The rise of Epic Resort ski passes has raised concerns in ski towns and ski communities. Although the passes bring more traffic through many ski towns booming the economies, they also bring issues along with the increase in people.

Epic passes have increasingly been gaining the reputation for overselling ski passes. On the Vail Resort website it states, “Today, our publicly-traded company is the leading global mountain resort operator with 37 resorts in 15 states and three countries — including some of the world’s most iconic destinations as well as travel-centric retail and hospitality businesses”(Vail Resorts). Overselling ski passes causes crowded towns and ski slopes to create an atmosphere that does not reflect the mountain town ski experience. Long lines make it hard to learn and take multiple runs. The lines can be hour waits, especially on powder days when everybody flocks to the mountains.

I drove down to vail to see what the employees’ perspective is. Mac Schmidt, a 21-year-old who works at Vail resort, where Epic pass began, has seen how it has impacted the mountain and town throughout time. He has worked as a lift operator since he was in high school and has watched the traffic exponentially increase. “Often times on powder days the lines can be nearly hour waits or more. You can only get a few runs in even if you are willing to wait”(Schmidt). Vail specifically has almost become unskiable similar to many other Epic resorts just because of the crowds. People have a hard time even getting 5 runs in a day when it snows.

The resorts are not the only piece of the infrastructure impacted by Epic resorts. Highways have increasingly been filled with traffic as so many people have access to the mountains. The highway systems have not been able to keep up with Epic passes sales. I-70 is an example of how Epic passes have wreaked havoc on traffic; eastbound traffic on Sundays is bumper to bumper for miles because so many people went to the mountains and are headed back.

The influx of visitors that has come with conglomerate ski passes has created more issues within the resort and town. Many resorts struggle to find enough employees to cater to the large amounts of skiers and snowboarders on the mountain. If the pool of employees wasn’t small enough many of these Epic pass resorts do not have the infrastructure to support the number of employees needed to cater to the guests. Epic Resorts exemplify how the ski industry has changed for the worse. Companies like this are money hungry and care little about the culture and resorts that they are buying and taking over. The desire for money is the reason Epic resorts are overselling passes and creating an overcrowded atmosphere.

Many people would argue that Epic resorts have opened up accessibility to mountains for many more people that have not had access before. It has helped the ski towns boom economically. I organized a video call with an employee at Snowbasin in Utah. This resort has not completely sold the mountain to Epic resorts but however has partnered and allowed pass holders 7 days on the mountain each season. Briggs Joyce who works at Snowbasin in Utah said, “Epic passes have done well for the resort mostly”(Joyce). Briggs also mentioned that Snowbasin has been a lesser-known resort in Utah due to its distance from salt lake city and the other resorts. Epic passes have been able to bring more traffic farther up Northern Utah.

Although there have been some positive impacts brought by Epic resorts to some mountain towns and resorts, there has been an overwhelming amount of issues brought with them. Overcrowding and long lift lines are just the beginning of the issues caused by Epic resorts taking over local mountain resorts. There are other conglomerate ski pass companies such as Ikon; Ikon has been able to do what Epic has not by delivering affordable access to many but by reducing overcrowding through pass purchase deadlines and caps on the number of passes sold. The issue does not lie within these ski pass companies that deliver affordable methods of skiing, but within Epic resorts that would choose money over preserving the ski community and culture at local resorts.