Independent ski resorts are laboring in the shadow of dueling giants to find their niche in an industry swiftly dividing into two distinct camps.
High-profile independent resorts like Jackson Hole, Crested Butte, Telluride, Alta and Snowbird have aligned with the brawling behemoths behind , which, at $899 each, offer access to more than 50 of North America’s 600-plus ski areas and host about a quarter of the continent’s skier visits.
Aaron Brill, whose frill-free Silverton Mountain ski area in southwest Colorado has not attracted partnership offers from either the Epic or Ikon, said the smaller, independent resorts unable to land a spot on the two dominant passes will suffer “devastating impacts.”
“Even for the small guys who manage to find their way onto a mega, big-box pass, they will experience problems with sustainability moving forward,” Brill said. “Small areas will have problems adapting to such large changes in the market. Areas that have run a certain way for decades don’t have a ton of options on how to pivot to adapt to lowering prices.”
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