Industry News
The Telluride ski patrol union approved a new contract that will allow the Colorado ski resort to reopen this weekend. Telluride Ski Resort patrollers went on strike on December 27, and resort owner Chuck Horning responded by closing the ski area. Negotiations between Telluride and the Telluride Professional Ski Patrol Association began in June 2025 but have slowed significantly in the last several weeks. “We’re happy to share that the Ski Patrol Union has accepted our last offer, allowing operations to resume,” Telluride resort posted on its Instagram page.
The last three offers the ski patrol association received from Telluride were all identical and did not make any movement towards an agreement. The union wanted to secure pay increases for the ski patrol’s most experienced and highly skilled members. The strike came at a crucial time for the town of Telluride, which relies greatly on the revenue generated during the holidays. “You look at retailers who filled up their shops in hopes of holiday spending and a ski season of spending that don’t have the margins to just hold on to their inventory without the money coming in,” Telluride Mayor Teddy Errico said in an interview with Denver’s 9News. “And we’ve just really proven to ourselves how fragile we are,” Mayor Errico added.
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Telluride is beginning the process of safely reopening the mountain immediately, following the same careful approach used during early-season operations, according to a statement released by the resort. This Saturday, December 10, Lift 4 will open, providing access to Butterfly, Lower Misty Maiden, and Boomerang. The resort is planning to open the Super Loop (Lifts 5 and 6 with ski access to See Forever), with additional lifts and terrain coming soon.
The union didn’t specify the amount of movement made regarding ski patrollers’ wages in the agreement. “While we are ultimately very disappointed to not address our broken wage structure, we are immensely proud of our efforts that have led to this financial movement,” the union said in a statement. However, a company representative said that they are confident that this last offer represented a fair compromise.
Mayor Erico said it’s going to take time for businesses to get back on their feet. The union said it is appreciative of the support it has received during an extremely scary time for the people of Telluride. “To you, we say thank you. You have truly been an uplifting source of positivity through this, even as the future was so uncertain,” the union said. It stated that it realizes how difficult this strike has been for a great deal of people. “For businesses, resort workers, community members, and everyone, we appreciate your patience,” the union added.
