Downhill skiing on a trail at Vail ski resort in Colorado. Photo: Shutterstock
It’s been a rough winter for Vail Resorts. On Thursday, the company released an update to investors that outlined just how slow business has been this season, compared to the previous year.
Headlining the report were metrics from the beginning of the ski season through January 4, 2026, compared to the same timeframe in the previous year. The numbers were for the company’s North American mountain resorts and regional ski areas, and excluded Australian and European resorts. The report detailed that total lift revenue was down 1.8% compared to the previous year, ski school revenue was down 14.9%, dining revenue was down 15.9% and retail/rental revenue was down 6%.
Chief Executive Officer Rob Katz placed the blame for the downturn squarely on the weather, saying, “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 for both local and destination guests during the period.” He elaborated that snowfall at Vail’s western U.S. resorts for November and December was around 50 percent below the historical 30-year average, and down 60 percent in the Rockies, resulting in around 11 percent of terrain being opened in December. Meanwhile, Tahoe and Whistler had slow starts to the season, but eventually improved over the holidays.
“The recent weather variability has reinforced our commitment to…. the investments we have made in our resorts and our employees to deliver on the guest experience,” he continued. “I’m proud of the team’s resilience, and exceptional execution that delivered strong guest satisfaction scores season to date, despite the significant weather challenges.”
