Back in January, Contributing writer Steve Andrews dug into a growing controversy within resort culture. In Too Big to Vail: The Downfall of the North American Mega Resort, Andrews detailed some of the less-than-ideal living and working conditions resort workers endure, as well as substandard wages.
Last week, Vail Resorts responded to the relentless criticism surrounding the situation by investing $175 million into employee compensation across 37 of its North American resorts, representing a new $20 minimum wage for all employees. The change will also impact employees higher up the totem pole as well, with those in “career stage and leadership differentials” seeing a boost too.
In news that actually concerns making runs down the hill, the Natural Selection Tour finally broadcasted its Baldface Lodge stop on the ever-famous Scary Cherry face, with Dustin Craven and Zoi Sadowski-Synnott each taking their second career wins on the NST. The win punctuates a banner year for Sodowski-Synnott, who’s fresh off of gold and silver at the Olympics and was a wildcard on the Tour’s Jackson Hole stop last year…which she won.
Meanwhile, Associate Editor Will Sileo penned a feature about big-wave surfing that was a slight departure from your typical profile. We can’t measure the growth of big-wave surfing in recent decades without first understanding how far water safety has come. Sileo wanted to know how the teams taking on those responsibilities come together at places like Nazaré, Maverick’s, and Jaws.
And speaking of progression, surf photography has undoubtedly witnessed monumental changes over the years as well. Contributing writer Ella Boyd took us back to the roots of the craft with An Ode to Analog Surf Photography, highlighting the work and lessons of one John Hook.
Look for The Inertia’s Weekly Wrap each week here.
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