The Real Story Behind the Park City Ski Patrol Strike

A day pass at Park City is $283 bucks. If you are military, retired, or disabled, you can get a pass for you and your family for $180.

Worst year for a strike ever.

Vail did not launch the epic pass in 2008. It was around way before then. They just started calling it "Epic". Park City Mountain Resort was not for sale. Vail used unethical tactics to force POWDR corp to sell it. Locals were against it and still hate Vail for how they ruined the resort. Due to Vail the resort is no longer safe due to overcrowding and not family friendly.

Hey investors get paid first ..not the resort

If you know the mountain is no good, don’t go! Don’t go and then complain!

The answer is to get rid of paid ski patrol. A ski area needs people to run the lifts and nothing else. We used to have volunteers bring injured skiers off the mtn and those of us that remember the good times want to see the world return to common sense.

Vail resorts needs to go away. I use to have the EPIC pass and will never buy one again.

I'll never ski a Vail property again in my life.

Since 2020, inflation in the U.S. has risen by 22%. Yet, in many industries, wages have stayed stagnant while companies continue to report consistent growth in revenues. Let me ask you this: who is driving that growth?

Take the recent strike at Park City Mountain Resort. Ski patrollers, the backbone of safety and operations, fought for a modest $2/hour raise—an increase that barely matches the rising cost of living. The strike disrupted operations, impacted revenues, and highlighted a growing problem in workplaces across America.

This isn’t just about one industry. At the store, mall, or even the laundromat, I hear the same stories—employees struggling to keep up while businesses thrive. The math doesn’t add up, and neither does the morality. A thriving business without thriving employees is a house built on sand.

To business owners, CEOs, and leaders:

There’s a domino effect when you ignore fair pay. It affects employee morale, community stability, and even your own bottom line.

Visionary leadership includes recognizing that inflation impacts everyone, not just your shareholders.

By offering competitive pay that aligns with the economy, you unlock talent, loyalty, and innovation—qualities no business can thrive without.

There’s an abundance of talent out there—qualified professionals, dedicated workers, and people with the potential to take your company to the next level. But they’re not in your organization because your pay structure doesn’t match the reality of their lives. And let’s be real: it’s not just talent that suffers—it’s the U.S. economy, the communities we live in, and the collective well-being of our society.

I’ve sat at the negotiation table as a manager, advocating for my team to earn what they deserve. It’s amazing—and disappointing—to see how resistant leadership can be to change, even when it benefits everyone.

So, here’s the truth: we need better leadership. Leadership with compassion, foresight, and courage to address hard truths, even when it hurts. Because the real cost of indifference is far greater than a salary increase—it’s the erosion of community, trust, and progress.

To everyone out there working hard every day, to those struggling in silence, and to those hoping for a better world: I see you. I’m praying for this country, for its people, and for the leaders who will stand up to make a change.

Let’s do better—together.

Yep you avoid going to Park City!

So a million dollar expense cost the company half a billion dollars in value…good for them 👏👏

Bruh goin on strike for 2$ an hour seems like bull to me. Maybe try putting your time in… or picking up another job 3 days a week… not like you can be a patrol all year anyways, I’m assuming.

“First and only trip to Utah” ahh that is music to my ears

The rental shop photo you used wasn’t a Vail Resorts property that’s me in Buzz’s Boards!! An independent shop with great prices and service in Vail Village. Founded in 1982 long before “Vail Resorts” existed.

Ignorant of folks to complain about high lift ticket prices when complaining about Vail or Alterra. Lift access is very affordable via the Epic or Ikon Pass, and that is a big part the problem. Season pass sales overwhelming even the large resorts and ruining the on-mountain experience for guests. In Utah, skier visits have gone up something around 30% in only a few years, driven by the multi-passes.

I was thinking about getting into skiing this year. But now... I just won't bother.

Vail Stole Park City in the middle of the night. Vail sucks to life out of our city. Nobody works for less.

hopefully it gets fixed. im a brokie no idea when id get a chance to try snowboarding or skiing

Imagine paying $306/day to stand in line.

Wait I never knew Anthony pompliano had a brother

They can pay whatever they want because they know the position will always be filled. They pay groomers and snowmakers even less and their jobs are far more dangerous and are responsible for running very expensive equipment in awful weather conditions.

Excellent dive in on the business perspective and reason for the strike continuing. It will always come down to the dollar and until large corps change this trend will squeeze out not only employees but also skiers/riders.

It would help if more ski resorts offered employee housing.

Most interesting? Oh brother, he needs to get out more.

When I was on ski patrol, we had so many volunteers that the paid ones could kick rocks.

I feel so bad for all these rich people with first world problems. It’s so unfair to them, it’s just not right

Honestly it looked a lot like this when I was there a couple years ago on a non-holiday weekend. I learned to avoid pcm/can and just hit any other hill in the USA.

I worked at alyeska from preseaoson to post season last year. We got paid 17 an hour, nodody from the lifts would tell the ticket office the lifts are down. Our resident assistant didnt help us when our door knob fell off when it was 0 degrees outside. Only one food shop with a 300% markup. No clothes store for employees. You have to pay a 200 dollar taxi to get there and they wont reimburse you or help you get to or from your new job site. Everyone is crammed 4 people to an apartment and they charge 500 a month for it 2000/month for a solo. No food assistance. No insurance or health care. Every worker there wants change. Everyone needs to stand up to shitty ski resorts. 200 dollars for a ticket, to wait in line for an hour. When are we gonna stand up to these horrible bosses and terrible corporations?!? FUCK POMEROY!!!!

Shareholders do nothing except pick the pockets of the workers ... its just greed at the expense of us all!

I was there and it was super frustrating. On the 2nd there were only 75 of 350 runs open. That’s 100% of skiiers on 21% of the mountain. Later on they opened King Con and it got overwhelmed with skiier since there were a few more runs open. The grooming of the runs was absolute crap the entire time. I didn’t even ski the last day because it was so terrible

Big respect to the patrollers for striking at the right time, put a dent in vails wallet while simultaneously fucking over a bunch of rich assholes. I’m sorry but if you’re going on a ski trip to a vail resort during Christmas you’ve got money to burn or you’re horrible with money and I don’t feel bad your trip was ruined either way, just go the week after, when it’s 1/4th the price. That guy upset about his 20k vacation ruined was just a chefs kiss, no one gives a fuck bud

I work in Park City and ever since Vail moved in, it's ruined the charm of area. So much development, tearing up the local scenery and messes like this strike. It's made the PC experience less than what it was.

As a volunteer patroller, I am 100% behind the patrollers. Not only do they have to be excellent athletes, they have first aid training equal to on EMT or higher and some are responsible for avalanche control. They deserve to receive much higher compensation. Then add to that they live in ski resort towns where the cost of living is outrageous.

Ski patrol are medical professionals. They should be paid $50 an hour.

Vail Resorts BLOWS and always has........they only exist to create shareholder wealth at all costs while everything else suffers

Vail Resorts is an absolutely disgraceful company

lol you talk about overall revenue…but no mention of expenses. Obviously you have zero knowledge about accounting.

Bunch of stoner bums shutting down a huge resort. Cool.

The ski guys asking for a $2 raise... It's like that John Cusack ski movie from the 80s -Better off de@d "Two dollars!"

Ski patrols ruin all visitors.

Hey Guys and Gals, I’m 66 years old while I haven’t skied in 40 years, what ever happened to the ski patrol being a volunteer service. Back then the ski patrol provided a free service for a day of free skiing. At least that was how I understood the procedure. “Back then”.

The main hiccup between the parties isn't the requested $2 raise that the ski patrol union wants the general public to focus on and be up in arms about, but rather their demand for year-round housing and health benefits. As a former seasonal FWS worker, I can attest that these benefits are nearly non-existent in other seasonal industries across the U.S. and could be quite costly for Vail.

When ski areas had individual owners, they may not have made much money on their investment, but they kept the focus on the skiing and the community. That lent an individual character to each resort and fostered the sport’s slightly offbeat counter culture. Corporate skiing doesn’t value any of these qualities. Instead their focus is squarely on profit margins and stock price. The idea of the multi-pass seemed great at first until you learned how it led to massive overcrowding and general degradation of the skiing experience. More doesn’t mean better, especially in this case. Corporate America strikes out again.

The last suggestion about rethinking your ski trip is a pretty terrible one. How about just let the consumer/corp/unions hash it out.

Why you need ski patrol, as long as lift guys and mechanics working all good. In Europe you rarely see ski patrol.

Support the patrollers! What is your life worth

Had to move out of p.c. After the Olympics 2003. My rent quadrupled. 🤙😎🌴

momopol capitalisn at the peak

Are the lift operators and snowcat drivers also striking in support of the ski patrol?

Crazy to see how many folks breaking the picket line and trying to ski with ski patrol on strike😂😂😂 I have zero sympathy for them. Stay home next time