Vail Resorts mid-season assessment

What follows is what I sent to the Park City Mountain management in response to their most recent questionnaire: “The disastrous handling of the Park City Ski Patrol strike remains definitely the low point of the season and both established and confirmed the incompetence of Vail Resorts’ (VR) top management. 

Positive things this season was the “shaving” of wipers and other bushes on Thaynes and between the Crescent chair and Silver King, with much more still untouched elsewhere to be cut. It was also good to see snow-making on “Another word”. 

Aside from that, it seems that VR is dangerously negligent when it comes to maintenance with Crescent currently idled and Pioneer “waiting for a part” since New Year or so, not to mention noisy sheaves on Super Condor for several days in January. 

VR needs to upgrade its antique fixed grip lifts to modern detachable ones. Kazakhstan buys used detachable from France or Austria; maybe the company should consider that if it doesn’t want to excessively deplete its deep cash reserves... 

As I've said many times, the Broomfield management of VR should learn a lot by working for at least 6 week at a Costco store to learn about customer service. Also, by paying its CEO $6.2 M a year, for a company its size, VR is insulting and demoralizing their lowest ranking employees. 

Costco takes great care of its lowly associates and everyone benefits. Treating the base staff well “lifts all boats”, including shareholders' returns. As far as the Epic app is concerned, stats tracking doesn't work reliably and reflects an obvious lack of interest, incompetence or staff availability at fixing the problems. 

The VR Board should seriously evaluate and reconsider its Broomfield upper management and leave more decision-making to each resort manager like Alterra does, instead of VR’s cookie-cutter approach that saves money but angers and disappoints its users.”