No Business Like Snow Business: The Economics of Big Ski Resorts

The view is best from the top. It's the moment you disembark from the chair lift that's borne you over the boulevards of snow carved with "S"-shaped grooves. Some skiers cherish the first morning vista, in the thin and freezing air, before they tighten their boots and point their twin sheaths of metal down a vertical field of white. I prefer the last run, wobbly and a little reckless, down the peak's backside at three o'clock, toward the room with a fire, a hot mug, and a bag of ice. These moments, and the many between them, inspire 60 million cumulative ski- and snowboard-days, adding up to a $3 billion businesses in the U.S.

To those millions of skiers, Robert A. Katz would like to say, Thank you. And also: You're welcome. Katz is the CEO of Vail Resorts, the largest ski resort company in the United States and the proud owner of America's most popular mountain, Vail.

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