts will spend $175 million more a year on employees, increasing pay by more than 30% after a grueling season that saw North America’s largest resort operator vilified as it struggled to open chairs and handle crowds. Kirsten Lynch celebrated her 100th day as CEO of Vail Resorts this week, marking what was likely […]
Posted inNews, Outdoors
Vail Resorts offers end-of-season bonus as ski areas struggle through labor crisis
Jeremy Rubingh, a documentary filmmaker who focuses on climate and public lands issues, spent about 10 minutes on his phone after Christmas writing an angry screed against Vail Resorts and the company’s struggle to open terrain at the Stevens Pass ski area in Washington state. “When I posted it online, I thought ‘I don’t know, […]
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 inBusiness, News, Outdoors, Outsider
Busier-than-ever year for Grand Junction chairlift maker reveals strength of nation’s resort industry
GRAND JUNCTION — The welders are happy to show their boss the final piece of what’s been a two-year project. The massive steel structure is ready for shipping to finish off the multi-year construction of one of the largest gondolas in the country, stretching between two resort villages at California’s Palisades Tahoe ski area. “Check […]
Posted inNews, Outdoors
Vail Resorts sold 2.1 million Epic Passes for 2021-22 season after cutting prices by 20%
Vail Resorts’ decision to cut the price of its Epic Passes by 20% spurred 2.1 million skiers to buy the passes, which range from early purchased day tickets to unrestricted, season-long access. That’s a 700,000 bump in passes from 2020-21 and 900,000 more than than the 2019-20 season. The company on Thursday reported its earnings […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Outdoors, Outsider
Snow may not be piling up at Colorado ski resorts this season, but anxiety sure is
It wasn’t that long ago that ski resort operators lost sleep over snowfall. Then they had to fret over once-in-a-lifetime protocols to limit the spread of contagion at their ski areas. Now, the worries are stacked even deeper, with affordable housing, dwindling numbers of workers and ever-lengthening lift lines joining the perennial fretting over snow […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Outdoors, Outsider
Colorado ski resorts are in an uphill battle for workers amid the historic labor shortage
As the first snow of the season covers the high country, Colorado’s ski resorts are starting their search for thousands of workers in what many say is an unprecedented labor crisis. Housing continues to be the albatross for ski resort employers. It was a challenge before the pandemic. “But now it’s gone from ‘very difficult’ […]