Ski patrollers at Park City Mountain Resort appear to be headed back to the slopes.
Park City Mountain and Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association announced late Tuesday that they have reached a new tentative agreement through April 2027.
“The union’s bargaining committee is unanimously endorsing ratification by its unit with a vote scheduled to take place on January 8. The tentative agreement addresses both parties’ interests and will end the current strike. Everyone looks forward to restoring normal resort operations and moving forward together as one team. Until contract ratification, neither party will be accepting media requests,” according to a joint statement.
Neither the resort nor the union provided details about the agreement.
If ratified, the new contract would end a strike that started Dec. 27 when about 200 members of the Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association walked off the job amid Park City Mountain’s busy holiday season. In addition to asking for a starting wage increase of $2, bringing the hourly wage to $23, the union sought holiday pay, an in-season health care stipend, flex time off, a cost-of-living adjustment, a better pay scale for experienced patrollers and more accessible parental leave.
The association’s contract with Vail Resorts, Park City Mountain’s parent company, expired last April. The two sides had been unable to reach agreement on a new contract since talks began nearly nine months ago. They agreed to mediation, with negotiation sessions on Monday and Tuesday.
Vail countered that ski patrol wages at Park City Mountain have increased more than 50% over the past four seasons, far outpacing inflation, to $25 an hour on average. The day the union went on strike, its wage demands averaged $7 an hour more per patroller, not $2 an hour, and does not include the value of other asked for benefits and compensation, according to Vail.
The strike disrupted operations at the resort for the past nearly two weeks, leading to skiers and snowboarders complaining about crowded slopes, long lift lines and limited open terrain.
“We are meeting with the union nearly every day and working hard to reach an agreement, with both parties negotiating in good faith. We remain committed to safely operating Park City Mountain for our guests and employees, and this week lift lines have been under 10 minutes on average,” Bill Rock, president of Vail Resort’s Mountain Division, said in a statement earlier Tuesday.
The tentative agreement came just hours after Park City Mayor Nann Worel and the Park City Council urged Vail to immediately resolve the sometimes contentious labor dispute.
“After yet another weekend of confusion and disruption due to the unresolved labor dispute at Park City Mountain, the City Council and I urgently call on Vail Resorts to take immediate action to conclude negotiations and end the uncertainty,” according to the statement.
“Park City Mountain is a cornerstone of Park City’s community well-being, and it is Vail Resorts’ responsibility as an essential employer to resolve this conflict without further delay.”