No snow melts Vail Resorts’ coffers

Winter came and went in a blink of an eye. For Vail Resorts it was a black eye.

During the third quarter earnings call in June “challenging” was one of the most used words. Lack of snow translated to fewer people hitting the slopes, which meant challenging sales of most everything at the company’s properties.

Vail Resorts owns Heavenly Mountain Resort, Kirkwood Mountain Resort and Northstar. Vail’s Colorado and Utah properties also suffered from receiving little white stuff.

Officials reported resort revenue for the quarter declining 7 percent compared to the previous year, saying it was “primarily driven by unfavorable weather conditions that impacted visitation and revenue for both local and destination guests, particularly at our resorts in the Rockies and in Tahoe.”

Visitation was off 15 percent, though lift revenues were only down 5 percent, which is attributed to season pass sales increasing 3 percent before the lifts started turning last November.

“When you look back over 40 years, the prior worst decline in visitation outside of Covid-related closures for the Rockies was down 8 percent in 2012, which illustrates the unprecedented severity of the conditions and the anomaly we just experienced,” CEO Rob Katz said.

Dismal conditions in 2025-26 are impacting pass sales for the upcoming season. In the earnings call it was noted through May 26 Epic pass sales were down 10 percent for 2026-27.

The Epic pass was introduced in 2008 as a way to reward riders by offering a cheaper alternative to daily lift ticket prices, while providing the opportunity to ski/board at any Vail property. For the upcoming season that pass costs $1,119. The Tahoe Local pass, which is what people who ski the Sierra tend to buy, goes for $699, provides access to Vail’s three resorts in the area. The $597 Tahoe Value pass comes with more restrictions.

“Looking back over the past several decades, U.S. ski market data indicates that visitation typically fully recovers following a season with poor conditions if the subsequent season has normal conditions,” Katz said. “And we believe we are well positioned to capture that visitation recovery with the pass and lift ticket product and marketing strategies we have developed. That said, given how unprecedented this past season was, it’s hard to know with certainty how any of this will play out.”

Note: A version of this story first appeared in the Tahoe Mountain News.