Broomfield, Colorado — If recently released metrics from Vail Resorts are any indication, it could be the worst winter in modern history for the U.S. ski industry.
Yesterday, Vail Resorts announced its skier metrics for the first portion of the 2025-26 season. The metrics aren’t pretty. Skier visits are down 20% year over year. Other reported metrics include dining revenue down 15.9%, ski school revenue down 14.9%, and retail/rental revenue diminishing by 6.0%. The least-horrible metric is lift ticket revenue, which is down only 1.8%.
Here’s what Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz said regarding the start of the 2025-26 ski season:
“We experienced one of the worst early season snowfalls in the western U.S. in over 30 years, which limited our ability to open terrain and negatively impacted visitation and ancillary spending for both local and destination guests during the period. Snowfall at our western U.S. resorts for November and December was approximately 50% below the historical 30-year average. In the Rockies, snowfall was down nearly 60% versus the historical 30-year average, resulting in approximately 11% of terrain being opened in December. Conditions in Tahoe were near historic lows through mid-December while Whistler also had a slower start to the season, though both improved with significant snowstorms over the holiday period, which enabled us to greatly expand terrain. Early season conditions at our eastern U.S. ski areas were strong, which provided a partial offset to the broader weather headwinds and highlights the benefit of our geographically diverse network of resorts. Following the holiday period, conditions across our resorts in the Rockies have improved, although conditions remain near historic lows for this time of the season.
Given the impact from conditions, we now expect our full year Resort Reported EBITDA to be just below the low end of the guidance range issued on September 29, 2025, assuming that performance in the Rockies returns to normal by President’s weekend. To the extent that performance improvements in the Rockies lag, due to weaker than expected conditions, there could be further downside to our guidance. Our guidance also assumes (1) normal weather conditions, outside of the Rockies, for the remainder of the 2025/2026 ski season and the 2026 Australian ski season, (2) typical passholder usage for the remainder of the season, (3) continuation of the current economic environment, and (4) the foreign currency exchange rates as of our original fiscal 2026 guidance issued September 29, 2025.
The recent weather variability has reinforced our commitment to our advance commitment strategy and the investments we have made in our resorts and our employees to deliver on the guest experience. I’m proud of the team’s resilience, and exceptional execution that delivered strong guest satisfaction scores season to date, despite the significant weather challenges.”
While the numbers are startling, they make sense given how the season has turned out at various Vail destinations. Vail’s Tahoe destinations had limited terrain before a major snowstorm hit around Christmas. Stevens Pass in Washington didn’t even open until December 29th, and that was with significant road issues (which have since been resolved). The Colorado destinations are dealing with the state’s worst snowpack ever. Park City Mountain Resort is dealing with Utah’s worst snowpack ever. The mountain out west that’s had the fewest issues has been Whistler Blackcomb. Conditions at the European destinations have also been up and down.
Vail is being saved from a complete collapse in skier visitation thanks to decent conditions in the Midwest and Northeast. However, it shows how important Vail’s western destinations are to the company’s overall success.
Image Credits: Rylie Kay, Vail Resorts
