Vail Resorts’ North American properties had 14.9% fewer skier visits this winter because of record warm weather and low snowfall.
According to a news release, this winter:
- Total skier visits decreased 14.9% compared to 2025.
- Total lift revenue, including an allocated portion of season pass revenue for each applicable period, declined 5.6% year-over-year.
- Ski school revenue was down 12% and dining revenue was down 11.7% compared to the prior year period.
- Retail/rental revenue for North American resort and ski area store locations declined 6.6% compared to the prior year period.
“The winter of 2025/2026 has been one of the most challenging winters in history across the Western U.S., with record low snowfall and historically warm temperatures negatively impacting visitation and spending throughout the season,” said Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz in a statement.
Following Vail’s report that skier visits were down 20% in January, poor conditions continued through March, leading to fewer visits and earlier-than-planned closures for many resorts in the Western U.S., Katz said. In February, snow retailers in the Western U.S. told SESO it had been one of the worst winters they’d seen in decades.
“As we previously highlighted heading into March, these dynamics increased variability and resulted in visitation declines for both destination and local guests with the largest impact in the Rockies, where visitation declined 25%,” Katz said.
Resort-reported EBITDA for fiscal 2026 is now expected to be around the low end of $745 million to $775 million, which was issued in March.
Spring pass sales for the 2026/2027 season are underway, and through the April 12 deadline, Vail recorded a moderate decline in pass product units and a slight decline in sales dollars. A more comprehensive update will come in June when the company reports its third-quarter results.
