The State of the Ski Industry 

Yes, I know I completely neglected climate/snowfall/warming/whatever you want to call it. I just didn’t really feel like starting that argument today. But you’re more than welcome to debate it here too. Think of this comments section as an open forum.

On an unrelated note… Holy crap the grooming on those trails in the footage you have is awesome. Im drooling over the thought of carving down those runs

Just toomanypeople doing everything everywhere

I think perhaps one of the major differences between European and US resorts is Europeans have a lot more multi-day visitors. Europeans tend to take a week or so off once or twice a year, and ski nearly every day for that week (they might take a rest day in the middle), rather than going on day trips on the weekends (except for some locals). European resorts don't really rely on season pass holders, the skiing vacation crowd is their bread and butter. This does help in two different ways, firstly traffic isn't so much of a problem since many visitors are staying in hotels or cabins/chalets nearby and only need to take a bus or taxi to the airport or train station twice a visit, they're either going to walk or take local public transport to the lifts. And secondly it spreads the visitor load out over the entire week, it's often the case that resorts aren't much busier on the weekend. This difference is partly down to geography, there aren't so many people living near ski resorts in Europe so we have to make more of a vacation out of it when we go, and cultural, more generous leave allowances make such trips more practical.

As a European looking at the US situation with crowds (and prices!) I have one opinion - season ski passes should be local only. You pay for the season and with that you deal with the ups and downs of the weather through the season in your local area. These crazy nation-wide passes like Icon just mean that people follow the weather and completely destroy the good days for themselves and everyone else too. These passes will continue to ruin the sport. The one advantage in Europe we have is that the French will set the tone. Any sign of the US system creeping in and they will shut down the entire industry with strike action. Good on them.

I 100% agree with this video, I don't think things should be taken that seriously and everyone should at least try to have as much fun as possible on the slopes. For example, I am planning to go to copper for one of the last ski days in the season. I found out that a lot of what I wanted to ride was closed and I was pretty bummed. I realized that, it doesn't matter. There is still so much to do and I have always had the attitude of; no matter what I will try and be positive. I think more people should take that approach. Thank you for making this video, it was great. (:

200 dollars a day in us 72 in Europe corporations are taking over ski resorts in the states , they own everything even some of the bars and restaurants , renting skis is twice what it was 3 yrs ago they own that too. And now you have to make a reservation for parking your car . What you spend in a week in us you can ski in Europe for 15 or 20 days

No one holds a gun to anyone's head to give their hard earned money to ski conglomerates like Darth Vail. The back country is free and tops the resort experience in every category.

I know that some people can't go on weekdays. But if you get the opportunity, GO. It's cheaper, it's much less crowded, and snow is usually better (if there has been a snowstorm). I once got blessed with a mid-week powder day, and it was amazing. No crowds either.

The problem is one of capacity being unable to meet demand. Not just uphill but downhill capacity. My home mountain, Mount Snow, is unable to expand due to a limit placed on them by the Forest Service (Vermont is far from running out of forest). Deregulate the land conservation and allow the mountains to expand to meet the increasing demand for the sport we all love.

Eldora...Monarch...Powderhorn...Ski Cooper...Sunlight...just do it.

As of this season, I can only ski on weekends because of my college schedule, unless I’m on school break. Yes, that means enduring crazy lift lines at times, and I have an IKON pass because it lets me choose when and where I’d like to ski, versus trying to plan a day at one particular resort. My school has a ski bus for college students that goes to five different IKON resorts in northern/central Colorado, so for me, having an IKON pass lets me decide: Do I want to take the bus to this ski resort, or do I want to get a ride from a friend and go to another ski resort? Logistics can get complicated, but I think that’s why they have season passes in the first place; to allow for flexibility. I used 6 days on my 23/24 IKON pass throughout the whole season, and they were all on weekends because of how my class schedule works.

Live in the Northwest and have a ski hill about 20-25 minutes from the house. It is not on Ikon or Epic, but on big powder days even during the week we can get a lot more skiers than normal. Saturdays and Holidays can be crowded from out-of-towners, but most of the time during the week it is like skiing at a private resort. My biggest complaint is too many skiers try to ski terrain that is over their ability. For an example. Two years ago I was skiing Vail’s Back Bowls on a Wednesday with about 6-8 inches of new snow. I start hearing all this noise from behind and uphill from me. It was a group of 4 or 5 college age men skiing completely out of control. I don’t think they had skill to ski the terrain especially with new snow. They were falling and sliding more than they were skiing. I pulled over. Let them go by and skied a little to the left of where they were skiing. If you think lines are bad now you should have skied Vail back in the seventies when all lifts were Fixed-Grip chairs. The lines were huge on a Saturday.

I am old enough to remember when convention wisdom said “skiing is dying”. The skiing Demographic was too old and everything was too expensive, especially lift tickets. Mountains were too tame.. you could only ski on established trails and every trail had ropes. Snow conditions usually sucked etc. …. Then snowboarding came along and so much changed, not just for snowboarding but for skiing. Equipment, terrain, technique, demographics etc.

Alta/Snowbird are my favorite mountains but I haven’t been in years since there’s a good chance you could suffer the traffic only to have to turn around because there’s no parking. I’ll let this reserved parking thing go a couple of years and see what it does for the situation. Unhelpful that they cut the bus rides in half last season.

I work at one of the busiest resorts in the north east. We have hundreds of immigrants to our country who are skiing. Skiing has a certain cachet, being expensive. People drive $100,000 cars to the resort, then worry about parking. There is not enough parking, that's how it is. The true soul of skiing, as in many pursuits nowadays, is dying rapidly. One has to pick the resort, the time, and the vibe to find your bliss. The country is growing fast, everyone has a car. We are recreating. First world problems.

I have always said this about solving problems with money: "Pay to win is a fact of life, be it in real life or gaming. People have different life situations. Some people have money but not time. Some people have time but not money. You buy first class seat you get first class service. You pay for cattle class you get minimal service. There is nothing wrong with those people who are willing to spend money to improve their situation and convenience. You don't have to pay more if you are not willing to, but you will pay with time and effort. Badmouthing them is just pure jealousy. And for a record, I seldom pay for those extras because I'm poor, but I never think that those who can afford them are in any way, shape or form, bad, albeit envy them sometimes.

Skiing is actually getting LESS popular. So why are resorts getting busier and busier, and more expensive? Well, it's because all the small ski resorts are closing. Forcing people to go to larger resorts.

midweek skiing is magical. Wednesday powder days are a gift from GOD. wait till the next rescission. it will go back.

My biggest complaints are the weed smokers and the alcohol drinkers on the slope, putting others at risk. Outside of the pandemic year, the lines at Vail and Beaver Creek have been pretty decent, especially once you reach the top of the mountain to spread out, even during Christmas week and President's Day weekend. Finally, parking at Vail is managed and maintained by the town of Vail, not Vail Resorts.

I-70 is a mess. I'm glad CDOT is trying to help but really we need a rail line from Denver to Summit County. Winter Park already has a train service from Denver and I think that is an excellent approach for a lot of day trippers. Granted, that train has some issues too. Probably by the time such a project is seriously considered, I'll be too old to ski. Thankfully, I live in Colorado Springs so I just go the back way most times - although that could use some passing lanes past Divide. I haven't been impressed with the Vail resorts food so far. But, no one is forcing you to eat there either. I've started bringing my own stacks and getting more laps while everyone else is waiting for a seat to open up just for overpriced mediocre food. Since the slopes close at 4pm, I prefer to spend that money in town afterwards on a nice meal before heading home. It's still expensive, but the food is better. Even with a remote job, I haven't figured a way to ski during the week without taking paid leave. I'm trying to reserve a few days each year for that, but it is still hard to balance that. BTW, I love the Hater's Guides. Once you understand that most of it is satire or exaggeration, it's a good time - except for Keystone, I think you nailed that one. LOL

My home mountain Wachusett in MA, has no parking problems. It isn’t overcrowded. It is managed very good.

“Just one more lane will fix our traffic issues! Just one more lane guys, I promise it will work this time!”

I know it's a symptom of the industry overall. But I-70 is what kills me, not even the lines. Each year in CO we have to wake up what seems like 30 minutes earlier to get to the mountain without absolutely ungodly traffic. It's completely debilitating mentally and physically and takes most of the joy of even wanting to head up the hill for some turns. Lack of public transport, huge demand. I-70 is the embodiment of everything wrong with the industry.

I love how you're the only one on every hill you're on in the entire video!

You can't always get what you want, but if you try some time, you just might find, you get what you need.

Everybody wants to go to the biggest mountain (or hill) and yet comment about losing the smaller areas. A lot complain about prices yet wont try the maybe less expensive independent areas

True skiers only!!!!!!

I’m sure that tax money has been well sifted before it reaches the forest

I tune it all out and just ski and enjoy the mountain. There are worse things to complain about.

Every excuse in the book. I’ll have the ski hill all to myself.

As a skier, I think snowboarding may have saved the ski industry by bringing in a new generation and group of people that otherwise might never have been interested in the sport. However, I feel like skiers (myself included) still get nervous about snowboarders nearby. I try to figure out what they are doing to be friendly, stay out of their way, and appreciate them but I don't see the average snowboarder caring nearly as much about harmony on the slopes. More mutual appreciation for each other would go a long way toward making the mountain experience better.

Where is that at 1:35 and 2:50

Not a single mention of snowboarders on your list of complaints… everything is their fault

The us needs more ski resorts. Never gonna happened tho bcuz of the forest service

Love the way you hate, SRG ... 😅 we all have to make fun of something ... 😊

I don’t think of you as a complainer so much as a discerning auditor of human nature. 😎

I think skiing should be less popular