A snowboarder gliding down a perfectly powdered Colorado slope and a skier skidding on an ice sheet in Vermont could be paying the same company for the tush-freezing lift up the mountain. The ski industry has been consolidating for decades due to the rising cost of running the slopes.

Almost 3 in 5 North American ski resorts closed between the 1960s and 2022, while many of those that remained were gobbled up by private equity-backed companies—with Colorado-based skiing behemoths Vail Resorts and Alterra Mountain Co. leading the pack:

• 37% of the US’ 375 public ski areas are run by slope conglomerates, according to an analysis by ski industry writer Stuart Winchester.
• Alterra and Vail operate 14% of public US ski areas with a lift, stretching from the Rockies to the Appalachians—and their ownership of large ski resorts puts them in control of half the country’s lift capacity.

Pass hegemony

The two juggernauts have upended snowy peak economics by selling seasonal passes that give skiers unlimited access to dozens of resorts at a fixed price. The advent of Vail’s Epic Pass in 2008 and the launch of Alterra’s rival Ikon Pass in 2018 allowed the companies to enjoy predictable revenue in an industry constrained by capricious weather patterns. In December 2023, Vail’s then-CEO said ski passes accounted for ~73% of the company’s overall lift-ticket revenue.

There’s a catch: While offering a relatively good deal to those willing to make skiing their entire personality commit to hitting the slopes all winter, Vail and Alterra jacked up the price of one-day lift tickets to incentivize seasonal pass signups. This season, weekend daily lift access at Vail’s top resorts costs an average $261, according to Bloomberg, while a seasonal pass that gives skiers unlimited access to 42 locations was $982.

But some skiers are passing on the passes, complaining that the unlimited-access system has, in some cases, led to crowded slopes and lift lines stretching all the way to the lodges.

Indie resorts are also getting a lift…from overall growth in snow sports and an influx of disgruntled skiers eager for cheaper daily passes and a more rustic experience. They even banded together in 2019 to launch the Indy Pass, an alternative to Ikon and Epic for mom-and-pop resorts. The company distributes 85% of the pass proceeds among the resorts, which they use to fund upgrades to lift and snowmaking equipment.—SK

Netflix won the streaming wars by being the first to deliver entertainment to the masses, its vast library offering something for everyone as it scaled toward global domination. That’s made co-founder Reed Hastings a billionaire, but the philosophy behind his latest venture—a private, high-end ski community in the Utah wilderness—is less Netflix and more HBO.

New kind of mile-high club

Months after retiring as Netflix’s CEO in 2023, Hastings bought Powder Mountain for an undisclosed sum and has since invested hundreds of millions of dollars to turn it into the world’s most bespoke ski destination. The hope is that it can serve as a quieter alternative to the overcrowded mass-market slopes you see all over Instagram each winter.

“This isn’t about exclusivity for its own sake,” Hastings told The Hollywood Reporter last year. “It’s about creating a sanctuary for people who love this mountain as much as we do.” Here’s how the unusual public-private resort works:

• Memberships, which cost $25,000 annually (plus an initiation fee), give skiers exclusive access to 2,700 acres of pristine powder. The remaining 5,300 acres are open to the public.
• To become a member, you must purchase real estate in the resort’s residential community, Powder Haven. Lots start at $2 million, and membership is capped at 650 families.
• Real estate sales will help pay for improvements to the public side, including new chairlifts, to make sure it doesn’t get too crowded, either.

Demand is high. The first phase of development (39 lots) sold out in a few months, based solely on renderings and before roads were even paved, according to Robb Report. A 73,000-square-foot lodge with restaurants, pickleball courts, a gym, a pool, and a spa is under construction, per SFGate.

But not everyone’s thrilled. Some are worried that Hastings’s elite winter wonderland will price locals out (public pass prices have already increased). Others say that the changes threaten Powder’s mom-and-pop feel, which had set it apart from most mountains in the area. The Financial Times suggested the Netflix billionaire is “walking a gentrification tightrope.”—AE

When you tell your grandkids that you used to go bombing through dumps, the most unbelievable part of the story might be that there was ever so much fresh snowfall. Shorter, warmer winters are becoming more common, and most ski towns increasingly count on an imperfect fix—snow machines—to fill a growing void of white.

Cold time is money: To cushion lighter snowfall at the beginning and end of winter, the Aspen Snowmass resort upgraded its snowmakers this summer as part of a broader $80 million development project, for example. Without the tech, subpar skiing conditions can threaten not just resorts but also surrounding restaurants, hotels, and rental services.

But…the pressurized cannons dotting ski trails typically work in tandem with local weather, so there’s usually only so much that they can do:

• Basic snowmakers shoot out high-pressure water and condensed air, meaning they’re useless if it’s not cold enough outside. Some Colorado ski resorts had to switch off their snowguns at the beginning of November, when temperatures got into the 60s.
• A resort’s snow machines can take days to weeks to cover the slopes, depending on how much natural powder there is already. At the extreme end, it required nearly two months, almost 400 snowguns, and an estimated $60 million to completely blanket barren mountain venues for the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

Conundrum: Newer snow machines can work in up to 80-degree weather, but they cost as much as $500,000, compared to $15,000 to $30,000 for traditional models, according to the Washington Post. They’re also energy-intensive, which exacerbates the core issue facing ski towns: snowmakers are “pretty much using the cause [of climate change] to find a solution,” a spokesperson for TechnoAlpin, a leading snowmaking company, told the outlet.

Looking ahead…based on current greenhouse gas predictions, lower-altitude ski towns could see 80% less snowfall by 2100.—ML

The cheapest way to get a thrill out of a snowy slope is by sledding down your local hill on a piece of cardboard. But if your heart yearns for the skis or snowboard, the price tag of the experience varies as much as the hot cocoa quality across the lodges.

Some of the world’s most upscale ski resorts catering to the jet set are clustered in the Rockies and the Alps:

• A one-day ski pass at the Aspen resort in Colorado goes for as much as $279 during peak season, granting access to high-altitude skiing on four mountains—the tallest of which stands at 11,212 feet. The surrounding area is dotted with luxury shopping options and hotels averaging $960 a night during peak season, according to budgetmytrip.com.
• On the flip side, at Courchevel 1850 in France, which is considered the ritziest Alpine ski resort, daily lift tickets are a more affordable $86 during high season—even with its Gucci-branded gondolas and proximity to several Michelin star restaurants.

But for those of us unaccustomed to traveling by helicopter, the best bet is an independent ski resort, like the Turner Mountain in Montana, where a daily pass is just $45. Here’s a list of other budget destinations in the US.

There’s options to ski for the price of a sandwich…if you’re willing to travel to super bargains like the 4,757-footer at Kolašin 1450 in Montenegro ($29 per day) or Denizli ski resort in Turkey, which charges $7.—SK