VAIL SUCKS

[IceEidolon]

And they only have so many GPM. They can easily put all their firepower on the main face, between their HKDs and all the fans.

 

[Quietman]

 

[thetrailboss]

View attachment 52606

Four snowguns. Must be Vail's stock went up.

 

[Kingslug20]

I’m shocked you haven’t already decided to do that. Seems like the whole forum has.

Still have the place near stowe..but where we live is almost equal distance to either...we shall see

 

[2Planker]

Nothing going on at The Cat. Makes sense since AT has snowmaking on 3 trails...
Another VAIL FAIL

 

[eatskisleep]

I’ll have to check it out. I love anti-vail discussion threads.

There’s lively discussion at the SkiTalk forum about Vail’s performance nationwide this season. Haven’t checked other forums but I’ll be shocked if their pass sales don’t drop noticeably next season.

Stock price aside, I’d love to hear what the top brass at Vail are saying to each other in meetings. “We’re widely reviled, great job everyone!” ???

 

[eatskisleep]

View attachment 52606

How are you getting the webcam to work? When I go it says currently offline

 

[Quietman]

Just using Chrome for a browser. The offline screen shows for about 5 seconds, then flips to the web cam.

 

[eatskisleep]

Just using Chrome for a browser. The offline screen shows for about 5 seconds, then flips to the web cam.

Gotcha not working for iOS

 

[cdskier]

Gotcha not working for iOS

Just tried it on my iPhone and it works fine in Safari there...

 

[thetrailboss]

Vail Mountain’s top boss addresses staffing shortage in open letter

Vail Mountain Chief Operating Officer Beth Howard addressed staffing issues and delayed terrain openings in an open letter posted to Vail Mountain’s Facebook page on Thursday evening.

www.vaildaily.com

 

[thetrailboss]

Another interesting read......

Epic crowds are colliding with epic labor shortages at ski areas

A labor shortage at ski areas, including Vail Resorts' 34 resorts, has left them understaffed during the holidays and omicron surge.

coloradosun.com

The Epic-passed hordes have collided with rippling effects of the pandemic that Vail Resorts did not predict when it launched its season-pass fire sale. A pandemic-triggered escalation of real estate prices has reduced the number of homes available to local workers. And without workers, resort community businesses are struggling.

One patroller at Breckenridge, who cannot speak on record due to Vail Resorts policy on talking with media, said a lack of chairlift operators, lift mechanics and snowcat drivers has slowed the resort’s ability to open terrain. Sources at Vail, Beaver Creek, Crested Butte and Keystone, which has only 32 of 130 runs open, told The Colorado Sun the same thing. Crested Butte Mountain Resort, which has been hammered with new snow this week, opened its East River chairlift on Wednesday, but that meant there were not enough lifties to keep the Teocalli lift running.

 

[thetrailboss]

More quotes from the Colorado Sun article:

“It’s not that there are not enough talented people. There is a shortage of people who will get duped into working for $15 an hour,” the Breckenridge patroller said of Lynch’s assessment. “This is about communities running out of cheap labor. People are realizing they are worth more and their quality of life is worth more than an extra dime an hour or whatever.”

They told [Alex Kaufman] how Vail Resorts gutted middle-management positions when it slashed spending during the pandemic. They showed how the company was stacking bunk beds into apartments, so four workers can share a room. They blasted the company’s new human resources app, which is replacing people and departments at all of the company’s 34 North American ski areas.

And particularly relevant here:

In the outpouring, Kaufman said, a theme emerged, especially at the company’s newly acquired resorts, which are lagging behind nearby resorts in Washington, Minnesota and New Hampshire when it comes to opening terrain.

When Vail Resorts acquires a new resort, they assimilate departments into the company’s headquarters in Broomfield. The career-types in each ski area’s finance, marketing and human resources departments are let go. They direct all hourly workers — there are tens of thousands of seasonal, hourly workers supporting Vail Resorts — to an app for all daily tasks, like tracking benefits, pay and COVID policies.

“They made a bet on automating everything and eliminated institutional knowledge and careers and, really, the culture at all these resorts in the name of efficiency. And it might have worked,” Kaufman said. “Then a pandemic came and they have a broken HR app that does not work as they try to navigate through a, quote, global talent shortage. The pandemic called their bet and now they don’t have veterans or institutional knowledge.”

“They tried to drive the bottom line so hard, they put employees last,” Rumford said. “They didn’t invest in their workers. They found workarounds that become the standard operating procedure. They don’t like to reinvest unless it’s showy and glitzy, like chairlifts or terrain.”

“All of that while they are having a labor shortage. I’ve never seen morale so low at the resort,” said a longtime Vail ski instructor, noting how supervisors at the ski area had their pay frozen last year and annual raises were not reinstated despite the record number of passes sold. “Working there is like having a front-row seat watching Vail burn from the inside.”

 

[PAabe]

DC ski forums don't have a VAIL SUCKS thread yet but it only took a matter of weeks after 7S/HV/LM sale for the sentiment to shift from "this is great Nutting was awful" to "holy smokes how is Vail possibly doing worse than Nutting"

 

[JimG.]

There’s lively discussion at the SkiTalk forum about Vail’s performance nationwide this season. Haven’t checked other forums but I’ll be shocked if their pass sales don’t drop noticeably next season.

Stock price aside, I’d love to hear what the top brass at Vail are saying to each other in meetings. “We’re widely reviled, great job everyone!” ???

No problem, Vail will just knock another 20% off pass prices.

And many suckers will be glad to pay and brag about what a great deal they got.

 

[abc]

No problem, Vail will just knock another 20% off pass prices.

And many suckers will be glad to pay and brag about what a great deal they got.

Reminds me of Sears, once a very good company, pioneer of the industry. Where is it now?

 

[JoeB-Z]

After Magic's issue I figured to go to Sunapee last Friday. I thought some people would get ready for football in the PM. Turned around. I suppose Sunapee is always busy during the holiday period- but wow. My Epic weekday pass looks like less of a bargain every day. Everyone has one and their idea of fun is standing in line to go down a few skied off trails.

 

[Tonyr]

This shit keeps up and i may ditch epic next year...supporting this company is a waste of time...

Vail's whole strategy is to try and get one or two trips a year out West from East coasters like us. If they can get us out West to one of their premier resorts Vail's odds of generating more revenue greatly increases as they own lots of hotels and restaurants at their premier resorts. They own very few hotels and restaurants in the East, so it's easy to see why they are letting their small resorts back here go. They don't make much money off them and instead Vail uses the East coast resorts as a tool to get you out West. This strategy is clearly backfiring amongst the majority of us who ski the East and Mid Atlantic.

Now factor in Covid and the various staffing issues around the mountains because of it and this early season has turned into a disaster. Vail wants you out West especially during the holidays but Keystone over New Years week only had 30% of their terrain opened with the resort's snowfall at 100% of it's historical average. Breckenridge, Beaver Creek, and Vail were all around 50% opened and they all had enough snow to be well over 75% opened during New Years week.

We made the best of it and will pretty much have a good time no matter what if we're skiing but I could certainly understand how Vail's customers would be extremely pissed, especially if your trip over the holidays was to Keystone.

 

[Kingslug20]

Ide like to know what makes them think that if no one wants to work for this pay this year..when will they ever want to?
They apparently want to play chicken...with labor..see who gives in first.
And..if they want people to come out west..where they seem to have the same problem..then how will that work?

 

[ThatGuy]

Ide like to know what makes them think that if no one wants to work for this pay this year..when will they ever want to?
They apparently want to play chicken...with labor..see who gives in first.
And..if they want people to come out west..where they seem to have the same problem..then how will that work?

It’s all about short term profits over long term growth/sustainability. Thats what happens when the stock market is more important than skiing to Broomfield.