Are Vail Resorts Mountains Really Struggling to Open their Terrain? We Took a Look.
UPDATE 1/3/2022: This article has been updated to reflect a more credible open percentage for Stevens Pass.
Background
In recent days, Vail Resorts has come under fire for not opening terrain fast enough at several resorts. Several factors, such as staffing shortages, employees calling out sick due to COVID-19, and resort mismanagement, have been quoted as reasons. Given the gravity of these claims, we’ve decided to investigate whether Vail Resorts has really struggled to match its competitors’ terrain offerings—and if so, how far they are lagging behind. In order to see if the issues are localized to certain areas, we’ve analyzed opening statuses on a region-by-region basis.
Terrain statuses are current as of January 1, 2022.
Colorado
Vail Resorts
Vail’s Colorado mountains vary in terms of their open terrain, but none are remotely close to 100% open. Keystone has by far struggled the most, with just 27% of terrain open. The others are about half open, including Crested Butte (45% open), Breckenridge (57% open), Beaver Creek (59% open), and Vail itself (62% open).
Despite having the least terrain open, Keystone is the only mountain of the bunch actually spinning lift access to all its mountain zones (only the A-51 double and Cadillac carpet are off schedule). However, the resort has also cancelled its night skiing operation in recent days (Keystone is the only major Front Range resort to offer post-sundown skiing).
The four other mountains have not opened certain lifts, chiefly in upper-mountain and expert-oriented areas. While Breckenridge often takes awhile to open its high-alpine terrain, several of the closed Crested Butte, Beaver Creek, and Vail lifts are typically open by this time of year; however, it’s not inconceivable that poor early-season snowfall totals have impacted some of these lift schedules.
Other Resorts
Many competing Colorado resorts have opened more than half of their terrain so far this season, including Copper (62% open), Winter Park (72% open), Steamboat (87% open), and the Aspen/Snowmass resorts (81% open). It is worth noting that Aspen/Snowmass and Steamboat are several hundred miles away from the resorts in the Front Range and have received more favorable natural conditions this season.
Arapahoe Basin, at 47% open, has struggled to open some advanced and expert runs as well as the Zuma backside zone. Copper, Winter Park, Steamboat, and Aspen/Snowmass have opened the vast majority of their lifts.
Lake Tahoe
Vail Resorts
After an unseasonably dry start to the season, Tahoe enjoyed its highest December snow totals in decades. Nearly all terrain and lifts are open at Vail-owned Heavenly (85% open), Northstar (98% open), and Kirkwood (94% open). The only key lifts still closed at all three of these resorts are Galaxy at Heavenly and the Vista T-Bar at Kirkwood, which often see variable schedules.
Other Resorts
The main competitor to the Vail-owned Tahoe resorts is Palisades Tahoe, which comprises the physically separate Olympic Valley and Alpine Meadows areas. The resort is still in the process of storm recovery, with the Emigrant, Lakeview, and Silverado zones still closed, and 95% of terrain open.
Utah
Vail Resorts
Vail’s only Utah resort is Park City. The massive 7,300-acre ski area is 54% open, with several upper-mountain chairlifts, including Thayne’s, Jupiter, Peak 5, and Super Condor, still closed.
Other Resorts
All competing Utah Wasatch Range resorts have opened a higher percentage of lifts and terrain than Park City so far this season. Deer Valley, which directly neighbors Park City and sees very similar conditions, has opened 79% of its terrain and all but two of its lifts. The Cottonwoods mountains have opened typical amounts of terrain for this time of the season, including Alta (87% open), Snowbird (65% open), Brighton (91% open), and Solitude (77% open). The northern Wasatch mountains have also opened typical amounts of terrain, including Snowbasin (68% open) and Powder Mountain (85% open).
Before extrapolating their very high open percentages, it’s worth noting the Cottonwoods benefit from much more favorable snow climates than the areas that Park City, Deer Valley, and Snowbasin are in.
Vermont
Vail Resorts
Vail’s Vermont mountains have struggled to open in the wake of unfavorable weather conditions. Stowe has by far struggled the most, with just 32% of terrain open. The others aren’t doing much better, with Okemo 40% open and Mount Snow 52% open.
While not atypical for the time of year, key lifts such as Stowe’s Sensation Quad and Okemo’s South Face Express have not opened yet.
Other Resorts
Like their Vail-owned counterparts, other destination Vermont resorts have been slow to open this winter, including Killington (40% open), Stratton (47% open), and Sugarbush (43% open). All three have opened the majority of their lifts, but a few key chairs, including Sugarbush’s North Lynx Triple and Summit Quad as well as Killington’s Skyeship Stage I, have not spun yet this season.
Washington
Vail Resorts
Vail’s only Washington resort is Stevens Pass. The resort claims to have opened 75% of its terrain, but estimates from familiar locals are closer to 40%. The resort has opened only 50% of its lifts, and despite a favorable season, the entire back side is still closed.
Other Resorts
Some non-Vail mountains in Washington are far ahead in terms of lift openings, but others are also struggling. Crystal, Stevens’ chief competitor, is 100% open with 100% of lifts spinning, Nearby White Pass and Mission Ridge are also fully open.
However, Summit at Snoqualmie/Alpental only has 56% of its lifts and 69% of trails open, with staffing shortages cited as the issue for several lift closures.
Final Conclusions
So while credible sources suggest staffing shortages at many Vail Resorts mountains, it seems that the effects vary considerably across regions.
In places such as Tahoe and Vermont, the amount of terrain open at Vail-owned mountains is either comparable to other resorts in the regions or attributable to less-than-favorable early seasons. However, it seems that Vail Resorts is clearly behind the curve in Utah, with Park City failing to keep pace with all key competitors in the state. And while Vail does not seem to be the only operator struggling in Washington, its woes at Stevens Pass seem to be affecting considerably more terrain than the Snoqualmie/Alpental duo.
Vail Resorts’ Colorado operations are a bit harder to read—some key lifts that would typically be open are still stationary, but the state’s slow start to the season makes it tough to entirely attribute this to resort operators themselves. It seems that staffing shortages have played some role in the lift closures, but we presume the circumstances are not as severe as those in Utah and Washington. We’ll have a better idea of the situation once the snow conditions improve in the region.
We will consider to monitor the staffing situation throughout the season. If deemed necessary, we may make adjustments to resiliency or crowd flow scores for impacted resorts.
For more on how the Vail Resorts mountains stack up against the competition, check out our rankings of the best ski resorts in the US and Canada. For individual Vail Resorts mountain assessments, check out our reviews of Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Crested Butte, Park City, Stevens Pass, Okemo, Stowe, Mount Snow, Heavenly, Northstar, and Kirkwood.
