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// DISPATCHES FROM THE FIELD

Showing 9 posts tagged "vail-resorts"

Construction Season

Park City Mountain's Lift Upgrades Have Been Stuck in Court for Four Years. The Olympics Are Eight Years Away.

Vail Resorts wants to turn Silverlode into an 8-pack and replace the aging Eagle lift with a 6-pack. Residents want answers about traffic. A judge sided with the residents. Now Round 2 is underway -- and the clock is ticking toward 2034.

May 14, 20269 min readpark-city, vail-resorts, silverlode, eagle-lift, construction-season, doppelmayr, 2034-olympics, planning-commission, lift-upgrades, utah
News

2,000 Ski Instructors Are Suing Vail Resorts. 23,000 More Could Join Them.

The class-action lawsuit alleges Vail didn't pay instructors for putting on gear, traveling between locations, or attending mandatory training. The company says it did nothing wrong. A California court already disagreed once.

May 1, 20268 min readvail-resorts, lawsuit, ski-instructors, labor, wages, fair-labor-standards-act, ski-industry, 2025-26-season
News

New Hampshire Just Told Vail Resorts: You Can't Charge Sales Tax Here

The state's attorney general is investigating Vail's new 3.2% 'blended sales tax' on Epic Passes. In a state that famously has no sales tax. This should be fun.

Apr 29, 20267 min readvail-resorts, epic-pass, new-hampshire, sales-tax, antitrust, pass-wars, 2026-27-season, ski-industry
Analysis

Vail Just Confirmed What Everyone Already Knew: This Was a Catastrophe

Skier visits down 14.9%. Rocky Mountain visitation cratered 25%. Pass sales for next year are already soft. And this weekend, half the remaining resorts close for good -- right as a spring storm rolls in.

Apr 24, 20268 min readvail-resorts, 2025-26-season, closing-day, skier-visits, epic-pass, industry-data, alta, big-sky, spring-skiing, prediction-markets
News

Vail Closed a Swiss Resort on Easter. The Alps Are Not Amused.

1,200 signatures. Excellent snow. A furious community. And a 2027 World Championships on the horizon. Welcome to Vail Resorts' European chapter.

Apr 15, 20268 min readvail-resorts, crans-montana, switzerland, europe, early-closure, epic-pass, antitrust, spring-skiing, alps
Week Ahead

Week Ahead: The Great Meltdown -- 50+ Resorts Closed Early and the Dominoes Keep Falling

The 2025-26 ski season is in full collapse across the West. Here's who's still standing, who gave up, and what comes next.

Mar 23, 20267 min readforecast, closures, heatwave, spring-skiing, utah, colorado, california, idaho, week-ahead, march-2026, climate, vail-resorts, gen-z
Week Ahead

Week Ahead: California Is Melting, Minnesota Is Buried, and the Season Is Splitting in Half

The worst March heatwave in California history is killing ski resorts while the Midwest digs out of a blizzard. Welcome to the weirdest week of 2026.

Mar 16, 20266 min readforecast, california, heatwave, minnesota, blizzard, pacific-northwest, vail-resorts, week-ahead, march-2026, climate
Industry Analysis

Pass Wars 2026: Skiing Has an Affordability Crisis

Vail just slashed prices for Gen Z. That tells you everything about where the industry is headed.

Mar 5, 20268 min readepic-pass, ikon-pass, vail-resorts, alterra, affordability, gen-z, ski-industry
Analysis

Pass Wars 2026: The Affordability Crisis

Vail just dropped a 20% Gen Z discount on Epic Pass. Here's what it means -- and what it doesn't.

Mar 5, 20268 min readepic-pass, ikon-pass, pricing, affordability, gen-z, vail-resorts, alterra, indy-pass