As the past several days have already shown, 2026 will be another interesting year for the ski industry. There are some notable unresolved storylines from last year, and some will come to a head in the months to come. Here’s a breakdown of the interesting ski industry stories to watch for in 2026.
Will Stagecoach Be Revived As A Private Ski Resort? An interesting story has been developing over the past few years in Colorado’s Routt County.
Stagecoach was a short-lived ski area that closed in the 1970s. Over the years, various proposals have come forward, but no one has been able to revive it. Enter the Discovery Land Company, the developer behind the Yellowstone Club. They want to redevelop the ski resort. There’s one catch: it will be a private ski resort.
There are both benefits and risks to the Stagecoach Mountain Ranch proposal. The benefits include revitalizing a quiet mountain community, improving local infrastructure, adding employee housing, and adding a community area with a market. The risks are making the community more expensive, which is something the region already struggles with due to the popularity of Steamboat Resort.
The proposal is expected to make the rounds in Routt County in 2026, with lots of public feedback likely. For more information, check out the video below or this article from Aspen Journalism.
Will Chuck Horning Be Able To Right The Ship In Telluride? 2025 was a very tense year in Telluride. The owner of the ski resort, Chuck Horning, got into spats with local government officials, canceled local passes, and threatened to stop snowmaking. A website was even created to cite his misdeeds during his tenure. Meanwhile, Chuck has argued that running a remote ski resort is tougher than people think (both financially and logistically), and he wants to help Telluride be successful. All this pales compared to the ongoing ski patrol strike, which has crippled the town’s economy.
With the ski resort now kinda back open, it’s tough to say whether they can mitigate the damage from the ski patrol strike. Apparently, Horning has no intention of selling Telluride despite his age and likely financial losses. But whether it continues to spiral past the patrol strike is what intrigues me.
Update 1/8: The ski patrol strike has ended, as a new contract has been ratified.
Can Vail Resorts Continue Its Rebound? Vail concluded 2025 with some momentum following a tough start to the year. Rob Katz returned to the CEO role last year after a series of negative headlines, prompting Kirsten Lynch’s resignation.
Since then, Katz has announced new initiatives to grow visitation outside Epic passholders. Some of the initiatives include My Epic Friends tickets, ticket discounts for those who purchase one month in advance, and diversifying capital upgrades.
The goal now is to carry momentum into 2026, but the challenge Katz and Vail face could be the impact from the slow start out west.
Will Resorts of the Canadian Rockies (RCR) Lose Mont-Sainte-Anne? It was a rough end to the year for Mont-Sainte-Anne. Their full opening had to be delayed because Quebec cited electrical issues with four lifts. There was even a large protest held against RCR. While they’ve been able to open since Quebec ordered the lifts closed, there are doubts that a previously announced $100 million CAD investment plan with the province will move forward.
There are reportedly other interested parties who want to run it, including Quebec Mountains Ski Company and the owners of Le Massif. It will be interesting to see if the province tries to force a change at the popular ski resort.
Will More Regulations Be Implemented Following the Crans-Montana Bar Fire? In the early hours of 2026, a fire at a bar near the Crans-Montana ski resort killed 40 and injured over 100. With the fire likely caused by sparklers, it’s fair to question whether countries or communities in the Alps with many ski resorts will develop additional regulations.
A few such changes have already occurred. Some French bars have announced a transition to LED sparklers. In Crans-Montana, the local government announced that sparklers are now banned inside buildings.
How Will Black Mountain’s Co-Op Work? Entabeni Systems, owner of the Indy Pass, has practically revived Black Mountain. In 2023, it was on the verge of closure, but Indy stepped in to save the day. In 2024, it bought the ski resort and announced plans to convert it into a co-op. Due to required SEC filings and the need to acquire the full property, the process has been slower than expected. It seems like this will be the year we find out how it will work.
The key question is ultimately what the similarities and differences will be between Black and Mad River Glen’s model, which is the other co-op ski area. Based on the waves Black Mountain has made over the past few years, I imagine the demand will be there for a successful co-op.
How Will Town Ownership Of Eldora Work? On Tuesday, the Town of Nederland approved an asset purchase agreement to acquire Eldora Mountain Resort. The deal is expected to be approved later this year.
Government ownership of ski areas is nothing new; some examples include Cannon Mountain in New Hampshire, Whiteface, Gore, and Belleayre in New York, and Ski Cooper in Colorado. However, there are many moving parts in this transaction, including acquiring the Forest Service leases, negotiating a new Ikon Pass contract with Alterra, and ensuring a smooth transition with POWDR. The other aspect of this is that POWDR employees at Eldora will become employees of the Town of Nederland. Does this mean that the workers who will transition to being town employees get better or worse benefits?
Whatever this year brings, we’ll keep you posted here at Unofficial Networks regarding the latest skiing and outdoor news.
Image/Video Credits: Ski Town Living, Stagecoach Mountain Ranch (Discovery Land Company), Black Mountain, Powder7
