Vail Resorts, Inc. is an American mountain resort company headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado. The company is divided among divisions that own and operate 42 mountain resorts in four countries, along with hotels, lodging, condominiums, and golf courses that comprise property real estate holdings.
History Vail Resorts was founded as Vail Associates Ltd. by Pete Seibert and Earl Eaton in the early 1960s. Eaton, a lifelong resident, led Seibert (a former WWII 10th Mountain Division ski trooper) to the area in March 1957. They both became ski patrol guides at Aspen, Colorado, when they shared their dream of finding the "next great ski mountain." Seibert set off to secure financing, and Eaton engineered the early lifts. Their Vail ski resort opened in 1962. George N. Gillett Jr. purchased Vail Associates in 1985, but the company veered toward bankruptcy by 1991.
In 1992 Vail Associates was acquired by Apollo Ski Partners, a new arm of the private equity firm Apollo Global Management led by billionaire Leon Black. The new ownership led Vail Resorts public in 1997.
In 1996, Vail Resorts completed its first major acquisition with a $310 million purchase of Ralston Resorts, the owner of Keystone, Breckenridge, and Arapahoe Basin. This led to antitrust concerns, and Vail Resorts ultimately sold Arapahoe Basin to a third party due to a ruling from the Department of Justice.
In 2001, Vail Resorts acquired the hotel chain RockResorts.
Rob Katz, a former executive at Apollo, ran Vail Resorts as CEO until November 2021, when he was appointed executive chairperson of the board. Kirsten Lynch, the company's former chief marketing officer, then took over as CEO.
In June 2024, Vail Resorts reported lower-than-expected revenue during the February–April quarter due to a significantly warmer-than-anticipated winter across western North American resorts, with snowfall 28% lower than average. The company generated $1.28 billion in revenue during the quarter despite the stabilizing effect of its Epic Pass program, which allows customers to purchase a season pass for its North American resorts at a significant upfront cost. However, Vail's stock price has declined by 50% since its October 2021 peak of $360.
Declining sales and visitation (2024–2025) In the 2024–25 season the company reported that in North America it sold 2% fewer Epic passes than the year prior, which is the first decline in pass sales the company has ever reported. The company attributed the decline to travel "normalization" after COVID and poor snowfall in some areas.
Visitation at Vail's North American resorts in the 2025 ski season, throughout February, March and April, were down by 7% year-over-year.
The outlook for the 2025–26 season is also lower. In early June the company announced fewer pass sales for the upcoming season compared to 2024–25.
In May 2025, CEO Kirsten Lynch resigned after the company had lost over half of its value during her tenure from 2021–2025. Robert Katz, who was formerly CEO for 16 years, returned to the leadership role.
Criticism Some of Vail Resort's acquisitions have fueled anger among local residents. Locals complain that the Vail's pass structure caters to wealthy international pass holders and reduces access to nearby residents; additionally, residents have seen their cost of living increase following Vail's takeovers.
Vail Resorts’ visitors often complain about long lines. At times the long lines have been caused by ski patrol striking due to inflated property values and inadequate wages. A two-week strike at Park City, Utah around the Christmas holiday in 2024, led to increased wages for ski patrollers, and was followed by new contracts for employees at Keystone and Crested Butte, Colorado.
Local towns have also complained recently about their partnerships with Vail and its mountains. At Heavenly Mountain Resort, the town of South Lake Tahoe, California has voiced grievances of overflowing traffic, parking and negligent tourists, which drain from local resources outside from the town's tax authority. The town has increased its parking rates and capped snow plowing as a result, and hopes to annex parts of the ski mountain to access the tax base. Rural areas like Crested Butte are also finding Vail is unwilling to contribute to costs of airline transportation at regional airports, where resort owners had historically helped subsidize the transportation that helped deliver their customers.
A shareholder, Late Apex Partners, called for massive changes to the company—including a sweep of both the c-suite and board—after five years of significant underperformance by Vail.
All of the aforementioned items, among other things, have contributed to Vail’s poor reputation and earned the company the appellation “Evil Empire.”
Epic Pass price increases Vail Resorts has increased the price of the all-access Epic Pass each year since 2021, amounting to a 34% hike over five years. +Price of all-in Epic PassYearPrice% change2021–22$783 -2022–23$841 +7.4%2023–24$909 +8.1%2024–25$982 +8.0%2025–26$1,051 +7.0%
List of resorts
Vail Resorts operates 42 ski resorts in the United States, Canada, Australia and Switzerland including, notably, the Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, and Crested Butte ski areas in Colorado, and Northstar California, Kirkwood Mountain Resort, and Heavenly Mountain Resort on the California-Nevada border. In British Columbia, Canada, they also acquired the largest ski resort in North America: Whistler Blackcomb. Vail Resorts offers a variety of multi-resort season passes under the Epic Pass program. The Epic Pass also has partnerships that allow access to several other resorts in the US, Canada, Japan, France, Switzerland, Austria, and Italy.
NameLocationNumber of liftsDate openedDate acquiredNotesAfton Alps Hastings, Minnesota22December 21, 1963December 6, 2012Alpine Valley Chesterland, Ohio51965September 24, 2019Bought from Peak Resorts along with 16 other mountains.Andermatt-Sedrun Andermatt, Uri, Central Switzerland19March 28, 2022Vail owns a 55% share of the resort Attitash Mountain Bartlett, New Hampshire9January 26, 1965September 24, 2019Bought from Peak Resorts along with 16 other mountains.Beaver Creek Resort Beaver Creek, Colorado25December 15, 1980Big Boulder Lake Harmony, Pennsylvania101947September 24, 2019Bought from Peak Resorts along with 16 other mountains.Boston Mills-Brandywine Peninsula, Ohio161963September 24, 2019Bought from Peak Resorts along with 16 other mountains.Breckenridge Ski Resort Breckenridge, Colorado32December 16, 19611996Crans-Montana Crans-Montana, Sierre, Valais, Switzerland19November 30, 2023Crested Butte Mountain Resort Crested Butte, Colorado16November 23, 1961September 27, 2018Acquired through Triple Peaks, LLC, in addition to Mount Sunapee and Okemo, alongside purchase of Stevens Pass.Crotched Mountain Bennington, New Hampshire5December 14, 1969September 24, 2019Bought from Peak Resorts along with 16 other mountains.Falls Creek Bogong High Plains, Victoria, Australia141946February 22, 2019Bought from Merlin Entertainments along with Hotham.Heavenly Mountain Resort South Lake Tahoe, California30December 15, 1955March 26, 2002Hidden Valley Eureka, Missouri91982September 24, 2019Bought from Peak Resorts along with 16 other mountains.Hidden Valley Resort Hidden Valley, Pennsylvania41958December 31, 2021Bought from Seven Springs Mountain Resort, Inc. and affiliates along with two other resorts.Hotham Alpine Resort Mount Hotham, Victoria, Australia141925February 22, 2019Bought from Merlin Entertainments along with Falls Creek.Hunter Mountain Hunter, New York15January 9, 1960September 24, 2019Bought from Peak Resorts along with 16 other mountains.Jack Frost White Haven, Pennsylvania181972September 24, 2019Bought from Peak Resorts along with 16 other mountains.Keystone Resort Keystone, Colorado20November 21, 19701996Kirkwood Mountain Resort Kirkwood, California151972February 22, 2012Laurel Mountain Somerset County, Pennsylvania11939December 31, 2021Bought from Seven Springs Mountain Resort, Inc. and affiliates along with two other resorts.Liberty Mountain Resort Fairfield, Pennsylvania91960September 24, 2019Bought from Peak Resorts along with 16 other mountains.Mad River Mountain Zanesfield, Ohio121962September 24, 2019Bought from Peak Resorts along with 16 other mountains.Mount Brighton Brighton, Michigan121960December 6, 2012Mount Snow West Dover, Vermont201954September 24, 2019Bought from Peak Resorts along with 16 other mountains.Mount Sunapee Resort Newbury, New Hampshire11December 26, 1948September 27, 2018Acquired through Triple Peaks, LLC, in addition to Crested Butte and Okemo, alongside purchase of Stevens Pass. The first resort in New Hampshire to be operated by Vail. Owned by the State of New Hampshire but operated alongside Okemo.Northstar California Truckee, California20December 1972October 25, 2010Okemo Mountain Resort Ludlow, Vermont20January 31, 1956September 27, 2018Acquired through Triple Peaks, LLC, in addition to Crested Butte and Mount Sunapee, alongside purchase of Stevens Pass.Paoli Peaks Paoli, Indiana8December 1978September 24, 2019Bought from Peak Resorts along with 16 other mountains.Park City Mountain Resort Park City, Utah41December 21, 1963May 29, 2013 (Canyons) September 11, 2014 (Park City)In 2015, Vail merged the Park City and Canyons resorts under the Park City Mountain Resort name, connecting them with a gondola.Perisher Ski Resort Perisher Valley, Australia4619512015 March 30, 2015Vail's first Australian property.Roundtop Mountain Resort Lewisberry, Pennsylvania7November 28, 1964September 24, 2019Bought from Peak Resorts along with 16 other mountains.Seven Springs Mountain Resort Seven Springs, Pennsylvania141937December 31, 2021Bought from Seven Springs Mountain Resort, Inc. and affiliates along with two other resorts.Snow Creek Weston, Missouri51986September 24, 2019Bought from Peak Resorts along with 16 other mountains.Stevens Pass Skykomish, Washington101937August 15, 2018Purchased and announced alongside Crested Butte, Mount Sunapee, and Okemo.Stowe Mountain Resort Stowe, Vermont12February 7, 1937February 21, 2017Vail's first resort on the East Coast of the United States.Vail Ski Resort Vail, Colorado31December 15, 1962The third-largest ski resort in the United States.Whistler Blackcomb Whistler, British Columbia, Canada37January 15, 1966August 8, 2016Vail owns a 75% interest in Whistler & Blackcomb Partnerships, and the remaining 25% is owned by Nippon CableWhitetail Resort Mercersburg, Pennsylvania91991September 24, 2019Bought from Peak Resorts along with 16 other mountains.Wildcat Mountain Ski Area Gorham, New Hampshire51958 January 25, 1958September 24, 2019Bought from Peak Resorts along with 16 other mountains. Wildcat trail initially cut by CCC in 1933; original gondola started operation in 1958. Peak Resorts acquired Wildcat in 2010.Wilmot Mountain Wilmot, Wisconsin11February 1938January 19, 2016
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