FWIW, there's a mini comment war going on my social media posts, and it seems like 80-90% of people are siding with the patrollers. That tracks--most people who ski understand how ski ops work at a basic level (i.e., with respect to VR/Alterra, patrol, lifties, etc.) and know they depend on patrollers more than anything to keep them safe with avvy control and EMS. Everyone in PC knew that the patrollers were basically asking for a $2 hourly increase to $25 (although that doesn't include other demands) while the C-Suites are making Millions annually in salary, and as VR is publicly-traded, that Net Revenue last year was $1.4B. This isn't exactly the sports talk radio crowd (no offense intended). VR employees were tight-lipped, but it's not hard to figure out they were just trying to avoid getting fired while supporting their patrol colleagues. I got a kick out of the fact that the Surefoot shop at the base of Canyons had a very visible sign supporting patrol.
The other 10-20% of people taking the other side are pointing at red herrings ("Don't you know that patrol doesn't operate the lifts, bro?") and calling others elitists for being skiers and complaining about anything.
As someone who worked in corporate America, I can understand that VR sees the trend of unionization and is making an example/precedent out of PC Patrol, but the disconnect between the suits at VR and their customers is palpable. VR first didn't notify visitors at all, didn't limit day passes at all, denied the existence of the strike, blamed the customer experience on other factors, and only recently finally admitted that the strike had an effect on ops. It was widely reported, but VR's stock took a 6% dive on Jan 2, the first day of trading in 2025. It really doesn't seem like VR realizes that Alterra exists, and there are ways to minimize how much money you give to VR if you want to make that a priority.
What I'm most interested in now is how long the strike lasts, what position VR takes w/r/t highly trained employees (patrol, Mtn safety, ops, etc.), and if VR offers any olive branch to guests. With MLK weekend just around the corner and plenty of people still booking trips for later in the season, VR could make this giant problem even bigger. Keystone, Crested Butte, and Breck (I think) patrol unions have already written to VR and expressed solidarity with the PC Patrol. Side tangent, VR brought in midlevel employees with patrol experience and patrollers from other VR resorts to cover the gap. Two issues here--first, they were allegedly paid $75/hour which is just shitty, but also harmed other patrol units at these resorts since they were unexpectedly losing leaders during the holiday period. But even with all of that, I'd expect the MBAs littering VR's ranks to realize they're going to lose real money in cancellations and brand loyalty if they don't change their tack soon.