After a turbulent winter that put the resort under intense scrutiny, Park City Mountain is preparing for the 2025-26 ski season with a focus on rebuilding trust and consistency.
Last year’s challenges stemmed from a 12-day ski patrol strike, which resulted in long lift lines and less than 20% of terrain available during peak holiday crowds. The disruption strained staff, disappointed visitors and damaged the resort’s reputation after drawing national attention to Park City Mountain and its parent company, Vail Resorts.
“It was incredibly difficult. It was hard on every employee. It was hard on all the guests who came. It was hard on our reputation, and it certainly was hard on the community,” said Park City Mountain COO Deirdra Walsh this week.
The strike, called by ski patrollers during contract negotiations over wages, benefits and alleged unfair labor practices, ended on Jan. 7 with over three months left in the ski season.
In the aftermath, Walsh said the team shifted attention to expanding terrain and making the most of the season that remained. Now, the resort and its leadership are looking to restore trust among guests and strengthen communication with employees, visitors and the broader community.
“The best thing that we can do is deliver a great guest experience. I think it’s step No. 1 to build back guest trust,” she said. “Step No. 2, that our lesson certainly from this past season, is where can myself or the team be more transparent in our communications? Where can we over-communicate? Where can we communicate more effectively?”
Walsh said the resort’s approach to the new season builds on the sense of teamwork that carried staff through last winter, with a focus on both employee and guest experience.
“We were always teammates,” she said. “And I think that’s something that’s so true of every employee that works here. Just the reason that you choose to be here is often because this is your family, the people that you work side by side with.”
Walsh said employee retention rates remain high despite the labor unrest that defined last season, and recruiting for winter positions has been strong.
“As we get ready for this winter season. I think staffing is always obviously a critical component of us being able to enable a great guest experience,” said Walsh. “Our retention numbers are really high from last season.”
Despite the challenges of the past year, she expressed optimism about the resort’s direction. Still, the memory of long wait times and crowded slopes lingers for many Park City Mountain guests. Visitors said they received little advance notice about the strike, leading to confusion and frustration for those who had traveled from around the world during the holiday period — a breakdown in communication that Walsh and Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz have acknowledged and pledged to address in the year ahead.
Walsh has lived in Park City for more than 20 years, and she said she views her role as being both a community member and a resort leader.
“I feel really lucky and full of gratitude. I’ve lived in this community for over 20 years. I’ve raised my family here. Some of my dearest friends are here. I feel very much a part of the community and then I also have this additional role as someone who leads the largest resort in the United States.”
Walsh emphasized the reach of her local leadership team, extending beyond business operations into community engagement.
“We are responsible for the operations and the decisions day to day here at the resort. That’s how I show up every day,” she said. “I have a great deal of resources and expertise that actually do nothing but want to support the success of this resort. That’s why they exist.”
Ownership of Park City Mountain came under discussion this fall when Matthew Prince, local businessman and co-owner of The Park Record, inquired about purchasing the resort from Vail Resorts, suggesting it should return to local control.
Walsh emphasized the resort’s record of investment and the advantages of combining local leadership with the resources of a global company.
“We constantly invest in this resort’s infrastructure, and there’s no stopping us from doing that well into the future,” Walsh said. “We’re the largest resort in the U.S., and yet there are so many moments here that are deeply personal.”
Through Vail Epic Promise, Park City Mountain directs about $6 million each year to local nonprofits, with grant decisions made by a committee of local staff.
“When we thrive, the community thrives with us. If we can help lift up these incredible organizations in the community, then all of us get to thrive together,” she said.
Park City Mountain has leaned on the broader Vail Resorts network to strengthen operations, drawing in specialists from other resorts to work together on major projects such as the full-haul rope replacement of the Quicksilver Gondola this summer.
“We have incredible opportunities because of the size and scale of Vail Resorts that we can invest in skillset through our own best practices and through time shared working next to each other,” she said.
Vail Resorts has invested $144 million in Park City Mountain over the past 11 years, Walsh said. Looking to the season ahead, Park City Mountain guests will see both immediate upgrades and long-term projects in motion.
The new Sunrise gondola is set to open this winter, while approvals are pending for a Cabriolet gondola replacement alongside future improvements to the Eagle and Silverlode lifts.
The new parking garage at Canyons Village is also set to open its first phase this season, designed to ease congestion and improve access to the Canyons Village base area.
She said that the resort’s priorities extend beyond infrastructure where things like uphill skiing, with free access to the uphill route on the resort from 6-8:30 p.m. throughout the season, remains a central commitment.
Park City Mountain is also preparing for its role as a venue in the 2034 Winter Games. Walsh said the resort will send staff to Cortina in 2026 to observe operations and guest logistics firsthand.
“We’re just excited to welcome the world here at Park City and how that extends out into the community,” she said. “How do we all use this as an opportunity to really galvanize and come together, which I think is one of the things that Park City does best.”