Business & Tech
Vermont Ski Conglomerate Facing Mountainous Challenges
Vail Resorts blames lack of snow in the western U.S.
By Ted Cohen
Vail Resorts, which operates three major ski areas in Vermont, says its resorts in the Rockies are hurting its bottom line.
"We experienced one of the worst early-season snowfalls in the western U.S. in over 30 years, which limited our ability to open terrain and negatively impacted visitation and ancillary spending," Vail Resorts' CEO, Rob Katz told SnowBrains.com.
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Katz in Vermont runs Stowe Mountain Resort, Okemo Mountain Resort, and Mount Snow.
Skier visits are down by 20% in areas such as Colorado due to a lack of snowfall, according to the company.
Find out what's happening in Across Vermontfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Snowfall in the west has been approximately half the 30-year historical average and has led to declining sales.
Limited snow coverage meant that only a small fraction of terrain was open during December.
Vail Resorts bought Stowe Mountain Resort in 2017, Okemo Mountain Resort in 2018 and Mount Snow in 2019.
The company owns dozens of ski areas around the world.
