Vail Resorts

Last week chief public affairs officer Kenny Thompson, Jr. joined the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable for the first-ever National Outdoor Recreation Executive Forum. The forum brought together leaders from across the industry to discuss topics like sustainability and innovation, the future of recreation funding and access, workforce, housing and rural development, inclusion and belonging, and connection to physical and mental health.  Speaking on the ‘Healthy Land, Water, People & Communities panel,’ Kenny addressed the changing landscape of our country’s demographics, how that impacts current and future visitation, and the importance of our inclusive access programs to help introduce new skiers and riders to the sport. Learn more about the event here: https://lnkd.in/e9Z7Jar5

Now retired, former General Manager of Hunter Mountain, Russ Coloton, has had an incredible journey within the ski industry, spanning 44 years of distinguished leadership and immeasurable impact at Hunter. On May 22, Russ will receive NSAA’s Lifetime Achievement Award for his extraordinary commitment to the ski industry at NSAA’s 2024 National Convention. Hunter Mountain has always been a leader in the industry with its revolutionary snowmaking and strong management. Russ Coloton’s leadership embodied the Slutzky brothers' original vision for Hunter - his unparalleled dedication and proven track record of success speak for themselves and will continue to inspire the Hunter team as they will embark on exciting upgrades to lifts and automated snowmaking this summer. Congratulations, Russ!

On May 4, our Vermont Epic Promise team partnered up with Green Up Vermont on Green Up Day, to keep the state beautiful! Team members from Mount Snow, Okemo and Stowe helped to make a Guinness World Records attempt for the most expansive litter pick up team ever, covering all 223 miles of Vermont Route 100 – The Skier’s Highway. Thank you to all our team members who help us live our Do Good core value every day.

Mount Sunapee’s Adam Cummings, lift maintenance team lead, is known for his love of the great outdoors. This past April, Adam was recognized as Lift Mechanic of the Year at the Lift Maintenance Seminar - an industry-wide gathering held since 1978. This prestigious award recognizes top lift mechanics in the region. Adam's deep-rooted passion for the ski industry has driven his career, since his first job at Mount Sunapee in 2003 as a lift operator. Now as the lift maintenance team lead at Sunapee, he helps the lift maintenance team maintain, diagnose, and repair lifts with a constant positive attitude and contagious joy. Congratulations, Adam!

Congratulations to our team members who made the PSIA - AASI Professional Ski Instructors of America - American Association of Snowboard Instructors 2024-28 National Team! After a week-long, selection process, instructors representing adaptive, alpine, cross country, snowboard, and telemark disciplines from across the U.S., will encourage learning across snowsports disciplines as part of the National Team Congratulations to: Dusty Dyar, Crested Butte - alpine Mike Hafer, Vail Mountain - alpine Elizabeth Matalavage, Stevens Pass - alpine Peter Novom, Okemo Mountain Resort - alpine Ben Potts, Breckenridge Resort – alpine Keith Rodney, Mount Snow - telemark Michael Rogan, Heavenly Resort - alpine technical coach Chris Rogers, Vail Mountain – snowboard Michael Stanley, Breckenridge Resort – telemark Lyndsey Stevens, Vail Mountain - snowboard Jesse Yedwab, Breckenridge Resort - snowboard Read more here: https://bit.ly/3wbVZSl

Have you gone skiing or snowboarding in Switzerland? Let us give you another reason to go: Crans-Montana Mountain Resort is now officially part of the Vail Resorts network! ⛰️ Starting winter 2024/25, eligible Epic Pass Holders will have access to this renowned destination ski resort with a steep history as an outdoor sports haven in Switzerland and around the world. Celebrate the closing of our acquisition by learning more here: https://bit.ly/3xZuxYu

This season, the team at Breckenridge's Pioneer Crossing has been piloting a program to eliminate all single-use plastics in our guest-facing operations. This effort not only supports our Commitment to Zero, a goal to reach a zero net operating footprint by 2030 across our network, it also supports local community partners like town of Breckenridge as they prepare to eliminate all single-use plastic water bottles this summer. Learn more from food & beverage senior director, Marissa Frutchey.

As a company rooted in the outdoors, #EarthDay isn't once a year for us – it's daily. The environment is one of our most important stakeholders, and our sustainability work is vital not only to the sport, but to our communities and team members as well. We're proud of our continued progress and to our dedicated teams who lead the way in grassroots efforts like Vermont Green Up Day, Whistler Blackcomb Earth Week 2024, and more. We also reported earlier this year that we are on track to reach a zero net operating footprint by 2030. Learn more about our Environmental and Social Responsibility work: https://bit.ly/44eqh3u

What’s white, red, and black all over? Beaver Creek’s newest avalanche dog trainee, Bridger! The 12-week-old female Labrador joined the ranks of Beaver Creek Ski Patrol two weeks ago and is being trained by handler and fourth year patroller Alex Oberg. Over the next two years, Bridger will train to validate with COLORADO-RAPID AVALANCHE DEPLOYMENT. She will start with socialization and obedience training, before honing her skills to use her nose to find scent under snow. Welcome to the team, Bridger!

To create an Experience of a Lifetime for our guests, we first need to create an Experience of a Lifetime for our team members. That means taking care of one another. We continue to invest in work that destigmatizes mental health and provides access to mental health resources in our mountain communities. Our commitment to mental health is the cornerstone of Epic Wellness, which today was recognized by the Mountain Travel Symposium with their Summit Award. Epic Wellness aims to make access to mental health care easy, affordable and practical. Led by Dr. Corey Levy and Alexis Ramirez, LPC, Epic Wellness provides free therapy for employees, their dependents and household members, like roommates, on day one of employment, expansive therapy options, wellness coaching, and much more. Congratulations to our Epic Wellness team for this recognition!