Ski Resort Conditions and Weather Forecasts

Whistler Blackcomb Purchased by Vail Resorts

In what can only be described as a shock that dominates the skiing landscape, a mutually beneficial buy out of Whistler Blackcomb stock is about to occur from Vail Resorts.

I’m no expert in company acquisitions, but this is a big deal.

Firstly… your Mountain Collective pass is a good deal. Already though, the Vail Epic Pass is an unbelievable deal. Roll a Whistler Blackcomb season pass into it and O.M.G!

Talk about incredible value.

This is huge. The two most influential players in the ski industry are now one. Good luck everyone else.

Ok, so let’s look at the Pro’s and Con’s.

Pro’s

When you control most of the major resorts in North America, you control most of the innovation, intelligence and technical expertise as well. The strong get stronger

When you control most of the major resorts in North America, you control most of the innovation, intelligence and technical expertise as well. The strong get stronger

From 2017/2018, your Epic Pass will now include Whistler Blackcomb as well as Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Park City, Heavenly, Northstar, Kirkwood, Wilmot, Afton Alps, Mt. Brighton, Perisher (Australia) and Arapahoe Basin

NOTE: WB will not be a part of the Epic Pass for 2016/2017. Mountain Collective passes will still be honored

If you buy a single pass, you can ski pretty much wherever you want

Vail will no doubt be looking to improve their facilities so that anyone keen for a ski has to go to one of their resorts for the best experience

Both shareholders of Vail and WB will make money from this deal – it’s a technical business thing I’m told, but it’s a win-win

Con’s

Vail will buy these resorts and commercialize them – ummm… yes. Businesses need to make a profit if you haven’t noticed. Even the small resorts need to make money, they are generally not as good at it though – and we can all see how they’ve “ruined” other resorts, right? Um… no?

Vail will own everything. Well… not everything, but again, this is GOOD news. If you have the best in the business gaining new assets, insight, intelligence and resources, you can only get better

I’ve heard a lot of people whinging about this for one reason or another, but I am yet to hear a single logical, sensible argument that actually makes sense on why this is a bad deal. All these arguments can generally be placed into the “I don’t like change” basket

For Aussies who are already pinching themselves with their Perisher pass giving them international tickets as well, this is a huge deal as Whistler Blackcomb is one of the most popular overseas ski destinations for Australians. Some would argue that WB is already over-run with Aussies and no doubt this will only get more out of control!

Think about it. If you are an Australian with a Perisher Epic Pass, from next season (or the season after depending on the change over), you now can ski for free in WB. Meanwhile, if you generally buy another season pass in Australia, but spend time at WB, surely you would consider changing your local hill to Perisher as it will save you probably $1000 or so. If you are a family, $4000 in the pocket just by skiing Perisher and Whistler Blackcomb is a lot of loose change to spend on activities on your vacation.

And remember, if Vail has your season pass loyalty, you need to do things like stay, eat and play as well. Where are you going to spend those dollars. It’s a huge deal, like I said.

But what do you think? A good deal or otherwise? It’s obvious I think this is a great deal for everyone, but what about you?

Pete Kvist
Head Honcho of SRTV

Pete Kvist began skiing in Australia over 20 years ago and has been addicted to skiing and all things snow ever since. He has worked several seasons on the mountain as a lift operator and has also spent some time in ski resort media departments (so yes, he knows the tricks of the trade).