Breckenridge, Colorado — While the ending of the ski patrol strike has dimmed the headlights that were directed at Vail Resorts, problems have persisted for the company. This is the ski industry, after all, and snow farming isn’t an easy business to be in.
Some of the present issues include lawsuits from the Park City ski patrol strike, pushback from guests over not building a halfpipe this season at Okemo, the potential strike from the Crested Butte Lift Maintenance Union, and ongoing negotiations with other ski patrol unions. Perhaps their most pressing issue right now is the employee housing situation at Breckenridge.
On Wednesday, the lift count at Breckenridge Resort was lower than usual. The colder weather partially affected this, as it was a freezing day on the slopes. However, another factor was that many lift operators decided to not work to protest their living situation.
According to the Summit Daily, the situation occurred at the Breckenridge Terrace, a employee housing facility that is home to 180 units. Maintenance issues existed before this week, as the maintenance team was late to respond to requests. Even when they did respond, residents say that the fixes were insufficient. Some of the issues residents brought up include mold, holes in the ceiling, and a mouse sighting.
Earlier in the month, pipes burst in three buildings at the Terrace. A video emerged from the situation, and it’s a pretty ugly scene. Instagram user @failresorts shared a video of what flooding at the employee housing facility looked like a few weeks ago.
In the latter portion of last week, freezing temperatures resulted in a lack of heat and warm water over an extended period. That was enough for some workers to call in sick as a form of protest.
Vail Resorts has owned up to the issues and said they’re working on fixing this mess. In addition, they emailed the employees affected and have offered new housing while they fix the present issues. Jon Copeland, the VP and COO of Breckenridge Resort, issued the following statement to the media on Wednesday:
“Summit County, Colorado has had extreme cold temperatures. As a result, some of our team members in employee housing have experienced heat and hot water issues. This is completely unacceptable, and mechanical work is in progress to address that. We have offered alternate lodging to every person on our team who is impacted, and we are waiving their housing fees for this time. We have had some Breckenridge team members call in sick today, and we support anyone on our team who needs to take the day off to care for their health or who needs to relocate to the alternate lodging that we are providing. Breckenridge Ski Resort is open and operating today. As always, current lift and terrain status is available on the website, including the current weather hold on our Imperial lift.”
However, some employees claim that the offer to move to a new facility isn’t helpful. Many don’t own their own personal vehicles, and Vail is not offering a shuttle between Breckenridge and Sagebrush at Keystone.
Hopefully, they’ll be able to fix these issues soon, and I hope these employees will get more than a pizza party as a way to compensate for their rough living experiences.

Image/Video Credits: Taylor Turtle, Fail Resorts, Breckenridge Resort