I find it very surprising that ski areas are willing to forgo peak season. How may patrollers could Telluride have 100-200? We cant be talking about that much money in total. I think other labor cost would be much higher at the ski areas. I would imagine millions in lost revenue for being closed Christmas to New Years. No lessons, food sales, day tickets, etc.Well, Telluride's ski season for 2025/26 is over for now. The Park City strike lasted 12 days to attain similar hourly wages.
I feel bad for visitors coming during Christmas/New Year's - December 27 to January 1st are the busiest ski days - and Spring Break.
But the workers who sign leases will have their hours cut. Tips? Gone.
Chuck Hornig suffers from billionaire victim mentality.
What Telluride’s Impending Ski Patrol Strike Means for the Ski Industry — PeakRankings
The first full resort shutdown due to a ski patrol labor strike in North American history has important implications for you as a consumer.www.peakrankings.com
What This Means For You (Even If You’re Not Visiting Telluride)
Even if you’re not traveling there this week, the Telluride shutdown underscores a new reality in today’s ski world: unresolved ski patrol labor negotiations are now a material vacation risk.
It appears skiers will need to watch labor negotiations when choosing ski resorts in the US, since they are not opposed to striking during peak-value periods.
More Telluride Mismanagement
- Thread starter ChrisC
- Start date
EMSC
Well-known member
If I recall it's about 80 patrollers. The absolute $ that Chuck is having a tantrum over is tiny. Probably a rounding error for the resort. He'll lose far, far more by closing for a prime week than the entire 3 year contract would cost to just pay it.
But it has nothing to do with logic for Chuck Horning. It only has to do with his ego and need to "win" by forcing the whole town to bend to his whim.
ChrisC
Well-known member
One more item - Chuck own some retail space in Telluride’s largest hotel The Peaks - including its only restaurant.
There was another falling out earlier this Fall, so Chuck just shut down the only restaurant - probably canceling its room service ability too.
www.telluridenews.com
It will be interesting to see what Full Epic Pass reimbursement gets negotiated with Vail.
Anyways, I think I am focusing more on Kirkwood and Whistler in North America this year; they have snow. And Europe.
Telluride might not really catch up snow-wise, and doubt they will spend any money opening up its steep terrain.
There was another falling out earlier this Fall, so Chuck just shut down the only restaurant - probably canceling its room service ability too.
The Peaks ‘fires’ Telski after rental management agreement impasse
There’s been a fair amount of turmoil in Mountain Village as the relationship between The Peaks Resort and Spa and Telluride Ski and Golf has soured to the point of
It will be interesting to see what Full Epic Pass reimbursement gets negotiated with Vail.
Anyways, I think I am focusing more on Kirkwood and Whistler in North America this year; they have snow. And Europe.
Telluride might not really catch up snow-wise, and doubt they will spend any money opening up its steep terrain.
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The Peaks was the site of the 2004 NASJA annual meeting, probably the most upscale facility to ever host that event.
I don't know much about Horning. Is he a self made businessman or someone who inherited a lot of money and is in the process of losing it all? This doesnt make any financial sense. However, I wonder if its about a precedent and perhaps all workers looking for a salary increase?
tseeb
Well-known member
Colorado Sun article from 12/24 says "The patrollers are seeking a three-year contract with a median wage increase of $8 an hour while the ski area’s last offer in early December was about $4 an hour. The difference between the groups totals about $115,000 over the entirety of the three-year contract." Seems like not much money to billionaire owner and that ski area will lose way more than that by not being open.
The capsule summary:
skitheworld.com
www.realvail.com
Polarizing current views:
Is Telluride’s Chuck Horning the Most Misunderstood Man in Skiing? - SkiTheWorld.com
Telluride doesn’t attract ordinary characters, and Chuck Horning is no exception. The longtime owner of Telluride Ski Resort has spent two decades operating one of North America’s most spectacular — and most logistically difficult — ski destinations. Depending on who you ask, he’s either the...
skitheworld.com
‘It’s time to chuck Chuck’: Telluride owner blasted for inaction on concerts, gondola upgrades - Real Vail
Thursday night was a brutal one for Telluride Ski & Golf owner Chuck Horning, who bore the brunt of a rare public rebuke from the town manager of nearby Mountain Village, which was fully backed by a Telluride City Council member even as Horning reportedly fired his son Chad. Mountain Village...
www.realvail.com
ChrisC
Well-known member
Telluride Mountain Village has some expensive real estate to sell - a large Four Seasons broke ground. The last thing you want potential buyers to think is that their investment would be unusable for the Holidays.
I met him about 15 years ago, riding the Gondola. Seemed more reasonable. Had a bit of a vision for Telluride.
People have speculated that Chuck might have a degree of senility setting in. You are impairing one of your best assets. This will impact revenue and free cash flow, therefore, the valuation.
However, there is no Board, etc.
But this is a guy who punches in some at the local bar, so things are not right.
I met him about 15 years ago, riding the Gondola. Seemed more reasonable. Had a bit of a vision for Telluride.
People have speculated that Chuck might have a degree of senility setting in. You are impairing one of your best assets. This will impact revenue and free cash flow, therefore, the valuation.
However, there is no Board, etc.
But this is a guy who punches in some at the local bar, so things are not right.
Telluride’s plight is publicly recognised by The Gray Lady. 
ChrisC
Well-known member
I have become A LOT less sympathetic to the Telluride Ski Patrol.
Telski/ski company commissioned an MIT consultant to formulate an offer based on 8 similar resorts. The offer on the table is the highest of the peer group. And the current offer increases wages 5% per year for the next 2 years.
They are fighting over a 23% raise vs. a 27% raise they desire.
Telluride Ski Patrol is causing chaos during the most lucrative weeks of the year. Yet, it is aggressively reaching out to local businesses to make significant contributions to its GoFundMe campaign. They want to raise $360k. I am glad they are stuck at $100k. Are they mad - no one is making any money?!
Telski and most town businesses are supporting their employees for 2 weeks since the closure. However, after that, layoffs will follow.
Some other updates:
“Telski is planning to reopen with Lifts 1 and 4,” Clark said when asked about potential restrictions.
Telski made an unsuccessful Christmas-week attempt to get approval from the U.S. Forest Service to reopen. “They put an operational plan in front of the Forest Service, and it was rejected,”
“We’ve authorized a strike tonight,” TPSPA President Graham Hoffman told The Times after the Tuesday meeting. “We set (Dec.) 27th as the earliest date.” The union explained its reasoning in a statement on its Instagram account. “Despite extensive effort and movement from TPSPA to avoid this outcome, the company continues to push a 2.5-week-old LBFO that does not address our concerns,” the post read. “The $65,000 gap between three-year proposals reflects unwillingness from the company to fix a broken wage structure. We need a pathway to attract and retain, and the current proposal from Telski is simply a Band-Aid, not a long-term solution.”
www.denvergazette.com
Telski/ski company commissioned an MIT consultant to formulate an offer based on 8 similar resorts. The offer on the table is the highest of the peer group. And the current offer increases wages 5% per year for the next 2 years.
They are fighting over a 23% raise vs. a 27% raise they desire.
Telluride Ski Patrol is causing chaos during the most lucrative weeks of the year. Yet, it is aggressively reaching out to local businesses to make significant contributions to its GoFundMe campaign. They want to raise $360k. I am glad they are stuck at $100k. Are they mad - no one is making any money?!
Telski and most town businesses are supporting their employees for 2 weeks since the closure. However, after that, layoffs will follow.
Some other updates:
“Telski is planning to reopen with Lifts 1 and 4,” Clark said when asked about potential restrictions.
Telski made an unsuccessful Christmas-week attempt to get approval from the U.S. Forest Service to reopen. “They put an operational plan in front of the Forest Service, and it was rejected,”
“We’ve authorized a strike tonight,” TPSPA President Graham Hoffman told The Times after the Tuesday meeting. “We set (Dec.) 27th as the earliest date.” The union explained its reasoning in a statement on its Instagram account. “Despite extensive effort and movement from TPSPA to avoid this outcome, the company continues to push a 2.5-week-old LBFO that does not address our concerns,” the post read. “The $65,000 gap between three-year proposals reflects unwillingness from the company to fix a broken wage structure. We need a pathway to attract and retain, and the current proposal from Telski is simply a Band-Aid, not a long-term solution.”
Strike in Telluride: What ski patrol is asking for and if a reopening could come soon
The ongoing strike at Telluride Ski Resort entered day four on Tuesday, with the popular southwestern Colorado ski area remaining closed to the public indefinitely. That said, snowmaking operations are underway at Telluride again, with the resort noting that consistently cold temperatures have...
www.denvergazette.com
ChrisC
Well-known member
It appears a lot of Telluride skiers are relocating to Crested Butte, which makes sense since it's a relatively close and Vail-Epic mountain if one has a pass. There have even been day-trip buses from Telluride to Crested Butte.
My brother says clients who own in Telluride or have been coming for years were fine over the holidays because they knew how to entertain themselves and just enjoy being out there. Again, Telluride's aesthetics, town, and remote locale are almost as important as the skiing. However, first-time visitors were losing their minds with the situation - bad snow, labor disputes, and a closed ski area.
However, this semi-stability will not last. Reservations are declining or getting canceled. And media coverage has been extensive enough to create red flags and negative impressions for the rest of the season.
What's always been interesting to me: Telluride (town) does more summer business than winter business because of its heavy festival schedule. Happened around 2000. However, this does not include Mountain Village, and the average winter visitor is a lot more lucrative than a summer visitor.
www.denverpost.com
crestedbuttenews.com
My brother says clients who own in Telluride or have been coming for years were fine over the holidays because they knew how to entertain themselves and just enjoy being out there. Again, Telluride's aesthetics, town, and remote locale are almost as important as the skiing. However, first-time visitors were losing their minds with the situation - bad snow, labor disputes, and a closed ski area.
However, this semi-stability will not last. Reservations are declining or getting canceled. And media coverage has been extensive enough to create red flags and negative impressions for the rest of the season.
Over the past week, the number of lodging accommodations booked for the rest of the season dropped 54% year-over-year, said Kiera Skinner, the tourism board’s executive director.
What's always been interesting to me: Telluride (town) does more summer business than winter business because of its heavy festival schedule. Happened around 2000. However, this does not include Mountain Village, and the average winter visitor is a lot more lucrative than a summer visitor.
Telluride bookings plummet, anxiety rises as ski resort strike continues
“We still have been able to maintain a number of the tourists that are coming in,” said Telluride town manager Zoe Dohnal. “But that will change the longer that this continues.”
www.denverpost.com
CB’s latest Telluride connection… - The Crested Butte News
Notice more New York accents than usual this past week? New Yorkers love Telluride. Forbes Magazine
crestedbuttenews.com
ChrisC
Well-known member
This situation is all the more frustrating when it comes down to
I wished the Ski Patrol might have pushed its strike until after the holidays, most visitors were locked in and it likely did not matter much.
Again, I blame Chuck Horning almost entirely. I have tried to document what a horrendous leader he is over the years and poor member of the community.
I have written Vail to ask about refunds due to Telluride labor strikes and their Epic Pass - no response yet. I was supposed to go out a few days this Christmas, but I did not expect to ski much. More like cross-country skiing or snowshoeing up on Lizard Head Pass or hiking to the power station on Bidal Veil Falls.
Maybe Vail could apply a little pressure, assuming they will have to make similar adjustments to those in the Park City case last year.
The financial gap between the two sides is about $112,000 in the first year and roughly $65,000 across the three-year contract.
I wished the Ski Patrol might have pushed its strike until after the holidays, most visitors were locked in and it likely did not matter much.
Again, I blame Chuck Horning almost entirely. I have tried to document what a horrendous leader he is over the years and poor member of the community.
I have written Vail to ask about refunds due to Telluride labor strikes and their Epic Pass - no response yet. I was supposed to go out a few days this Christmas, but I did not expect to ski much. More like cross-country skiing or snowshoeing up on Lizard Head Pass or hiking to the power station on Bidal Veil Falls.
Maybe Vail could apply a little pressure, assuming they will have to make similar adjustments to those in the Park City case last year.
EMSC
Well-known member
Interestingly, having never met the man I'm quite certain I know exactly how Chuck thinks and operates. Eldoras owner prior to Powdr ownership was nearly identical.
Tons of terribly stupid decisions, constant creating strife with the town and mtn user groups, refusal to partner with anyone from fear that everyone was only interested in stealing his money, etc... did crazy stuff like stealing 10K of cash out of the resort safe for some weekend spending allowance when actuallyin town, etc... Absentee owner based in Calif. He even could sound logical on some days, but then the very next day do exactly the opposite of the stuff he had just said the literal day before.
All the stories of Chuck come across so similar it's not even funny. Thus I automatically assume he is the issue in all cases for the issues in town and with patrol for Telluride. It feels exactly like the story I've already watched. I can only hope that with the levels of strife increasing he decides it's too much hassle and he puts Telluride up for sale.
Tons of terribly stupid decisions, constant creating strife with the town and mtn user groups, refusal to partner with anyone from fear that everyone was only interested in stealing his money, etc... did crazy stuff like stealing 10K of cash out of the resort safe for some weekend spending allowance when actuallyin town, etc... Absentee owner based in Calif. He even could sound logical on some days, but then the very next day do exactly the opposite of the stuff he had just said the literal day before.
All the stories of Chuck come across so similar it's not even funny. Thus I automatically assume he is the issue in all cases for the issues in town and with patrol for Telluride. It feels exactly like the story I've already watched. I can only hope that with the levels of strife increasing he decides it's too much hassle and he puts Telluride up for sale.
ChrisC
Well-known member
It's now essential to review labor contracts and negotiations before you book a ski trip. Forget snow conditions; the bigger variable is now unions and potential strikes.
Beyond the resorts already on strike, there are two North American ski mountains we are currently watching. One is Whitefish, which is operating under a one-season bridge agreement that expires after the 2025-26 winter, and the second is Jackson Hole, which is still in the union-formation and first-contract phase with no agreement in place.
It is now clear that labor frustrations this winter are not exclusive to Telluride.
On January 2, 2026, Quebec’s Le Massif de Charlevoix abruptly shut down all mountain operations following the start of a legal strike by a union representing roughly 300 employees across core departments. This is not a patrol-only dispute. Lift operations, mountain maintenance, food and beverage, retail, and other on-mountain functions are all implicated, leaving the resort with no realistic path to operate safely or partially. Lodging remains open because it is structured separately, including the Club Med at the bottom of the mountain.
Like other strikes that have occurred in recent times, the early-season timing of this strike places it squarely in a leverage-rich window when demand, visibility, and financial stakes are all high, especially after a solid and snowy start to Eastern Canada’s ski season. Notably, this strike is occurring while a separate ski patrol strike at Telluride remains unresolved, marking the first time in North American history where two separate ski resort labor strikes happen to be ongoing at the same time. Additionally, to our knowledge, this is the first time an entity other than ski patrol has ever gone on strike at a major North American ski resort, and the first time a Canadian ski resort workforce has gone on strike.
Beyond the resorts already on strike, there are two North American ski mountains we are currently watching. One is Whitefish, which is operating under a one-season bridge agreement that expires after the 2025-26 winter, and the second is Jackson Hole, which is still in the union-formation and first-contract phase with no agreement in place.
Through one of the links, a story about an unsuccessful patrol strike at Aspen in 1971.
Even if the strike hadn't taken place, how much of the mountain could they have opened with the poor snowfall to date? Whenever I speak with my brother in Denver, he says that it's 70+ degrees (and that gas costs $1.59!).
ChrisC
Well-known member
The Ski Patrol was slightly insulted by how this proposal was handled.
Telski also sent it via text to every Season Pass holder to try to show they were still negotiating.
I think the response was: "Don't negotiate in the Street."