Epic By Nature

Our sport is at the beginning of a generational handoff—for the first time, a cohort of new skiers and riders are arriving to the mountains fully fluent in a digital world where community and identity are often built first online and reinforced later in person.  As Vail Resorts launches new young adult pricing for our 2026/27 Epic Pass products, CEO Rob Katz sits down with content creator Grace Donner to hear how Gen Z skiers and riders are engaging in the sport differently, redefining how people get introduced to it, and changing the way it grows.

In our latest episode of Epic By Nature, we’re building on the conversation we started earlier this season around how to make skiing and riding more accessible and more welcoming to more people. CEO Rob Katz sits down with Quincy “Q” Shannon, a leading organizer in Denver’s Black snowsports community, to discuss who feels invited onto the mountain and what it truly takes to build a sense of belonging in snowsports.

The start of the North American ski season has largely been a tale of two winters. While parts of the country saw historic early snowfall, the Rockies experienced one of the worst early-season snowfalls in more than 30 years. And yet for all our teams, winter has been anything but slow. In this episode, CEO Rob Katz talks with Keystone Resort’s Senior Mountain Operations Director about how multi-year investments in snowmaking, technology, and expertise helped Keystone become the first resort in North America to open this season—and how creativity and teamwork have kept the mountain and the community moving forward, even when conditions haven’t cooperated.

What does it mean to balance labor unions, employee needs, guest expectations, and community commitments? One year after the labor strike at Park City Mountain, CEO Rob Katz and his Chief of Staff reflect on lessons learned, share insights into the company’s approach to organized labor, and explore the responsibilities and stakeholders that extend beyond the bargaining table.

Food is more than just fuel when you’re skiing or riding—it’s a core part of the fun. But as trends and expectations change, so too must the dining experience—which is why Vail Resorts recently announced a series of strategic investments and upgrades to elevate mountain dining across our portfolio. In this episode, CEO Rob Katz talks with two of our leading innovators about how mountain dining is evolving—and how we’re evolving along with it, putting our money where our mouth is through immersive (and delicious) dining experiences.

In 2008, the Epic Pass revolutionized skiing and riding, delivering unmatched value for guests and long-term stability for the industry. But for those who cannot commit to skiing and riding ahead of the season, the rise of season passes left a gap—one that Vail Resorts is trying to bridge with a new lift ticket discount for skiers and riders who plan a month ahead. In this episode, CEO Rob Katz welcomes Stuart Winchester—host of the Storm Skiing Podcast—for a candid conversation about the state of the ski industry, the pros and cons of lift ticket pricing, and the creative thinking needed to keep the sport accessible.

Making skiing and riding more accessible is an imperative for Vail Resorts—and a topic we’ll explore on Epic By Nature from multiple angles. In this first conversation, Rob Katz sits down with three-time Olympic medalist Nick Goepper to tackle one of the more subtle barriers in the sport: the judgments and stereotypes around what people wear on the mountain. From competing in jeans to his Midwest roots, Nick shares how embracing authenticity can help make skiing and riding more welcoming.

In the second episode of Epic By Nature, Rob Katz takes a hard look at Vail Resorts as it stands today, exploring the challenges, opportunities, and innovations shaping the company. From evolving the Epic Pass to reshaping the guest experience, he reflects on the difficulty of taking stock of what’s already been imagined in order to reimagine it again.

Rob Katz returns as CEO of Vail Resorts and revives Epic By Nature, sharing why he came back and what it means to lead the company today. In conversation with his chief of staff, Sara Schwandt, Rob reflects on the challenges, opportunities, and the people who make the mountain experience possible, kicking off a season of stories about leadership, culture, and the journeys that define Vail Resorts.

This episode of Epic By Nature share the story of leadership within our company, and is Rob Katz’s final appearance as our narrator. The leaders featured in this episode are the epitome of our talent philosophy at work. Their paths have been anything but linear, they have faced disappointment and setbacks, been given tough feedback and told no. But throughout the years they have embraced each chapter, been guided by their leaders and mentors, and leveraged the development programming and stretch opportunities offered at our company – and thrived.

For the first time, we have invited someone who is not an employee of our company to join us in a conversation. Henri Rivers, is the President of the National Brotherhood of skiers and a frequent guest at our resorts. This mini-episode features Henri and President of the Mountain Division, Pat Campbell, discussing the history and mission of the National Brotherhood of Skiers and the partnership required between our two organizations.

This episode of Epic By Nature explores the journey of several members of our company who are Black, Indigenous or other People of Color. Their stories are all unique, their journeys very much their own... What was their path to our company? What were some of the challenges and barriers they faced? How have they overcome them and what do they think needs to change as we continue on our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion journey?

"No Playbook. Navigating Through COVID-19" explores in detail our company’s journey through the crisis that COVID-19 has presented. The first part "The Decision," documents our decision to close our resorts on March 14

"No Playbook. Navigating Through COVID-19" explores in detail our company’s journey through the crisis that COVID-19 has presented. The second part "The Impact," explores the impact of the decision on employees and our company.

"No Playbook. Navigating Through COVID-19" explores in detail our company’s journey through the crisis that COVID-19 has presented. The third part "The Future," explains how we crafted the plan to honor our pass holders, and Rob Katz shares his thoughts and perspective on the future.

Right now across our Company, our ski and snowboard instructors – our pros – are opening up our sport and mountains to guests across North America. From child to adult, from beginner to highly-skilled, our pros spend more time with guests than most of us and are therefore uniquely positioned to deliver an Experience of a Lifetime. Ski instructors have had a profound impact on growing my confidence and expanding my ability in the sport and I am excited to share their stories today. How did they find their way to teaching? What tactics and techniques do they use? What credentials do they need? How do they manage the logistics and the business of ski school?

Right now across our Company we are preparing for the North American winter season. Keystone has already opened, in Colorado we had record snow fall in October, we are welcoming our seasonal employees, anticipation is building, and our snow guns are fired up. So it is only appropriate that in this episode of Epic By Nature, we explore the story of our snowmakers and snowmaking. After all, snow is why we come to work every day. Where does the passion for snowmaking come from? How did it come to be? How does snowmaking differ across our resorts? What is the science and technology behind it? And what is the impact to our environment?

The Epic Season Pass is the engine of our business, but once upon a time it was just an idea. Over a decade ago we drastically reduced the price of skiing when we introduced the Epic Season Pass. We were risking revenue, for stability for our company and flexibility for our guests. Today we are sharing the pass story. Why did we launch the pass? What was our strategy? What was the reaction of the industry, our guests and employees? How did we grow and diversify the product? What is our reaction to competition and what’s next?

One of our four strategic pillars of our Company is Acquisitions & Integrations. Acquisitions build our geographic diversity to protect us from weather variability; increases the diversity of our guest experience adding value to our guests from our season pass programs; and broaden the breadth and diversity of our talent, allowing us to solve industry problems at scale that none of us could do alone. Acquisitions also grow our business and allow us to scale, create investment efficiencies and truly leverage data. But, to make all this possible, we must be more than just a collection of nice things, we need to come together as a true team - and that takes integrations - the process of unifying and aligning our resorts around a common purpose. In this episode of Epic By Nature, we are exploring integrations from every angle; how it feels to be an employee at an acquired resort, how it feels to be COO of a resort leading through the transition and how corporate gets it done.

In this episode we are exploring what it takes to join patrol, to learn the skills and to come back season after season in sometimes arduous weather conditions. We are also exploring how patrol has evolved over the years, the pioneering history, the technical advancements and the stories of the people who have led the way.