Vail Resorts released its early ski season metrics for the period ending Jan. 4, 2026, revealing a significant impact from unfavorable weather conditions across its North American resorts and a significant decrease in visitation and revenue compared to the same period in the previous year.
Season-to-date total skier visits were down 20% compared to the prior year. This downturn affected multiple revenue streams across the company’s operations, including:
- Total lift revenue, which includes an allocated portion of season pass revenue, decreased 1.8%.
- Ski school revenue dropped 14.9%.
- Dining revenue decreased 15.9%.
- Retail/rental revenue for North American locations was down 6%.
“We experienced one of the worst early season snowfalls in the western U.S. in over 30 years, which limited our ability to open terrain and negatively impacted visitation and ancillary spending for both local and destination guests during the period,” said Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz in a statement. Katz returned to the CEO role in May after former CEO Kirsten Lynch exited the company amidst sluggish sales. Katz outlined his plans to maximize revenue potential in September.
Poor Snowfall in Western U.S.
Vail shared data for the company’s North American destination mountain resorts and regional ski areas, excluding Australian and European resorts. The company attributed the challenging results to one of the most difficult early seasons for snowfall in recent history, particularly in the western United States.
Snowfall at the company’s western U.S. resorts during November and December was approximately 50% below the historical 30-year average. The situation was even more pronounced in the Rockies, where snowfall was nearly 60% below the 30-year average. This resulted in only about 11% of terrain being open in December.
Other regions also faced a slow start. Resorts in Tahoe experienced near-historic low snow levels through mid-December, and Whistler Blackcomb also had a slower start to its season. However, conditions in these areas improved following significant snowstorms over the holiday period, which allowed for expanded terrain openings. The company noted that strong early season conditions at its eastern U.S. ski areas provided a partial offset to the broader weather challenges.
Company Outlook
Given the impact of the conditions, Katz provided an updated forecast.
“We now expect our full year Resort Reported EBITDA to be just below the low end of the guidance range issued on September 29, 2025, assuming that performance in the Rockies returns to normal by President’s weekend.” He added that further downside to the guidance is possible if conditions do not improve as expected.
In September, Vail projected net income to be between $201 million and $276 million and Resort Reported EBITDA to be between $842 million and $898 million in fiscal 2026.
Despite the difficult weather, Katz praised the company’s team and strategy.
“The recent weather variability has reinforced our commitment to our advance commitment strategy and the investments we have made in our resorts and our employees to deliver on the guest experience,” he said. “I’m proud of the team’s resilience, and exceptional execution that delivered strong guest satisfaction scores season to date, despite the significant weather challenges.”
