by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 1:10 PM ET, Wed January 8, 2025
Update: January 8, 2024 at 1:15 ET
Ski patrollers on-strike at the Park City Mountain Resort in Utah announced they'd reached a tentative deal ending the labor strike after nearly two weeks, signalling hope for skiers, snowboarders and others hoping to enjoy the slopes.
The Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association issued a joint statement with the resort, saying they'd reached a tentative agreement through April 2027. The union was set to vote today, January 8, to ratify it.
The statement also reads, "Everyone looks forward to restoring normal resort operations and moving forward together as one team."
The main reasons for the strike by some 200-odd ski patrollers was an income that couldn't compete with the high cost of living in Park City, along with improved benefits, longevity pay and more.
Original Text
Travelers to Park City, Utah hoping to enjoy skiing and snowboarding on fresh powder might find it hard to do so this winter, as the Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association continues a strike at Park City Resort that began December 27, 2024.
According to CNN Business, the Park City Resort manages North America’s largest ski area by acreage. Park City offers 350 trails, but according to the resort’s trail tracker, only 104 were open when this news was written, with many lifts also closed.
Travelers headed to Park City should be aware of limited skiing and snowboarding opportunities, long lines at lifts and larger crowds at the open trails.
Without ski patrollers, proper safety precautions can’t be maintained, and therefore many trails aren’t assessed for avalanche risks, leading to their closure. The strike comes at what ski patrollers are calling one of their busiest times of the year.
The ski patrol association is in communication with Vail Resorts, which owns Park City Resort and 41 other resorts across the globe. Among demands, the ski patrollers desire higher wages that more closely align with Park City’s high costs of living. It demands a $23 an hour starting wage. The union also demands higher longevity pay for senior patrollers, longer contracts and improved benefits.
The union’s demands, according to Quinn Graves, one of the union’s business managers and a ski patroller, would cost $900,000 a year for a company making well over $200 million.
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