Vail Mountain Resort is big, and when I say big, I mean huge.
There’s multiple bases with lifts rising out of the valley floor. The north facing slopes suck in 350 inches of powder a year and there’s enough terrain at Vail to keep pretty much every skier interested.
The backside of Vail has 7 legendary back bowls, and if you get a midweek powder day, finding powder stashes in these bowls is not that difficult
The mountain is located on the I-70 corridor and is close enough the Denver to attract thousands of day skiers. The interstate on a snowy day often turns into a parking lot and the traffic problems just aren’t on the interstate. Finding a parking spot in town near the lifts is a challenge.
Vail has also been a favourite of international skiers for decades. The village is charming and Vail is a lot closer to the Denver International Airport than other high profile resorts.
Vail is also a genuine four seasons resort with mountain biking, golf, white water rafting, hiking, music festivals and more activities keeping people entertained when the lifts close.
Last year Vail Resorts increased their base pay by over 30% across all their North American mountains. This reflects the chronic housing shortage in ski towns and in particular Vail itself.
House prices and rents in town rose steadily for decades and have skyrocketed during covid. Studios and 1 bedroom apartments typically start at $2000 per month. Despite the pay rises, breaking even over the winter in Vail is getting extremely hard for seasonal workers. When it comes to housing, it’s two in a room minimum, and those walk-in-robes become extra bedrooms. That space under the stairs? Well that’s a bedroom too when you pin up a couple of sheets.
Just coming up with your first, last and deposit (3 months rent in advance) makes moving to Vail impossible unless you’ve saved up many thousands of dollars. This is the reason why Vail Resorts are building employee housing as quickly as possible in Vail and surrounding towns
If you do take a job in Vail, it either needs to come with employee housing or you will need friends already in town with a spare bed for you. Lots of people accept jobs in Vail, only to turn them down because they can’t find a financially viable place to live.
More and more seasonal workers are living out of town and doing long commutes. Towns like Avon, Gypsum and Leadville are now worker-bee towns for Vail.
Yes the skiing at Vail is great, and yes there’s plenty to do all year round, but if you want to live there earning $20-30ph, you need to either sacrifice your privacy or be on good terms with the Bank of Mum and Dad.