It was another wild year for the ski industry. There were ownership changes, various weather challenges, and lots of interesting storylines. Ultimately, I’d argue the ski industry as a whole is in a more volatile place than it was at the start of 2025. Why’s that? Here’s a recap of the big moments that occurred in the ski industry during 2025.
Ski Patrollers Create Change at Park City Mountain Resort & Vail Resorts: A year ago, ski patrollers at Park City were on strike to improve their way of life. The 12-day-long strike featured limited terrain, long lift lines, and angry guests, creating a PR migraine for Vail Resorts. By the time the strike ended on January 8th, the Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association had proven its value to the ski resort and helped lead to the formation of more patrol unions and improved wages. In terms of Vail Resorts…
Changes Underway at Vail Resorts Following Rough 2024-25 Season: The ski patrol debacle was likely one of the leading factors in the resignation of former CEO Kirsten Lynch. In her place is Rob Katz, who led the company from 2006 to 2021. Since being back in the leadership chair, he’s made a few notable changes, including 50% off day tickets if your buddy is an Epic passholder, discounted lift tickets if you purchase one month in advance, and announcing a partnership with Uber. Vail also appointed a new Chief Revenue Officer, who has been a leader over at Lullemellon.
Deer Valley Continues Work On Huge Expansion: For Vail’s main competitor, Alterra, the priority this year has been the expansion at Deer Valley Resort. For the 2024-25 season, Deer Valley added 19 trails, drastically extended one piste, and opened three new lifts. Extensive work occurred this past offseason, with nearly 80 trails and 7 lifts. The commute to the mountain has been made much easier thanks to the East Village being located directly off Highway 40. This new village features 1,200 free parking spots, the new Grand Hyatt hotel, and future additions like a day lodge, a Four Seasons hotel, and more.
On Saturday, two of these lifts opened for the first time, another step towards completing this monumental project.
Oregon Ski Industry in Rough Shape Due to Liability Waivers: Since the 2014 Oregon Supreme Court ruling that effectively nullified liability waivers protecting ski resorts, lawsuits have harmed the state’s ski industry.
The state is down to one insurance provider for ski resorts following one company dropping out of the state earlier this year. The outdoor recreation industry tried to push forward legislation that would’ve protected ski resorts. However, that bill didn’t even get a vote. Since then, Timberline Lodge announced it is upping lift ticket prices due to the liability risks.
To make matters worse, Oregon has had a really slow start to the 2025-26 season. However, there is momentum to pass a new bill in Oregon’s legislature next month.
Resorts of Canadian Rockies (RCR) Faces More Headwinds: If you’re Canadian, you’re probably aware of the country’s largest ski resort operator. Two more lift issues brought more attention to RCR, and its operation of one of its ski resorts is in question.
At Kicking Horse, a detached gondola cabin in March led to a months-long closure of that lift. It did reopen this past summer. At Mont-Sainte-Anne, the province delayed the opening of four lifts due to electrical issues. Now, the province is wondering whether to move forward on a planned $100 million CAD capital improvement partnership with RCR.
Warm Weather Causes Trouble To Start Northern & Southern Hemisphere’s Seasons: It appears that the climate is changing. In the Southern Hemisphere, slow starts in Argentina, Chile, and New Zealand affected conditions for much of the season. On the bright side, Australia had its best winter in years. However, the prior few winters had been abnormally warm.
In the Northern Hemisphere, a lot of the Western US had a catastrophic November and the start of December. Parts of Europe have also had an up-and-down winter. While some are now seeing improved conditions, it does beg the question of what the years ahead will bring if climate scientists’ predictions are correct.
Telluride’s Year Defined By Tense Relationship Between Ownership & Community: The year began with a ski patrol strike, and ended with another one. This time around, it’s at Telluride Ski Resort. Ski patrollers are currently on strike to fight for improved wages and better benefits.
For owner Chuck Horning, it’s the latest headache in a year full of them. There was the Mountain Village Town Manager publicly calling out Chuck Horning for his absentee leadership. Then, a previously agreed-upon plan for a new transit gondola was nullified by Horning, prompting Mountain Village voters to approve a lift ticket tax, which could result in higher pass prices. To top it all off, a website was created to highlight various misdeeds during Horning’s tenure.
What comes next is uncertain for Telluride, but it looks like its owner has some tough decisions to make.
Image/Video Credits: Alex Dezendorf, Deer Valley Resort, PeakRankings, CBS Colorado
