Park City Mountain Resort has appeared to many Parkites to be jammed with skiers and snowboarders during the 2021-2022 ski season, spurring widespread complaints about lift lines, other services at the resort and traffic on roads heading to and from PCMR.
But the top staffer at the mountain resort said on Thursday the number of skiers and snowboarders during the ski season has not been as high as critics have believed. Mike Goar, the vice president and chief operating officer at PCMR, made a rare appearance at a Park City Council meeting to address widespread complaints in the community about the operations of the resort this ski season.
In one of his notable comments, Goar told Mayor Nann Worel and the City Council that PCMR has not set a daily record for the number of skiers and snowboarders on the slopes on any individual day during the ski season. He also indicated peak lift lines and wait times at lifts are no longer than typical. Goar, though, conceded there has been more traffic in the community than before. Goar in a later interview clarified that, since the middle of January, season-over-season wait times exceeding 10 minutes at the busiest lifts, on the most crowded days, are not greater than the last ski season.
He said at the meeting PCMR has encountered challenges in staffing. The lack of a full staff has resulted in the resort’s inability to open certain lifts and the related closures of terrain. The staffing issues have also impacted the food and beverage services, he said.
“It’s tough for our skiers and riders,” Goar said, adding the “optics of it are really tough.”
He said PCMR remains committed to opening lifts and continues to recruit staff for the current ski season. Goar also indicated there have been complaints about a scarcity of parking at the resort.
Goar’s comments were made in front of a crowd in the City Council chambers that appeared to be weighted toward PCMR critics. The appearance was scheduled two weeks after another crowd at a City Council meeting delivered a broadside against PCMR as speakers at that gathering tore into the operations at the resort this ski season. There is concern the experience at PCMR could leave visitors displeased about their overall stay in the community. The role of the municipal government, though, remains unclear since City Hall has little influence on the day-to-day operations of a private business like PCMR even as the municipal government has attempted to address some of the traffic issues in recent weeks.
City councilors were critical of the situation, raising a series of issues. City Councilor Max Doilney summarized the sentiment in the community by describing the PCMR experience this ski season as diminished. Jeremy Rubell, another member of the City Council, told Goar that PCMR owner Vail Resorts is leveraging the name of the community as he said Park City cares more about the impacts than the financial rewards. City Councilor Becca Gerber described the crowds in Park City as she spoke about the impacts. She said it seems to some Parkites they are “trapped” in their neighborhoods.
“There are a lot of people heading to your base area,” Gerber said to Goar.
City Councilor Tana Toly said Parkites are not headed to PCMR and questioned at what point should it be the responsibility of Vail Resorts rather than the municipal government to fund certain PCMR-related services like transit. City Councilor Ryan Dickey claimed physicians are indicating there have been more collisions on the slopes at PCMR as he asked about steps for improvement at PCMR in the next ski season.
One of the speakers from the public on Thursday, Old Town resident Michael Kaplan, said there are issues throughout Vail Resorts this ski season. Kaplan during the earlier City Council meeting used the story of a cold lunchtime hot dog at PCMR to symbolize wider issues at the resort.
The meeting on Thursday was designed as a dialogue between PCMR and the elected officials. The City Council was not scheduled to make decisions and it was not clear whether the meeting will lead to additional discussions between PCMR and the elected officials themselves even as the resort and City Hall staffers continue their regular communications.
The discussion on Thursday was held as Park City reaches a stretch of the ski season that is usually busy. There are expected to be large crowds this weekend for the Presidents Day holiday followed by the spring-break visitors throughout March.