Negotiators for Vail Resorts and the Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association met with federal mediators Thursday as the patroller union strike at Park City Mountain Resort moved into its seventh day.
The strike in combination with a poor early season snowfall has sharply limited Park City's open terrain, said the ski area's COO Deirdra Walsh in an Instagram post. On Thursday, 24 of the mountain's 41 lifts were operating and just 75 of the ski area's 346 runs were open, according to the mountain's website. By comparison, nearby Deer Valley had 21 of 24 lifts open and 73 of 121 runs.
Angry social media posts over the past several days have shown exceptionally long lift lines at Park City Mountain, the largest ski area in the U.S.
In a Jan. 1 press release, the patrollers union said that the two sides remained far from a resolution after mediation sessions on Monday and Tuesday. The union is calling for entry-level pay of $23 per hour, up from the current $21, along with better overall pay packages and improved benefits.
"Given the major impacts our work stoppage has had on resort operations, we are surprised the company's counterproposal is still far from what we feel is acceptable," said Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association vice president Nik Smith.
Travel Weekly has reached out to Vail Resorts for comment.
In her Instagram post, Walsh said that while the strike continues, the mountain will prioritize opening its most popular beginning and intermediate slopes and delay the opening of expert terrain.
"To our guests who are here, I want to thank you for your patience," she said. "I am committed to delivering you a safe experience."
The Park City patrollers union said that over the past several days there normally would have been more than 100 ski patrollers working Park City Mountain Resort, but just a fraction of that total are working.
In a Tuesday letter to Vail Resorts CEO Kirsten Lynch, ski patroller unions at the Vail Resorts-owned Crested Butte, Breckenridge and Keystone ski areas joined the Park City Mountain union in accusing the company of coercing patrol leaders from other mountains into traveling to Park City to work there.
"Our patrol teams are essential to ensuring a safe, well-managed environment on the slopes, and when these teams are undermined by a lack of trusted leadership, it puts both guests and staff at greater risk," the letter reads.