In a ski season that has seen epic amounts of snow, Vail Resorts, one of the top ski resorts in North America is closing the mountain early. This is the earliest that the mountain has closed since 2003 and both local businesses and skiers are not happy about this decision. In 2007, Vail extended the ski season to April 22nd, given the amount of snow that had fallen, this year with even more snow, they are closing earlier. Local business owners have tried to discuss this with Vail resorts, asking even for just a couple of lifts to be kept open, but Vail isn’t changing their minds and the mountain is scheduled to close on April 13th
So why the early closing? Since Easter was so early this year, the resort feels that people lose interest in skiing after Easter especially the people from Denver and out of state guests. The locals and the local businesses feel that since the mountain being open is such an integral part to their success, that Vail Resorts could do a little to help the town, not just worry about the amount of visitors. Aspen is keeping the resort open for another two weeks after the scheduled closing to thank the community for a great season.
Some people do understand the position of Vail Resorts, citing that they are after all a corporation that needs to do what is best for the shareholders. Also, Vail has a large portion of it’s workers who are foreign, and their Visa’s are only good to the end of the ski season, so there are several business would could possible suffer given an employee work shortage.
With 384 inches of snow to date, many are sad to say goodbye to a great ski season so soon, but with the announcement of the Epic Ski Pass, a $579 pass good for the entire season with no blackout dates, people are already getting excited for next ski season.
Posted by:
Editor
Categories:
Eagle County
Local Events
Recreation
