Industry News
Park City Mountain Resort in Utah plans to spin its lifts to kick off the 2024-25 season this Friday, November 22. However, despite opening day right around the corner, the ongoing contract negotiations between Vail and the Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association (PCPSPA) have still not reached a satisfactory conclusion.
With the PCPSPA’s last contract expiring in April, workers now face a similar scenario from four years ago. The 2020-21 season left patrollers with the challenge of drawing up a new contract in an effort to boost wages for the essential resort workers. An agreement was reached in January 2022, bringing the starting hourly wage of patrollers up from $13.25 an hour to $15 an hour, with incentives offered to those working both base areas of the resort. Shortly after, Vail’s CEO Kirsten Lynch, announced all new hires across the entire Vail conglomerate would start at $20 an hour and that new patrollers would start at $21 an hour.
Neighboring resorts in the Wasatch Mountains set a standard PCPSPA is hoping to emulate. Other resorts have already been reporting starting their new hire patrollers at about $20 an hour, which is even higher than what PCPSPA originally fought for at $16.70 an hour during their 2020-21 season negotiations. Deer Valley Resort patrollers had already been making an average of $22 an hour, which, for patrollers already living and working in Park City, was a better compensation package. PCPSPA had seen a lot of their employees opt for these adjacent resorts with better pay, leaving Park City Resort understaffed and employees feeling overworked, picking up the extra weight.
Fair wages have been a constant concern for the PCPSPA. With inflation leaving some employees struggling to pay for essentials like gas for the commute, residencies in Park City being expensive, and resort prices rising every year, workers are considering an improvement from previous negotiation agreements. With the required medical education and commitment to long-hour shifts, PCPSPA recognizes that despite improvements made in the last couple rounds of negotiations, the current wages are still not equal to the standards the employees are expected to work at, and not enough compensation to reach even a livable wage for their employees.
- Related: Should We Pay Ski Patrollers More?
Recognizing that Ski Patrol is an essential workforce to keep the mountain thriving, PCPSPA will work through the start of the season. Pre-season training has already been underway for new hires. Despite a contract still in development, ski patrollers are still expected and willing to go to work the mountain, ensuring opening weekend goes smoothly and being ready to attend to any and all incidents to keep skiers and snowboarders safe.
