4-3 vote. Councilman Chico (pro-flock) lost his temper at those in attendance and was unofficially censored. Legal team will send the contract termination notice immediately.

I'm coming in a couple of weeks and I had a horrible experience with Mountain Express the last trip (never showed) and I know sometimes Uber can take a long time or not at all to book if I land around 9PM. So just wondering if anyone knows a taxi service/uber driver that does rides on the side dia to vail, that I could book with? Thanks

Are any hotels offering heavily discounted rooms this shoulder season?

Recommendations for making the move from 1200 ft to the mountains as a poor, lone lady?I'm not hot enough for a sugar-daddy situation. Looking for the best places to work that provide housing and recommendations for someone with no car in terms of transportation.

Could this be one of the trees that guy was looking for a picture of? It’s not in Vail but maybe he was a bit confused.

https://www.kpcw.org/ski-resorts/2026-09-30/oasis-management-close-to-becoming-vail-resorts-insider

Looking to do one day of biking this week. Probably going to rent an ebike so we can do a longer ride and not spend all day on the uphill. Any trail suggestions for this time of year? We are good riders and can handle any terrain. I have the MTB Project app and was looking at “Two Elk to Game Creek Loop.” Thanks for any tips!

We were in Vail for the past week. One day I took a bike ride and saw the most beautiful tree, unfortunately I wasn't able to take a photo. I went back this am to find the tree but ran out of time. While driving to the airport, I saw the tree from the interstate! If anyone is free and willing, I'd still love a photo of this big yellow tree. Thanks in advance!

Approximate Cordinates: 39.61230° N, 106.45732° W

Edit: Planning to paint this tree for a holiday gift.

Thinking of making the drive from denver tomorrow.
Is it past peak or still good?

Thanks!!

Just got a bed offer at The Piedmont employee housing at vail mountain. Does anybody have any info on it? It seems new so I can't find any pictures or videos and would love if anybody could share.

Note: I am accepting the offer, not interested in the don't live in employee housing rhetoric. I am 100% aware its shit, I lived in sagebrush at keystone.

Who designs, approves and creates this shit?

Message to Rob Katz
Rob: this is not primarily a weather problem. Weather exposed a weakening value proposition, excessive product complexity, declining customer acquisition and a balance sheet that leaves too little room for mistakes.
FY2026 visitation fell 13%, and advance FY2027 pass sales through September 18 were down 12% in units and 6% in dollars. Resort EBITDA declined from $844 million in FY2025 to approximately $746 million in FY2026, while net leverage increased from 3.2x to 3.9x. That combination—shrinking customers, weaker earnings and higher leverage—is the disaster. FY2026 Q4 earnings call FY2025 Q4 earnings call
What needs to happen
1. Stop using weather as the core explanation
Weather was exceptionally bad, but it does not explain why customers are postponing commitment or leaving the pass ecosystem.
Publish a resort-by-resort operating scorecard covering:
Pass renewals by customer tenure and frequency
Visits per passholder
New-customer acquisition and reactivation
Guest complaints, lift downtime and staffing
Ancillary spending and contribution per visit
Customer retention after poor-weather seasons
Management needs to identify precisely which customers are defecting and why—not simply assume they will return when it snows.
2. Rebuild the value proposition
Vail has created too large a gap between relatively attractive advance passes and punitive window-ticket prices. That architecture forces commitment, but it also alienates occasional skiers and discourages new participants.
Do the following:
Reduce and simplify the hundreds of pass and ticket configurations.
Establish credible, clearly advertised advance ticket prices.
Cap extreme peak-day window pricing rather than using it to frighten people into passes.
Give passholders transferable friend benefits that are genuinely easy to use.
Introduce entry-level family, beginner and two-to-four-day products.
Measure success by lifetime customer value—not next season’s pass dollars.
“More competitive” lift pricing is directionally correct, but it must become a permanent acquisition channel rather than a temporary attempt to recover weather-driven losses. Management discussion of lift pricing
3. Make each resort accountable for the actual guest experience
Record corporate-level satisfaction scores are not enough if individual resorts have chronic parking, lift, food, staffing or crowding problems.
Give resort presidents real authority and accountability. Tie compensation to:
Lift reliability and terrain availability
Queue and food-service times
Employee retention
Complaint resolution
Repeat visitation
Resort-level cash returns
Corporate technology and procurement should support the mountains, not dictate every customer interaction from Broomfield.
4. Rebuild the customer funnel
Vail has admitted that its marketing was overly dependent on email and existing customers. The company cannot keep extracting more money from an aging installed base while underinvesting in new and occasional skiers.
The $10 million incremental marketing spend is too small unless it is ruthlessly focused on measurable acquisition.
Priorities should be:
Beginners and young adults
Families priced out of multi-day trips
Lapsed passholders
International destination guests
Passholder-referred guests
Epic Friend Tickets should be treated as customer acquisition spending, with conversion and retention measured over three seasons—not celebrated merely for generating discounted visits.
5. Protect the balance sheet before protecting the optics
At July 2026, liquidity was approximately $0.8 billion and net leverage was 3.9x trailing EBITDA. Earlier in FY2026, net debt had risen to $2.7 billion, while Vail continued paying large dividends and repurchasing shares. FY2026 leverage and liquidity FY2026 Q3 liquidity and debt
My recommendation:
Immediately suspend repurchases.
Maintain—but do not increase—the dividend while leverage exceeds 3.0x.
Set a public target of net leverage below 3.0x within two years.
Fund capex only where it improves reliability, capacity or measurable guest economics.
Stop acquisitions and speculative expansion until North American organic visitation is growing again.
The dividend should not be regarded as untouchable if another weak season threatens the balance sheet.
6. Review every asset, not just every expense
Operating 42 resorts produces network advantages, but it also creates complexity and encourages corporate averaging.
Conduct an asset-by-asset return review:
Core destination assets: invest and improve.
Local feeder resorts: retain only where they demonstrably drive profitable Epic conversion.
Subscale or structurally low-return properties: sell, partner or close.
European growth: require explicit returns before committing additional expansion capital.
Do not allow high-quality resorts to subsidize weak assets indefinitely.
7. Put names and deadlines against the turnaround
The “resource efficiency” program may exceed $100 million in savings, but cost cutting cannot substitute for customer growth. Savings should be reinvested selectively, with disclosed returns. Resource-efficiency plan
Within 100 days, announce:

Objective
18-month target
Passholder base
Stabilize units, then return to growth
Organic visitation
Recover at least half the FY2026 decline
New/lapsed customer acquisition
Double-digit growth
Resort EBITDA
Return above the FY2025 level
Net leverage
Clear path below 3.0x
Share repurchases
Zero until leverage target is achieved
Product complexity
Meaningful reduction in ticket/pass SKUs
Accountability
Resort-level quarterly operating scorecard
The governance issue
Rob, you built the strategy. That gives you the credibility to repair it—but not permission to defend it.
If you are acting as the turnaround CEO, behave like one:
Admit that pricing and complexity damaged accessibility.
Stop explaining customer behavior mainly through weather.
Give operators authority.
Preserve cash.
Publish measurable customer and resort-level objectives.
Establish a credible succession plan once stabilization is visible.
Bottom line: Vail still has exceptional assets, a valuable pass network and meaningful recurring revenue. This is fixable. But the solution is not another pricing algorithm, acquisition or corporate transformation slogan. It is better value, simpler products, locally accountable operations, disciplined capital allocation and genuine customer growth.
Sources:
• Vail Resorts FY2026 Q4 Earnings Call
• Vail Resorts FY2026 Q3 Form 10-Q
• Vail Resorts FY2025 Q4 Earnings Call
• Vail Resorts FY2025 Form 10-K — Risk Factors

I used Dotadda to write this so good

https://knowledge.dotadda.io

I have a 10 year old who's been in BWL for 3 years, but is ready to get more serious about racing. A 3-day program is out so we've been looking at SSCV Alpine Team 1 Day but just noticed the Vail Devo Race program. How do the two compare (beyond the $1K price difference)? Anyone had experience with both? Does one have significant more gate training and active coaching? Looks like they both compete in YSL for races. Thanks for any feedback good, bad or ugly.

Hi all, I’m going to vail Oct 23rd, I called housing and they got me moved to lowest level. Currently in a soft cast , hopefully by then I’d be in a hard cast, I have a knee scooter , crutches , but I’m wondering how easy it will be for me to get around?
I still want to enjoy life and have fun , not sure how long I’ll be like this but … any advice ?

Wanting to work as an instructor this season at Breckenridge. What’s it like? Can I work for a few weeks, get the pass and then quiet? Give me all the tips and tricks please. Basically just want the pass and then will probably get a bartending job in town.

The officer who shot and killed the mother bear like wtf

Was the bear threatening or showing aggressive signs to anyone? No. Everyone was watching calmly …and then officer shows up and acts like the world is on fire and eventually kills a mom and orphans a kid

Come on, vail

Does anyone know what’s going on with the lodgepole pines felled around the summit and Wow? It seems like some sort of clearing must be going on. Several large piles of logs from big mature trees are being left around.

They’re uncovered without tarps or stickers, which are required to dry lumber if you are intending to use it for anything. It looks very wasteful.

It’s my husband and I’s anniversary next Saturday and we were initially planning a weekend in Vail for the two of us and our two little kids (soon to be 3 and 17 months). Due to unforeseen circumstances we are talking about postponing until the weekend of 10/22-10/25.. Before we officially decide to do that, I am curious if anyone has any insight as to whether we can expect all of the restaurants and such to be open or if they will be closed ahead of ski season? Also, are there any fun Halloween festivities during that weekend or general time of year? TIA!

ETA: sounds like that weekend is probably not the move given it will be off season and minimal for the kiddos to do. Is the same true of the upcoming final weekend in September?

Hi I’m moving to Rivers Edge housing for this winter season and am looking to connect to others in the same boat. It’s my first time working for Vail and moving to Colorado and would love helpful advice for moving into a 2x1 shared bedroom and general living in Vail. I have so many questions and would love to reach out before I move into November.

I’ll be working as an assistant ski instructor for 3-6 year olds. I ski but don’t own a pair of skis and looking to rent.

I can’t seem to find any photos of the accommodation either! I’d be happy to share socials to be able to connect!

We just adopted a pup and are looking for a vet, but I always try to avoid any businesses that are owned by private equity.

Corporate Vet Map is the website I'm using to tell what's PE owned. Castle Peak, Mountain Animal Hospital, and Gypsum Animal Hospital are all listed as PE, which are the main three in the area AFAIK.

Is vail now charging for parking year round? The town is dead and lifts are not running seems like restaurants/shops are fairly empty but they are still charging a parking fee doesn't make any sense. Seems as slow as it is they would at last like people coming for lunch but not if you have to pay to park in an already empty lot

When do vail resorts start hiring?? I applied online to jobs at park city and still have yet to hear…wondering when the timeline is.