Vail president Blaise Carrig arrives to reassure PCMR employees

On Thursday, just a few hours after Vail Resorts’ acquisition of Park City Mountain Resort was finalized, Vail Mountain Division President Blaise Carrig met with PCMR’s top managers.

The task was similar to the role Carrig played in June 2013 when Talisker turned over management of Canyons to Vail Resorts.

Carrig, who is also known to Parkites for his stint as head of Canyons under American Skiing Company from 1997 to 2002, said he arrived in town Wednesday evening in hopes that the sale would close.

“We wanted to wait until Jenni and John (PCMR president Jenni Smith and Powdr CEO John Cumming) had a chance to talk to the staff. We wanted to give them some space,” Carrig said.

But Vail also wanted to move quickly to reassure current employees that their jobs were secure and to shift their attention toward the coming ski season.

According to Carrig, “they seemed receptive,” Carrig said. They are absorbing a lot. It is a big day of change, surprise. I think there was both relief and anxiety.”

Carrig said his message was: “Keep doing what you are doing.”

To a staffer who said he was planning to lease some trucks, Carrig said, “Go do it.”

The next few weeks of transition will be busy for Carrig, who has been named interim chief operating officer until a new resort president is named.

“We are in the process of staffing up for the season, recruitment, and getting systems in place,” he said, adding that current PCMR employees will be transitioning to Vail’s payroll plan this month.”

When asked to compare PCMR and Vail’s benefits like health care, Carrig said, “Our benefit plan offers lots of choices. Hopefully, at the end of the day people will think it is as good or better.”

According to a press release issued by Powdr on Thursday, the terms of the sale to Vail Resorts stipulated “that Vail must retain PCMR employees in their current roles.”

Carrig confirmed the stipulation would be honored, saying, “We are excited to be here. We are here to work with them. We already see them as Vail employees and want to support them in the great job they do.”