Winter brings with it the chills and thrills. And when there’s snow involved, skiing becomes one of the most exhilarating recreations for tourists and locals alike. In the US, during the Christmas holidays, the ski resorts become a hotspot, buzzing with traffic as skiing professionals and enthusiasts flock in with their gear and equipment to make use of the thick sheets of snow to their advantage. However, it has not been a good experience for the tourists visiting the Vail Resort in Park City Mountain.

With some of the most mesmerizing ski resorts across the USA, Colorado, and Utah are especially busy during these seasons. With some resorts costing more than fifteen hundred dollars a day, its by no means an everyman’s game. But people are willing to pay top dollar for the services, hospitality, and experience. But that was not the case during the final week of 2024.

Restricted skiing access leaves visitors frustrated

Tourists arrived at the Vail Resort in Utah during the Christmas week only to see the patrollers on strike. With 204 patrollers and mountain safety staff voting in favor of a strike and the workers going off-duty officially from December 27, only a few personnel were there to aid the tourists and the operations of the resort. With the peak holiday season kicking in, and the skiers oblivious to the strike, there was chaos and disorder all around.

There have been reports of skiers getting injured and help not arriving in time. Vail Resort had tried to salvage the situation by bringing in 30-35 support patrollers from their other mountain resorts, however, it just wasn’t enough. Other than that, the lack of safety personnel meant Vail Resorts could keep only 20% of the mountain open for skiing and related activities.

As such, the skiers, led by prime plaintiff, Christopher Bisaillon, have started a class action lawsuit against Vail Resort for financial and other damages caused during the period of Dec 27 to January 8 – when the ski patrollers were on strike. The lawsuit mentions how they had no prior information about the strike, and how there was a 3-hour wait for lift lines which the company advertised would be 30 minutes. In addition, Bisaillon also alleges he had to spend $15,000 for the trip but could get less than 10 runs across the Park City mountain snow.

It has been a horrible experience for the skiers because of the strike arising out of a contractual disagreement, which despite being resolved now, was the main friction point between the workers and the Vail Resort management. And it all started 10 months ago.

Vail Resort accepts the demands of the patrollers’ union

With the old contract set to expire in April 2024, the Park City Mountain Professional Ski Patrol Association had been in negotiations with Vail Resorts, with demands ranging from an increase in wages, to procuring various kinds of benefits for the workers. The bone of contention was 3 demands, which eventually forced the patrol union to walk away from the negotiating table and start the strike.

However, with both parties coming to an agreement now, the new contract, which will run till April 2027, will see the starting wages jump from $21 to $23 per hour. The tenured patrollers will see an average increase of $4 per hour, with some of the most senior workforce privy to a wage hike of $7.75 per hour.

Besides these, there are provisions for educational opportunities for the patrollers and two weeks of parental leave for workers who have been with Park City Mountain for at least 12 months. Speaking to Salt Lake Tribune after the ratification, Bill Rock, the president of the mountain division for Vail Resorts, said, “We look forward to welcoming back the Park City Mountain patrollers in the coming days and moving forward together as one team.”

Despite the tenuous contract negotiations coming to a finality, Vail Resort now has to deal with a new lawsuit from the skiers, who have been aggrieved. Although the renowned luxury tourism company has yet to respond, they have to take accountability for the Skiers’ grievances.