photo courtesy Whistler Blackcomb Resort

Vail Resorts just got more “epic”. In its march for (ski) world domination, the ski industry giant today announced they are buying Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia. They will pay $513 million cash and $543 million in stock when the deal closes this fall. When it’s all said and done this will be one of the most expensive resort purchases of all time.
“Combining Whistler Blackcomb with Vail Resorts’ portfolio of outstanding resorts provides Whistler Blackcomb with increased financial strength, marketing exposure, guest relationships. It broadens the geographic diversity of our company with resorts across the United States, as well as in Australia and Canada,” said Dave Brownlie, Whistler Blackcomb’s chief executive officer.

The VR Portfolio

VR’s mountain collection is now up to 13- Colorado’s Vail and Beaver Creek, Breckenridge (second in skier visits to Vail), Keystone; California’s Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood, and Utah’s Park City/Canyons, the nation’s largest ski resort. VR also owns Perisher ski resort in Australia, Wilmot Mountain in Wisconsin, Afton Alps in Minnesota and Mt. Brighton in Michigan, operates the RockResorts hotel brand, and a number of golf icourses in the U.S. and Caribbean.

With this latest acquisition, VR is the largest ski resort operator in the world. The move could put a chink in the armor that is Liftopia’s popular Mountain Collective. The MC sprouted as an alternative to the astronomically rising costs of both lift tickets and season passes. It became a direct competitor of VR’s Epic Pass; offering skiers and boarders an affordable way to ski several resorts in a season. Whistler/Blackcomb was part of the MC roster. “We just learned about the sale an hour ago so we are waiting for communication as to what this means for our customers,” said an MC rep. It’s doubtful that Whistler will straddle both pass offerings.

Vail Is Psyched

“Whistler Blackcomb is one of the most iconic mountain resorts in the world with an incredible history, passionate employees and a strong community. With our combined experience and expertise, together we will build upon the guest experience at Whistler Blackcomb. We will preserve the unique brand and character of the resort as an iconic Canadian destination for guests around the world. We are delighted to add such a renowned resort to Vail Resorts and look forward to expanding our relationships in the Sea-to-Sky community, British Columbia and Canada,” said Rob Katz, chairman and chief executive officer of Vail Resorts.

Mr. Brownlie added, “We will also continue our discussions with the Squamish and Lil’wat First Nations, on whose traditional lands we operate. The business partnership will benefit our communities, our province and our company for decades to come. Our board of directors has also been monitoring the unique challenges facing the broader ski industry due to the unpredictability of year-to-year regional weather patterns. Whistler Blackcomb, with its unprecedented acreage of high alpine terrain and Glacier bowls, is well positioned, but by no means immune to these challenges.”

Whistler, by joining VR and its geographically diverse group of ski areas, should be insulated from the “red”. If one area suffers from a bad snow year, the others will pick up the slack; an attractive proposition for stock holders and Epic Pass holders.

VR says they intend to maintain the majority of Whistler Blackcomb employees. They say this transaction won’t affect the day-to-day operations at the resort, however, that wasn’t the case with Park City and Canyons. VR called nearly all of the upper level management into one room and summarily dismissed them.

Whistler Season Passes

The 2016/17 season pass options remain unaffected by the news but look for big changes for next season. Whistler Blackcomb will become part of the Epic Season Pass and other season pass products for 2017-18.

Photo by Marc Piscotty

Skiing and riding in Park City just got a little cheaper for families. The Epic SchoolKids program from Vail Resorts debuted last season at Canyons and Park City to give kids K through 5th five days of free skiing. Well, the deal is back again but the deadline to register is just days away.  You have until May 30 to sign up.

The Epic Schoolkids don’t know how to ski?

No worries if you have never-evers in your brood. Vail has thrown in a free full-day beginner lesson and equipment rentals. “Fostering a love for skiing and snowboarding in kids is a top priority for Vail Resorts,” said Kirsten Lynch, chief marketing officer of Vail Resorts. “It is incredibly important that we continue to find ways to connect kids and families in our local communities and around the state with the mountains and the many benefits of snow sports.”

Eligible Epic SchoolKids simply need to have mom or dad complete the ESK Registration Form and Pass Application (No digital signatures accepted on Pass Application), submit them to epicschoolkidsutah@vailresorts.com – along with a digital copy of the student report card/transcript/school ID from a Utah school or birth certificate, a photo of the student (no sunglasses, hats or others in the photo) and a scanned copy of the parent’s Utah state driver’s license.

Once the required documentation is submitted via email, your child’s pass will be mailed to him/her upon processing.

To learn more about the program, visit EpicSchoolKids.com.

Oh, and when you send in your application, make sure you add a note that you read about it here on Ski. Play. Live! Would love to get myself on their radar.  🙂

BTW, I was not paid to write this post. I know a great deal when I see one and wanted to share.

The skiing at Snowbird has been unreal. Yes, skiing. While the rest of the Wasatch is hunkered down, sitting out the back-to-back storm cycles because closing days have come and gone, diehard locals are rejoicing. Nineteen inches in the last 48 hours and more on the way.

Rain pummeled the base parking lots two days ago, bringing some high density snow to the upper elevations; it also brought about numerous slides. The unstable pack caused hyper safety diligence and the crowd stewed at Gad 2 base for nearly two hours Wednesday morning while patrol controlled. Finally, things opened (although the Tram is closed now for maintenance).

The resort is replacing the Tram cables so the whole Peruvian side is closed but you can still get the goods off Gadzoom, Little Cloud and Mineral Basin chairs.

The 16 inches of new overnight brought joy and hoots; along with Facebook posts about the “epic” conditions. The emerging sun did make things thick but if you knew where to turn, you weren’t disappointed. Dare I say there were face shots to be had? Unfortunately the Road to Provo lineup was too intense. It eventually opened but not before irking an anxious crowd.

Snow fell on Wednesday evening with two more systems forecasted for the weekend. Next week it will probably turn to spring slush as temperatures are supposed to climb back up into the 50s.

Currently, the conditions are still unstable especially on the closed Peruvian side of the hill so use patience and caution skiing this week. Let the patrol do their incredible job so you can safely rock the spring skiing this month.

Mountain Detes

The Bird is open daily through May 8 and weekends after that, closing on Memorial Day, May 30. 2016. There’s live music at Mid-Gad, Friday-Sunday, 1-4 p.m. Lift tickets are $50 for season passholders from any other ski area. Present pass at the ticket window.