Vail Fail 2025/2026

rgrwilco

I just checked some youtube videos taking this year and compared them to videos posted before vail took over. It seems the polecats are all still there.

Which makes it even worse they have the equipment but don’t use it. I have photos riding east mountain before christmas in worse snow years. not to mention what they have done to the park scene.

Its criminal (in my uneducated opinion) that vail owns the amount of ski areas they do in PA. They own every southern PA area (6 of them) except for blue knob, essentially cornering that market. at least in NEPA we have the option of montage/elk/camelback/shawnee/blue to avoid vail.

Beast Patroller

Vail Fail strikes again!

hazlntskier

It appears Vail is under pressure to increase ROI (share holders etc.) and therefore they are turning to cost reduction which means they won’t go the extra mile to open up terrain, get lifts running quickly, offer more options for food, clean bathrooms etc. I call this manage by Excel worksheet. This kind of management will work in the very short term, but they will loose in the long term.

I would hasten to guess that keeping the place fully staffed is a problem. These type of issues would be front and center with a local ownership as you pointed out about Killignton and addressed. Last time I was at Killington I noticed quite a few lifties, snowmakers etc. were from the Caribbean. Don’t know if Vail does that for the eastern resorts or not.

Also outside of Stowe all of the resorts in the East are small potatoes compared to Park City, Whistler, Breck etc. and those resorts demand a lot more capital to keep them viable.

Comparing Boyne and Vail is like night and day. Both Loon and Sunday River are 100% open, while Attitash and Wildcat continue to suffer.

ciscokid

hazlntskier
4 years ago I noticed at Lutsen a “imported” employee majority before it was icy.
Good thing I retained a little espanol, me llama es Roberto,see senior. Me el grande.
I gotta smile

ski_it

Someone has been complaining about no salad or bowl bar since like 2018. Wahhhh. Ok so it ain’t gourmet. I haven’t been in 5+ years but there’s at least 5 restaurants & a deli and of course a cafe in every lodge. They have ramen noodles, Korean rice bowls, and salad at Carinthia. Vermont Country Deli used to have a booth on weekends in the main lodge.

Back then IIRC they had some lifies from Peru & Chile. And Brooklyn.

Not that I have been skiing much, but without a Pass in hand, a $171 walkup rate at MS…similar at affiliated resorts I’m sure, makes me not even consider going to any of them as a spur of the moment thing.

joshua_segal

Crotched Mountain is Vail’s smallest property in New England. CM’s management continues to deal with deferred maintenance issues left by Peak Resorts and IMO is doing a first-rate job in providing its guests a high quality product. I have to believe that the problem with Attitash and Wildcat is not Vail, but the local management. Most of CM’s teams from Snowmaking, to Lift ops, to snowsports, to Patrol; are teams that have been in place and running smoothly back to CM’s days in Peak Resorts.

While I haven’t skied Wildcat in many years, I was treated rudely by Attitash’s staff both of my last 2-visits. IMO, they do not have the culture I see at CM. It takes years to develop the teams. Wildcat/Attitash’s management have the problem of building a supportive culture on its teams, as well as dealing with their deferred maintenance issues. Until they do, Wildcat/Attitash’s product will not improve.

joshua_segal

rickbolger
You got me! Which skiing property did they sell off?

ski_it

joshua_segal And the answer is Arapahoe Basin

NewEnglandSkier13

It’s definitely Vail, and I think that’s obvious to pretty much everyone at this point. It doesn’t really matter what anyone says, if you aren’t convinced yet, you probably never will be.

Beast Patroller

NewEnglandSkier13 You’re absolutely right! There are some who will always defend what Vail does regardless of what’s going on. I understand their loyalty for the mountain but how can they sit there and says everything is fine.

Bondman

NewEnglandSkier13 Call me crazy but I think that the negative dirt thrown at Vail is mostly BS. Not unlike TDS. Some of the Peak Resorts have problems related to deferred maintenance. I will even say that those problems should have been worked through by this point. Lets be detailed and specific. What is Vail doing wrong at Okemo and Stowe and other non-peak resorts?

NewEnglandSkier13

Bondman Not unlike TDS.

And you have now lost all credibility!

Beast Patroller

Bondman Like I mentioned earlier some will defend Vail regardless! So you want details about “what is Vail doing wrong at Okemo and Stowe and other non-peak resorts?” So are you saying that the mountains that Peaks owned aren’t worth correcting what ever you think was wrong with them prior to Vail’s takeover! No one ever claimed that Peaks was perfect but some of the areas that currently are being talked about were in better shape with Peaks than Vail! If there was deferred maintenance then why after 6 yrs hasn’t Vail addressed them? Certainly if Vail cared about their “guest” and wanted to provide “an experience of a life time” these so called deferred maintenance would be addressed! Again, Vail is only concerned about the bottom line & profits not given value to their “guest”!

Bondman

NewEnglandSkier13 Not looking for your “credibility”. Looking to help you with your illogical VDS. Again, what is not to your liking at Stowe, Okemo or Sunapee? What has gotten worse at those resorts since Vail bought them? I know that parking is a big issue at Stowe. That is because the business model of Vail is so successfull.

Beast Patroller

Bondman I don’t recall outside of the paid parking at Stowe (which is better than Mount Snow) any complaints about Okemo, Stowe, or Sunapee. The Vail resorts that get all the complains is Mount Snow, Attitash, & Wildcat. And as for the Vail business model, it’s not successful to the sport to oversell passes so you meet your income quota and then not care to provide what is expected! The only success is to the shareholder.

Question Bondman, are you a Vail shareholder? Because if so, that explains why you don’t see the problem.

Bondman

Beast Patroller Not a coincidence that the areas with the complaints are Peak Resorts. Peak was sold to Vail in a fire sale. Before Peak it was ASC. Two different, subsequent owners that were in finantial problems. Seems like a recipe for deferred maintainence to me.

You make it sound like ski areas under private ownership don’t have any concern for profits. I worked for a privately held ski area for 20 seasons. Everything was about money. Everyday. No ability to take a long view. Vail has lots of cash on hand. Like anyone in a capitalistic world, profits are important but not in a day to day sence. Don’t be naive. Everybody is concerned with the bottom line.

Beast Patroller

Bondman I think you need to conduct a facts check before you spew out your comments! Peaks Resort didn’t conduct a fire sale and there is a vast difference between them and ASC. For your information Peaks spent 8 million installing the Bluebird Express (the 1st bubble 6 pack in the east) and even though this project was funded by EB5 money they also constructed the West Lake project to the tune of 30 million dollars along with constructing the new Carinthia base lodge. The West Lake project created the most powerful snowmaking system in the Northeast! With that kind of firepower explain why Mount Snow can’t open terrain (or maintain it) better/faster?

Also, I think you need to reread my post and then tell me where I mentioned anything about “ski areas under private ownership don’t have any concern for profits”? I also worked for a privately owned ski area for almost 20 yrs. and let me tell you that the owners watched every dollar spent! The point you are missing is Vail makes so much money with them charging for everything that they should be investing into their properties more! Just like buying a car or a house if you don’t maintain them they deteriorate.

joshua_segal

Actually, the major owners of Peak wanted out of the business. When Peak sold to Vail, the stock closed at $4 per share on Friday and opened at $11 a share on Monday, By contrast, when ASC had their fire sale, the stockholders received nothing.

joshua_segal

Beast Patroller
Hard to equate sales of large conglomerates, simply because there aren’t a lot of examples to cite. Beyond Peak and ASC, I can’t think of another skiing corp of 10 or more areas that were sold off.

lotsoskiing

ski_it What was the question? Sorry to be daft but the thread had me bored as I never ski Vail properties and I really like A-Basin, so that piqued my interest.

yardsale

lotsoskiing

No - while Vail did technically sell A Basin, it was part of a DOJ ruling forcing Vail to sell. Ralston Purina sold Breck, Keystone, and AB to Vail and that was deemed too much on the I70 corridor - like how ASC had to ditch Waterville - same time period -. mid 1990’s

hazlntskier

Did Vail ever sell a ski area. A-Basin was sold as part of the the Keystone and Breckenridge acquisition if I recall correctly.

lotsoskiing

hazlntskier Got it, thanks

lotsoskiing

lotsoskiing Glad they did

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