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Vermont's ski resorts employ about 13,000 people, a quarter of them year-round, and the $1.6 billion industry typically brings in $925 million in direct spending, plus the $675 million resorts spend on vendors according to Ski Vermont. The current pandemic, however, has been anything but typical, and across Vermont, ski resorts are taking different approaches for how to open for the upcoming season.

It took less than a week after Vail Resorts announced its operating plans for Stowe, Okemo and Mount Snow and all its North American resorts  (including a new skiing-by-reservation system) for more of Vermont’s independents to come out with statements about their operations.

Vail Resorts will require Epic Pass holders to reserve their days at each of the company's resorts for the 2020-21 ski and snowboard season.

As summer draws to a close, Vermont ski areas are broadcasting high expectations for opening this winter. 

Yeah, we get it: With the rounding down of summer and the beginning of cool nights, the first signs of changing colors of autumn—and soon even the first snowfall—here in the high country of Colorado, where I sit writing from my home at 9,000 feet, it usually heralds optimism and stoke. 

Vail Resorts (VR) will not reopen lift operations for skiing and snowboarding in 2020 at Falls Creek and Hotham in Australia following the Victorian government’s introduction of Stage 4 restrictions for Melbourne and Stage 3 restrictions for regional Victoria, which will be in place for six weeks.

If Vermonters want to see a ski season this winter, they’ll need to stay the course when it comes to COVID-19 precautions, say voices in the industry.

It’s only July, but in a normal year, this would already be past time for avid skiers and snowboarders to have bought their passes for the upcoming season.

The COVID-19 pandemic's impact has spread across the ski and snowboard industry in the West, and one of its victims has been plans for new lifts. But a quintet of resorts are pushing ahead with plans, while others take a pause.

Why does a daily lift ticket cost more than $200? Chairlifts, snowmaking, grooming, labor, and affordable housing all add up to drive the cost of a daily lift ticket as explained in this video from Wendover Productions.

Many of the usual summer activities -- mountain biking, ziplines, hiking, scenic lift rides -- will be in place in the West during the warm months. But the Covid-19 pandemic has forced resorts to tone down or fully eliminate offerings for the time being.

Vail Resorts has offered a preview of what is anticipated to be the first-ever ski season in the era of social distancing, providing an early look at how the experience could change for skiers and snowboarders as the industry takes steps to guard against the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Vail Resorts has announced Breckenridge Ski Resort, Heavenly Mountain Resort, and Whistler Blackcomb will not reopen for spring skiing. 

Rob Katz, CEO of Vail Resorts, narrates a podcast called “Epic by Nature” and recently released a three-part episode series detailing the COVID-19 crisis as it relates to the company’s ski resorts. The first segment explains the lead-up to the decision to close the resorts, starting when Katz first heard about coronavirus in China, which he said felt “very far away” at the time.

Snowbird and Snowbasin Resort on Wednesday unveiled their compensation plans for season passholders whose spring skiing and snowboarding was cut short by COVID-19.

We’re not here to split hairs about chair placements and tap choices. The selection of a mascot is the single most important choice a ski area can make. Some say a good pick can make or break a resort. To that end, we’ve created a list of the very best ski area mascots and ranked them. If you didn’t make the cut, sorry—this list is extremely selective. Ivy League who?

U.S. Forest Service documentation released Thursday shed light on Keystone Resort’s plans to bring an unprecedented lift-served terrain expansion for beginner and intermediate skiers and snowboarders above the resort’s tree line.

Skiers and snowboarders who hold this season's Epic Pass will get between 20 and 80 percent credit on the price of the 2020-21 multi-resort pass.

A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Vail Resorts following the early end of the 2019-2020 ski season. The Plaintiff, Brian Hunt, claims that Vail is in the wrong for keeping passholder fees after closing all of their resorts amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The uncertainty of when, where and for how long the COVID-19 outbreak will last has forced much of the country into flexible mode -- and the two behemoths in the multi-resort season pass business are no different.

After opening up sales for 2020-2021 passes in early March, both Epic Pass and Ikon Pass have evolved over the last month as conditions change.