Vail Resorts sales down

According to Vail Resorts, the multi-resort conglomerate that’s also a publicly traded company, said that skier visits, lift revenue, and other season-to-date metrics were down for the North American ski season through April 19, 2026, compared to the same period through April 20, 2025, due to “one of the most challenging winters in history across the western U.S.,” according to Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz, who noted early sales of 2026-27 season passes were also down. 

Throughout North America, season-to-date skier visits were down 14.9 percent, with total lift revenue down 5.6 percent year-over-year as of April 19. Warmer weather and lack of snow pushed down other revenue sources, with ski school down 12 percent, dining revenue down 11.7 percent, and retail/rental revenue off 6.6 percent compared to the prior year period. 

Visitation for both destination and local guests experienced the largest impact in the Rockies, where visitation declined 25 percent. This seems to match what I’ve seen in Park City on and off the slopes this winter, and the June 2026 third quarter report should confirm these numbers and tell us more about the 2026-27 season pass sales performance...

Trump’s idea of diplomacy (Part Three)

JD Vance’s foray in diplomatic relations began when he delivered a rather controversial speech at the February 2025 Munich Security Conference setting the tone for a confrontational style. At that meeting he challenged his European allies and accusing them of ignoring democratic will, failing on immigration, and stifling dissent. 

His address, which emphasized populist perspectives, was described as a "shock" that drew condemnation from EU officials and praise from Russian media. It clearly positioned him as the antidote to salesmanship. That was the opening salvo to a series of setbacks on the International Stage that made people question his ability to communicate intelligently.

I read his book “Hillbilly Elegy” and I concluded that he learned nothing from his difficult childhood and youth. Sent to Hungary to support the incumbent Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, and subsequently to Islamabad and failed to negotiate a first round of talks with the Iranians. As the press put it, the US Vice President has, during these "Mission: Impossible"-style assignments, "drunk the poisoned chalice of Trumpist foreign policy to the very dregs." 

Vance has returned empty-handed from his two overseas missions, following the failure of talks regarding the war in Iran—held in Islamabad, Pakistan, on April 12—and the resounding defeat of Hungary’s incumbent Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, in the parliamentary elections held in Hungary on that very same day. These two successive failures constitute "major setbacks for the Vice President—widely regarded as Trump’s heir apparent—who was dispatched to the four corners of the globe last week to undertake missions where the odds of success were slim," analyzes the Financial Times. 

It is somewhat as if the American Vice President had “drained the poisoned chalice to the dregs”—all the more so since JD Vance, a convert to Catholicism, returned to Washington just in time “to witness the tug-of-war between the occupant of the White House and Pope Leo,” the British daily quips. 

Again, Vance looks tough and resolute, but this is a far cry from the perquisites for becoming an effective diplomatic negotiator. To his credit and that of Kushner and Witkoff, the three of them suffer from an eviscerated State Department after 1,300 staff were fired in 2025 to curb "bloat". Critics, including American Foreign Service Association members, argue that this reorganization, which hit key offices like Syria and human rights, has lowered morale, depleted regional expertise, and reduced the efficacy of US diplomacy. 

For the moment, Vance can simply keep suffering as he learns on the job, if he wants to go on wering a negotiator’s cap!.

Global Skier Visits Hit 399M for 2024-25

Global skier visits reached a record 399 million in the 2024-25 season, surpassing the previous high of 392 million set in 2018-19, according to the 18th edition of the International Report on Snow & Mountain Tourism, compiled by Laurent Vanat. It covers 68 countries with some 5,800 “equipped outdoor ski areas covered with snow,” 2,000 of which it considers “ski resorts.” 

The 399 million milestone is a 7.8 percent year-over-year increase in visits and marks the highest visitation total of the 21st century. The report indicates that after a nearly 50 percent drop in global skier visits during Covid-impacted 2020-21, the industry has regained momentum, with most markets now meeting or exceeding pre-pandemic averages. 

Visitation increased in all major regions year-over-year from 2023-24 to 2024-25, with many countries, including the US, Italy, and Russia, surpassing their pre-Covid five-year averages. Japan and Germany have yet to return to pre-pandemic visitation levels. By size, major ski areas (of which the report counts 53) accounted for 22 percent of total visits in 2024-25, while large ski areas (687) logged 53 percent. The world’s 4,099 small ski areas netted 17 percent of visits, while medium ski areas (961) claimed 8 percent of visits. 

The season-pass model (like Epic, Ikon) continues to shape demand, though the report suggests it may be nearing an inflection point in the US Meanwhile, globally, rising window ticket prices may be outpacing revenue per skier visit, putting pressure on yield. Notably, the 2024-25 season reinforced a growing decoupling of visitation from natural snowfall. Despite below-average snow that season in parts of Europe and North America, skier visits held steady or grew, supported by snowmaking, operations, and strong demand. 

Of an estimated 150 million skiers worldwide, 33 percent hailed from Asia and the Pacific, 20 percent from America, 20 percent from Western Europe, 14 percent from the Alpine countries Austria, France, Italy, Lichtenstein, Slovenia, and Switzerland, 11 percent from Eastern Europe and Central Aisa, and 2 percent from the Middle East and Africa. Enough ski stats for today!

Trump’s idea of diplomacy (Part Two)

Being Trump’s family and acquaintance, there was just one easy step to turn Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff from real estate guys into “international grade” negotiators. Today, the pair’s competency to conduct diplomatic negotiations is a subject of intense debate, largely split between supporters who view them as effective "dealmakers" and critics who cite a lack of traditional expertise and the failure of key initiatives.

If we begin with Jared Kushner, his job in the first Trump administration (2017–2021), was to put together the Abraham Accords, that were meant to normalize relations between Israel and several Arab nations. In the second term (2025–present), he has worked on Gaza, Russia/Ukraine, and Iran, and was appointed as a Special Envoy for Peace when Trump was still dreaming of the Nobel Prize. 

He doesn’t strike me as the sharpest tool in the shed. One key asset of Kushner is that he loves to multitask and conduct his real-estate business while negotiating diplomatically for his father in law. Obviously, his MAGA supporters think he’s a "world-class negotiator" with a deep understanding of Middle Eastern power dynamics. 

Smarter critics, however, argue his diplomatic efforts—particularly regarding Iran—have been botched due to a lack of technical expertise, resulting in increased conflict rather than peace, plus have been clouded by his extensive business ties with Persian Gulf states, from which his firm Affinity Partners received funding. Talk about turbo-charged conflicts of interest! 

As for Steve Witkoff, he’s first and foremost a New York real estate developer with no formal foreign policy or diplomatic training before 2025, Witkoff was appointed as Special Envoy to the Middle East and for Peace Missions. He was tasked with mediating the Gaza war, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and negotiations with Iran. 

Trump’s lapdog Rubio, credits him with employing innovative methods to advance US interests. He is described as a "tough" negotiator who focuses on understanding what the other side wants, similar to his business career, meaning that to him, diplomacy is just like selling houses, apartments and commercial properties. 

This is precisely what makes cleared-eye critics argue that Witkoff "mistook diplomacy for a real estate deal," citing his "amateurish" handling of complex, technical issues, such as nuclear enrichment. He is criticized for adopting pro-Russian positions in negotiations, failing to grasp diplomatic protocol, and, along with Kushner, being seen by some as "Israeli assets" influencing the US into war and unconditionally supporting Israel rather than being a neutral party. 

The pair is representative of what could be called “Transactional Diplomacy”. Both men treat high-stakes diplomacy as a business transaction, prioritizing personal relationships and "gut instinct" over traditional, bureaucratic, state-department-led negotiation methods. 

Trump supporters see their strength as their direct, trusted relationship with the President, allowing them to act with authority and speed that career diplomats cannot. But while they helped secure a 2025 ceasefire/hostage exchange in Gaza, their broader negotiations, particularly with Iran, have been linked to an escalation in regional violence. 

In a next blog, will see if JD Vance is any better for that kind of diplomatic negotiations...

Trump’s idea of diplomacy (Part One)

Before we discuss the strategy, or lack thereof in Trump’s attempts to “make deals” through high level negotiations at the international level, let’s review what’s needed in terms of qualities to negotiate effectively at the diplomatic level. It sure involves a combination of strategic intellect, deep empathy, and emotional resilience to manage complex, high-stakes relationships rather than just transactional deals. 

What follows are some common-sense rules. 

• Deep Cultural Understanding and Empathy: A top diplomat must understand the motivations, historical context, and domestic pressures driving the opposite party. This empathy enables the anticipation of arguments and the creation of "win-win" solutions that allow all sides to save face. 

 • Relentless Preparation and Analysis: Successful negotiators prepare far more than their opponents, knowing their own country's interests inside and out and analyzing all available data. 

 • Patience and Strategic Temperament: Diplomacy requires the "patience of a clockmaker". It demands an even temper and the ability to use silence, timing, and calculated pauses to advance goals without appearing impulsive. 

 • Active Listening: Effective diplomats listen more than they speak. Listening is considered a powerful tool for discovering hidden motivations, picking up non-verbal cues, and building trust, rather than just waiting for a turn to talk. 

• Integrity and Reliability: To build lasting relationships, a negotiator must display honesty and fairness, ensuring that they can be trusted to honor agreements. 

 • Flexibility and Creativity: Negotiators must be willing to compromise without sacrificing essential interests, finding creative, "outside-the-box" solutions to deadlocks. 

 • Mastery of Communication: This involves not just fluency in languages, but the ability to use precise, calculated language to convey firmness without causing offense, as well as the skill to pick up subtleties and nuances. 

 • Stamina and Courage: Diplomatic negotiations often involve 12-16 hour days under high pressure, requiring mental and physical resilience.  

In closing, a fundamental principle is that diplomacy is a long-term relationship, not a one-time, single transaction. It requires lots of patience and hard work and can’t be delegated to inexperienced individuals, no matter how “smart” they are. 

Ideally, diplomatic negotiators should draw their skills and experience from the State Department or similar foreign affairs agencies, to navigate complex international relations, institutional knowledge, and established trust with foreign counterparts. Unfortunately, and too often negotiating teams often are a mix of career professionals and political appointees that lack this critical background. 

The goal is to ensure that the negotiation outcome serves national interests and lasts, long after the immediate issue is resolved. Tomorrow we’ll see if Trump is up to that kind of mission, and if the people entrusted to do the job can do it. We’ll begin by assessing how Kushner and Witkoff are performing in view of the above criteria…

Park City and I-80

When we first moved to Park City, for four years, I was commuting every day on I-80 (Interstate 80) to Salt Lake City. I only traveled on the sole and previous road, Route 40, in 1971, but was asleep and didn’t remember a thing. 

Then, in 1980, I drove from Salt Lake to Park City on I-80 in 1980, but didn’t know how that impressive stretch of Interstate highway came to life. After doing some research. I found that I-80 was finally completed in the SLC airport area on August 22, 1986, while the specific stretch I knew so well between Salt Lake City and Kimball Junction (Park City) had been completed in 1973.

At that point, the entire 2,907-mile I-80 (from San Francisco to New Jersey) became the world’s longest completed freeway, and Salt Lake City became the "Golden Spike" of the Interstate Era. The transformation of the old two-lane US-40 into the mostly six-lane I-80 was one of the most difficult engineering feats in Utah's highway history due to the narrow, vertical walls of Parley's Canyon. The timeline of completion that follows speaks volumes about the work required that spanned from 1962 to 1973. 

• 1850: Parley P. Pratt completed the "Golden Pass Toll Road", marking the first time wagons could bypass the much steeper Emigration Canyon. 
• Late 1950s: With the passage of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, plans began to upgrade US-40 into a controlled-access freeway. 
• 1962: The section from Wanship to Silver Creek opened, which provided the first major "freeway" feel east of Kimball Junction. 
• 1969–1970 (The Big Closure): The most disruptive phase. A 5.5-mile section of Parley’s Canyon was completely closed to traffic for 9 months (October 1, 1969, to July 23, 1970). Drivers had to detour through Emigration Canyon or Weber Canyon to reach Park City. 
• 1971: The westbound lanes of the canyon stretch were officially opened in July, completing the four-lane "split" through the lower canyon. 
• 1973: The final segment between Mountain Dell Reservoir and Kimball Junction was completed, officially linking the Salt Lake Valley to Park City with a high-speed divided highway. 

Building a modern freeway through a narrow mountain corridor presented obstacles that required "brute force" engineering, like massive rock blasting. To fit six lanes of traffic into the lower canyon, engineers had to use millions of pounds of dynamite to blast away the sheer quartzite and limestone cliffs. 

This is why there are dramatic vertical rock cuts today near the mouth of the canyon. The thing that always amazed me was that the highway was essentially built "on top" of the creek in its lower section, with massive culverts installed and multiple shifting of water paths multiple times to make room for the roadbed. 

Managing the steep ascent to Parley's Summit (6% grade to reach from 4,610 to 7,120 feet) was a major concern for heavy trucks. Designing "runaway truck ramps" and the wide, sweeping curves was also essential to prevent the high-speed accidents that plagued the old US-40. 

Construction in 1967 near the mouth of the canyon required massive amounts of "fill" dirt, which nearly buried the local landmark known as Suicide Rock (it now sits much lower relative to the freeway than it did originally). 

Because the summit is over 7,000 feet, crews could only work effectively for a few months a year. Sudden mountain snowstorms frequently shut down construction and destroyed fresh roadwork, but in the end, it contributed to make Park City the world's most accessible ski town from an international airport!

4-20 Explosive turn?

Imagine that you’re skiing very, very fast. Let’s say a high speed GS type of turn, you are in the last section of the curve and your exterior foot is suddenly freed from the ski. No, I’m not talking about the binding pre-releasing, but about your very own boot exploding or better yet, disintegrating. 

I don’t have to tell you that you don’t want that to happen while you’re skiing, and this is why, a few days ago, Head USA just announced a voluntary recall of approximately 1,890 pairs of high-end ski boots across North America. 

The recall comes after reports that the boot’s shell and sole inserts can spontaneously deteriorate and break, potentially turning a smooth run down the mountain into a dangerous fall. The recall specifically impacts the fluorescent yellow materials used in the construction of the boot shell and sole. 

According to the brand, these components can become brittle and crack, compromising the structural integrity of the boot. While the thought of our boot disintegrating mid-carve is enough to give any skier pause, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) confirmed that no injuries have been reported to date. 

In my years in the boot business, we had a few warranty claims for broken boots, but from what I can remember the breakage happened during storage. Head is moving proactively to pull the remaining stock and alert owners before the "deterioration" leads to a documented accident. 

The affected boots were sold nationwide at specialized ski retailers and through various online platforms. Given that these boots have been on the market for over a decade (spanning from late 2015 through early 2026), many skiers may still have these boots. Just check yours if they happen to be Head!