Sports

How the Ski Business Got Too Big for Its Boots

Published

11 months ago

January 12, 2025

How the Ski Business Got Too Big for Its Boots

More StoriesThis is what happens when companies don’t have to compete for labor. Thanks to industry agglomeration, ski-resort workers have only a small number of potential employers, making it harder to switch jobs if they don’t like the way a particular resort treats them. And supervisors can afford to be high-handed. During my tenure, for example, instructors would sometimes have shifts added to their schedule without permission; at other times, they would have shifts canceled after arriving at work—meaning that they’d driven to the mountain only to get sent home without pay.For now, however, what’s on offer to skiers is governed by the unfortunate logic of mountains and monopolies. America has only so many ski areas, and as long as they’re controlled by a couple of conglomerates, the whole experience will continue to go downhill.Naturally, this strategy has worked well for both Vail and Alterra. Vail’s revenues have increased by 50 percent since my brief spell with the company in 2017. Alterra, a smaller company, is privately held and does not disclose its financials. But Big Ski’s business model works well enough at Alterra’s scale that, last year, it purchased a new ski area in Colorado for more than 0 million.For those unfamiliar with the industry, the union’s decision may have seemed puzzling. People who work on skis tend to love skiing, so why would they want to stop? They’re called ski bums, after all, not ski laborers. But for anyone who has been employed by Vail—and navigated the housing crises that plague resort communities—the union’s pleas are entirely comprehensible. The Park City strike illustrates just how distorted the American ski business has become, both for workers and for visitors. Central to the malaise is one trend: monopolization.As a result, skiers tend to buy either Vail’s Epic Pass or Alterra’s Ikon Pass, season tickets that, depending on category, afford varying levels of access to a selection of the companies’ resorts (and, particularly for Ikon, of affiliated ones). These passes offer a better deal than day tickets; in some circumstances, they give better value than the season passes of earlier eras. But they also represent an intricate form of price discrimination filled with disadvantages. Skiers must purchase them before the winter begins. Many of the passes come with restrictions. And, as a lump sum, they’re hardly cheap: The Epic “Northeast Value Pass,” for example, is about 0, and has blackout dates on Vail’s marquee northeastern-U.S. properties. Only the full Epic Pass, priced at roughly ,000, is limit free.The system has not worked as well for staff, who remain underpaid. Vail set its minimum wage at in March 2022, after facing staffing shortages and an earlier strike threat by ski patrollers. But that hourly figure is set against the extremely high cost of living in resort towns: In Park City, the median monthly rent is ,500, which is about what a Vail minimum-wage employee makes working full-time. Meanwhile, Vail’s charity arm continues to brag about helping staff with “hardship relief.”How a Strongman Made Himself Look WeakThis article originally misapplied a male pronoun to Quinn Graves. In fact, Graves is a woman who uses female pronouns.This new economic model means that visitors have fewer affordable ways to hit the slopes—especially if they ski only on an occasional basis. For instance, newbies may find themselves obliged to buy season passes just to spend a few days learning how to ski. The season-pass imperative also forces skiers of all levels to commit to one of two ecosystems, Epic or Ikon. This constrains people’s choice of where to ski, and makes planning trips with friends harder. What it does allow is conglomerates to keep people ensconced at company properties, buying overpriced food, lodging, and equipment.Support for this project was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.At the Park City resort, Vail owns a formidable collection of lodges and rental properties, but none of it was allocated to employees in my time. In 2022, the company began working with a separate development to help lease out discounted units for 441 of its staffers—but Vail has hundreds more employees at the resort, so those dormitories and apartments are nowhere near enough to make a very expensive town remotely affordable for most workers. In fact, according to a 2023 University of Utah study, only 12 percent of the community’s workforce live in Park City itself. This housing crisis is one of the main factors behind the strike. To help explain the picketing, Quinn Graves, one of the union’s officials, told New York magazine that most of her colleagues don’t live locally.That video came to mind last month when I heard that, starting December 27, Park City’s ski patrollers were going on strike to demand higher wages and better treatment. “We are asking all of you to show your support by halting spending at Vail Resorts properties for the duration of this strike,” the union said in an Instagram post. “Do not use Vail-owned rental shops or retail stores. Do not stay in Vail-owned hotels.”Most of the visitors who fly in to ski at Park City probably do not think much about these issues. They are, after all, there for a vacation, not for field research on economic injustice. But this season, they’ve had plenty of opportunity to ponder that: Because most of the resort closed during the patrollers’ strike, visitors had to wait in freezing lines for hours for brief runs down the few slopes Vail managed to keep open with supervisors and patrollers drafted from other mountains. Many of these guests, sick of Park City’s high costs, came down on the side of the strikers. Online, angry customers blasted Vail for refusing to give staff a raise. One person filed a lawsuit against the company in which he bemoaned how ski-ticket prices have risen “exponentially” over the past 10 years. In person, guests chanted “Pay your employees” while waiting to get on lifts.On January 8, the company listened. It struck a deal to increase average pay for patrollers by an hour and offer better leave policies. “This contract is more than just a win for our team,” Seth Dromgoole, the union’s lead negotiator, said in a statement. “It’s a groundbreaking success in the ski and mountain worker industry.” Other Park City employees, including instructors, have similarly cheered, hoping that the bump will eventually extend to them.For much of skiing’s history, mountains were locally owned and operated. But over the past few decades, that has changed. In the 1990s, ski resorts began buying other ski resorts. Private-equity firms got in on the act. Soon, these conglomerates were gobbling up one another, creating a small clique of businesses that had control over the industry. Independent mountains still dot the country, but most major resorts now are either owned by or associated with one of two giant corporations: Vail and Alterra.The Democrats’ Senate Nightmare Is Only Beginning

In 2016, I was hired to teach skiing at the Park City resort, in Utah. The ultimate fun job: For one winter, I would get paid to do and share my favorite activity.

Updated at 2:08 p.m. ET on January 12, 2025

About the Author

Daniel Block

Daniel Block is a senior editor at Foreign Affairs.

The outcome may encourage other ski-resort workers to organize. The idea of unionizing was bandied about by ski-school workers when I was there, and labor-organization rates have spiked at ski areas. The rationale is compelling: To get a fair deal in the face of corporate consolidation, workers may have to consolidate themselves.This consolidation is perhaps the main reason the sticker price of skiing, never cheap, has become exorbitant. With fewer competitors, Vail and Alterra have been free to jack up prices. In 2000, when Mount Snow (where I learned to ski) was owned by a smaller company, the cost of a day pass was about in today’s dollars. Today, the Vail-owned resort charges approximately 0. The pricing at Park City is even steeper. Twenty-five years ago, you could get a three-day ticket for 8 in today’s dollars. Now you’re paying 0.But I soon realized that although the piste conditions might be great, the working conditions were poor. An early clue was a training video that Vail Resorts, Park City’s owner, showed to employees. It bragged about how the company’s charity organization was helping local residents. The only problem: One of the charity cases was a Vail employee. In other words, the company was obliviously broadcasting how underpaid its own workers were.

Explore More Topics

Utah

Related Topics:arm big broadcasting business buy company equipment food history hotels live magazine new season show ski skiing snow sports team university video winter working

Up Next

Canadian

Don't Miss

Team Ireland's heroes return home after successful Paralympic games

Click to comment

Sports

UAPB Track & Field Student-Athletes Among Top UAPB Chancellor’s Medallion Recipients at Fall 2025 Commencement

Published

4 minutes ago

December 14, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) honored five graduates with the Chancellor’s Medallion at the Fall 2025 Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, December 13, 2025. The Chancellor’s Medallion is UAPB’s highest academic honor, awarded to the top graduate from each school based on cumulative GPA. The ceremony is available on UAPB TV.

Notably, the top three overall recipients, Ashley Robinson, Kaiél Kimble, and Cornelia D. Watts, who earned the highest GPAs among all these graduates, were also Golden Lion student-athletes from the UAPB Track & Field program, exemplifying excellence both in the classroom and in competition. Among them, Kaiél Kimble reached another milestone: completing the UAPB ROTC program and being commissioned as a Second Lieutenant (2LT) in the United States Army.

“These students represent the very best of UAPB—academic excellence, leadership, perseverance, and service,” said UAPB Chancellor Anthony Graham, Ph.D. “Their achievements reflect the strength of our academic programs and the dedication of our faculty and staff.”

Fall 2025 UAPB Chancellor’s Medallion Recipients

School of Arts and Sciences
Ashley Robinson

Hometown: West Palm Beach, Florida
High School: Herbert Morrison Technical High School & Seminole Ridge Community High School
Major: Criminal Justice
GPA: 3.922
Career Goal: Robinson will join the United States Air Force to begin her career in criminal justice. Her long-term goals include federal investigative work as a crime scene investigator or serving with the FBI or DEA.

School of Education
Kaiél Kimble

Hometown: Humble, Texas
High School: Atascocita High School
Major: Health & Kinesiology, Minor in Military Science
GPA: 3.789
Career Goal: Following graduation, Kimble was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant (2LT) in the U.S. Army after completing the ROTC program at UAPB. She plans to serve as an Army officer while pursuing her long-term goal of coaching collegiate track and field.

School of Business and Management
Cornelia D. Watts

Hometown: Houston, Texas
High School: Klein Forest High School
Major: Business Administration, Concentration in International Business
GPA: 3.710
Career Goal: After completing her Track & Field season, Watts will begin her professional career with Amazon as an Area Manager and hopes to explore global opportunities.

School of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Human Sciences
Messhirya Harris

Hometown: Marianna, Arkansas
High School: Marianna High School
Major: Agriculture/Agricultural Business
GPA: 3.473
Career Goal: Harris will complete esthetician school and begin her career as a full-time esthetician, with plans to further her education in nursing and specialize in advanced aesthetic and corrective procedures.

Division of University College
Kyla M. Boatner

Hometown: Dermott, Arkansas
High School: Dermott High School
Major: General Studies
GPA: 3.194
Career Goal: Boatner plans to complete the UAPB Master of Arts in Teaching program and earn certification as an elementary school teacher.

UAPB congratulates the Fall 2025 graduates and applauds the Chancellor’s Medallion recipients for their academic achievements, leadership, and commitment to excellence.

Link

Sports

Track and Field Competes at Art Kadish Elm City Challenge: Zacarolli Sets School Heptathlon Record

Published

3 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Your Sports Nation

RESULTS

NEW HAVEN, Conn. | The Farmingdale State College indoor track and field teams competed Friday and Saturday at the Art Kadish Elm City Challenge, with the Rams’ men’s squad placing fourth (49 points) behind a winning, school-record performance in the heptathlon by freshman Ethan Zacarolli (Hillsdale, N.Y.), while the women’s contingent tied for 10th place.

Zacarolli won the men’s heptathlon with a score of 4,550 points, which topped the previous FSC record of 4,038 points set by Nicholas Lourenco in 2023.

Also pacing the Rams’ efforts were freshmen jumpers Jaden Cesar (Queens, N.Y.) and Christian Destine (Rosedale, N.Y.). Cesar’s leap of 13.48 meters (44-2.75) in the triple jump was good for third place, while Destine’s long jump of 6.69m (21-11.5) placed fifth.

On the women’s side, junior pole vaulter Mishell Delgado (Bronx, N.Y.) earned fifth-place points for Farmingdale State, clearing a height of 2.50 meters (8-0.25) on her second jump of the afternoon.

Farmingdale State is back in action during the new year on Saturday, January 10, when it travels to Middletown, Conn., for the Wesleyan Winter Invitational.

Link

Sports

Men’s Track & Field Records 35 Top-8 Performances at Dartmouth December Invite

Published

3 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Your Sports Nation

HANOVER, NH – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men’s track & field team produced a standout performance at the Dartmouth December Invite on Saturday, registering numerous top-five finishes across sprints, jumps, hurdles, and throws in an all-around strong showing in early-season competition.

RPI’s jumpers once again led the charge, starting with sophomore Oliver Herrick, who finished runner-up in both the high jump (1.80 meters) and triple jump (13.53 meters). In the high jump, Herrick was joined by senior Calvin Chang in fourth place at 1.75 meters. The Engineers dominated the triple jump event, occupying four of the top five places. Senior Evan Boyd landed in third at 12.74 meters, followed by Jack Notaro in fourth (12.28m) and Caius Leung in fifth (12.06m).

In the horizontal jumps, Ervin Owusu claimed second in the long jump with a leap of 6.49 meters, while Dillen Owusu and Evan Boyd rounded out the scoring in fourth (6.12m) and fifth (5.98m), respectively. The pole vault squad also had a strong outing, as Shawn Keenan cleared 4.55 meters to place fifth and Moss Dengler added an eighth-place mark of 4.25 meters.

The Engineers’ sprint and hurdle groups delivered several high finishes in the short-distance races. In the 60-meter dash, five RPI athletes placed in the top eight: Alexander Flynn placed second in 7.19 seconds, just ahead of Jack Catelotti (3rd, 7.22), Francis Grasso (4th, 7.23), Gabe Sicurella (7th, 7.27), and Rafael Steiner (8th, 7.38). Flynn added a third-place finish in the 300 meters with a time of 36.31 seconds. Steiner and Catelotti followed closely in fifth (36.46) and sixth (36.66), with Grasso finishing eighth (36.86).

In the hurdles, Chris Kay ran 8.86 seconds to take third in the 60-meter hurdles, while John Bellini (4th, 9.28), Caius Leung (6th, 9.72), and Jack Currie (8th, 10.12) helped the Engineers control the finals heat. In the 500 meters, RPI had three athletes in the scoring group: Richard Biase (6th, 1:11.68), Jack Gips (7th, 1:11.96), and Samuel Aubut (8th, 1:11.97), all finishing within tenths of a second of one another.

RPI’s throwers were equally dominant in both the shot put and weight throw. In the shot put, Paul Sussman led the Engineers with a fourth-place throw of 13.42 meters. He was backed by Tristan Mangin (5th, 13.12m), Logan Gamlin (7th, 12.15m), and Arthur Hrycak (8th, 11.96m), giving RPI four of the top eight marks.

In the weight throw, Colby Grove recorded a third-place finish with a mark of 14.96 meters, with Sussman (4th, 14.66m), Max Fetah (5th, 14.62m), and Eric Mulqueen (6th, 14.58m) close behind in a tightly packed leaderboard.

Link

Sports

Meyer takes down Central 60-meter hurdles record

Published

4 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Your Sports Nation

IOWA CITY— At the Jimmy Grant Alumni Invitational hosted by the University of Iowa Saturday, Central College men’s track and field senior Gunner Meyer (senior, Fairbank, Wapsie Valley HS) broke the program’s all-time record in the men’s 60-meter hurdles.

Meyer clocked in at 7.92 seconds, the fastest time by any Division III athlete so far this season. He’s the first Dutch athlete to go under the eight-second mark. He placed third in the meet behind a pair of Hawkeyes.

Men’s triple jumper Kale Purcell (fifth year, Holton, Kan.) also matched the school record with a leap of 48 feet, 6 inches to win the meet.

Alivia Roerdink (junior, Tiffin, Ohio, Hopewell-Loudon HS) ran the second-fastest women’s 800 meters time in school history, crossing the line in 1 minute, 37.81 seconds. She placed fifth.

In the women’s 60-meter prelims, Ava Parkins (junior, Monmouth, Ill., Burlington Notre Dame HS [Iowa]) clocked in at 7.70 seconds to share second place on the program’s all-time list. It also makes No. 8 nationally. She didn’t run the finals after qualifying in seventh. She also finished third in the 300 meters in 39.55 seconds.

Mary Gustason (senior, Marion, Linn-Mar HS) was third in the women’s 200 meters in 26.10 seconds.

Central will reset after the student’s winter break with the Dutch Athletics Classic the next competition on January 16, 2026.

Link

Sports

Hawks Women’s Track & Field Have Strong Showing at the SCSU Art Kadish Invitational

Published

4 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Your Sports Nation

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – On Friday and Saturday, the University of Hartford men’s indoor track & field team competed in their first two-day meet of the season placing in 2nd out of 11 teams in the Art Kadish Invitational hosted by Southern Connecticut State University.

Rapid Recap:

Senior Destinee Majett (Brick Township, N.J.) headlined the Hawks throwing for a massive personal best in the women’s weight throw taking second place hitting a distance of 15.09 meters. Majett moved to third all-time in the event in program history with the throw.

Junior Jordan Murphy (East Hampton, Conn.) would also make her mark in the meet breaking the meet record for the pentathlon with a score of 3292.

Senior Madison DiPasquale (Wallingford, Conn.) finished second in the women’s shot put event hitting 12.33 meters.

Freshman Caroline McGinnis (Windsor Locks, Conn.) placed 8th in the women’s long jump at a distance of 4.85 meters.

Freshman Jaya Pichay (South Windsor, Conn.) had a great showing in the 55 meter dash. Pichay finished the preliminaries in 4th place at a time of 7.47, before racing to a 5th place finish in the event at a personal best time of 7.43.

Freshman Leah Valentino (Beacon Falls, Conn.) placed in first for the Hawks in the 600 meter at a time of 1:50.20.

In the 55 meter hurdles event junior Caroline Crocker (Bernardston, Mass.) placed in second at a time of 8.48 seconds which was a new school record. Sophomore Tamara Greene (Hartford, Conn.) followed in fourth place at a time of 8.67 seconds.

Freshman Maeve McGinnis (Windsor Locks, Conn.) scored points in the high jump competition coming in second clearing a height of 1.55 meters.

Up Next:

The Hawks will head to winter break returning to action on January 24th, competing at Wesleyan University.

For the latest information on Hartford Athletics follow the Hawks on Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube.

Link

Sports

Saint Joseph’s Men Turn in Record Jumps and Relay Win at USM Alumni Open

Published

4 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Your Sports Nation

GORHAM, Maine – The Saint Joseph’s College men’s track and field team turned in a statement performance at the USM Alumni Open on Saturday, highlighted by two school records from freshman standout Stephen Pierre, a relay victory, and multiple New England Division III qualifying marks in the jumps and hurdles.

“We brought great energy and effort today and were rewarded with some impressive marks. Our ability to cover events with talent and depth continues to grow and will be a key to our success at the conference level,” said Head Coach Mike Burleson.

“The caliber this group is competing at right now makes me incredibly proud,” added Associate Head Coach Troy Hendricks. “To be dropping school-record performances on just meet two of the season speaks to how bought-in they are. I’m excited to see the work they put in over winter break and where that momentum takes us when we come back at the start of the new year.”

SPRINTS AND RELAYS

Junior Jacob Schmader (Limington, Maine) and senior Noah Batoosingh (Scarborough, Maine) led a strong effort in the 300 meters, finishing third (36.82) and fifth (37.57), respectively, to pace the sprint group on the flat 200-meter oval.

Freshman Eli Benjamin (Rochester, N.H.) competed in the 55-meter dash, clocking 7.01 in the prelims to place ninth overall in a tight field.

Saint Joseph’s grabbed a win on the track in the 4×200-meter relay, as Batoosingh, sophomore John Read, freshman Eli Benjamin, and Schmader combined to run 1:34.17, crossing the line first and continuing the early-season momentum from the Elm City Classic.

In the 4×400-meter relay, the quartet of junior Aidan Mills (Ontario Center, N.Y.), sophomore Isaac Keresey (Pittsfield, Maine), junior Emilson Zoccolo (Lewiston, Maine), and sophomore Harrison Fields (Gray, Maine) placed second in 3:42.01, closing the meet with another strong relay showing for the Monks.

MID-DISTANCE AND DISTANCE

Senior Brayden Grant (Rochester, N.H.) turned in a solid performance in the 500 meters, placing fifth in 1:18.19.

In the 1000 meters, Mills led the way with a fourth-place finish in 2:55.79, followed by Fields in eighth at 3:03.49 and senior Kyle Benson (Biddeford, Maine) in ninth at 3:12.55, as the Monks continued to build depth through the middle-distance group.

Keresey posted one of the top distance marks of the day, finishing second in the mile with a time of 4:31.81, while Zoccolo added a 13th-place finish in 5:07.57.

In the 5000 meters, senior Jacob Pelletier (Augusta, Maine) clocked 16:04.76 to place fifth, and teammate Alexey Seredin (Peaks Island, Maine) ran 16:49.95 for 11th, giving Saint Joseph’s a strong presence in the longest event of the day.

HURDLES

The 55-meter hurdles proved to be a major highlight and a key event for the Monks.

Pierre, competing in his first collegiate hurdles meet, broke the school record and placed second in the final in 7.98, hitting the New England Division III provisional standard. Read followed in third at 8.01, also meeting the provisional standard, as the pair delivered a big 2–3 finish in the final.

The prelims were equally impressive, with Pierre (8.17), Read (8.21), and junior Tudum Monday (Lewiston, Maine) (8.24) all achieving New England Division III provisional qualifying times, giving Saint Joseph’s three hurdlers at championship-caliber level just two meets into the season.

JUMPS

Pierre produced another breakout performance in the long jump, where he broke his own school record and won the event with a mark of 6.81m (22′ 4.25″), an automatic qualifier for the New England Division III Championships. His series also included jumps of 6.78m and 6.71m, showcasing impressive consistency at a high level. Junior Devonte Prom (Portland, Maine) added a strong fifth-place finish at 5.75m (18′ 10.5″).

In the triple jump, Monday won the event with a mark of 13.03m (42′ 9″), good for a New England Division III provisional qualifying performance. Junior Christopher Godefroy (Windsor Locks, Conn.) placed fifth at 11.64m (38′ 2.25″), while Peters finished seventh with a best of 10.96m (35′ 11.5″).

In the high jump, Benjamin continued his strong start by clearing 1.83m (6′ 0″) for second place, while sophomore Martinho Codo (Lewiston, Maine) jumped 1.73m (5′ 8″) to finish fourth.

THROWS

The Monks’ young and deep throws group continued to gain momentum across both the shot put and weight throw.

In the shot put, sophomore Anthony Vasquez (Westbrook, Maine) led the way with a ninth-place finish at 10.07m (33′ 0.5″), followed by senior Alexander Greslick (Windham, Maine) in 10th at 9.80m (32′ 2″). Freshman Brandt Bishop (Marblehead, Mass.) threw 9.10m (29′ 10.25″), classmate Daven Duquette (Berlin, N.H.) recorded 9.07m (29′ 9.25″), and fellow freshman Cameron Gonyer (Berlin, N.H.) added a mark of 7.99m (26′ 2.75″). Junior Gabryel Balch (Strafford, N.H.) rounded out the group at 7.31m (23′ 11.75″).

In the weight throw, Vasquez placed fifth with a throw of 9.75m (32′ 0″), Gonyer finished sixth at 9.73m (31′ 11.25″), and Duquette took seventh with 9.60m (31′ 6″). Greslick added an eighth-place mark of 9.48m (31′ 1.25″), while Balch finished 10th at 9.09m (29′ 10″), giving Saint Joseph’s five athletes over nine meters and valuable early-season depth in the event.