Updated at 4:44 p.m. on Dec. 29 to include statements from Telluride Ski Resort and regional governments.
Telluride Ski Resort remained closed on Monday, as its ski patrollers spent their third day on strike.
The union, known as the Telluride Professional Ski Patrol Association, walked off the job on Saturday — during the busy holiday tourist season — following months of negotiations with the resort ownership over a new contract. The patrollers are seeking higher wages and a pay structure that incentivizes retention so that it can keep staff who are knowledgeable and experienced with the terrain specific to this area of the San Juan Mountains.
Union president Graham Hoffman said these asks received renewed importance over the weekend after members learned a ski patroller at Mammoth Mountain in California died from injuries sustained during avalanche mitigation and a subsequent avalanche. Another patroller was injured during the incident, according to Mammoth Mountain.
“It just speaks to the unpredictability and danger of our job on any given day,” Hoffman said. “When we go to work, you never know what’s going to happen.”
In a statement issued Monday, Telluride Ski Resort said it is actively working on a plan to safely reopen some terrain — lifts one and four — as quickly as possible.
“A defined number of medical providers are needed in order to do that, so the resort has formed a recruitment team, led by industry professionals. The goal is to hire qualified and experienced personnel to temporarily fill the gaps, allowing the resort to open as soon as possible,” the statement said.
There are additional indications the mountain intends to reopen at some point. For example, snowmaking took place over the weekend as Colorado experienced a cold snap.
Over the last three days, the Telluride Professional Ski Patrol Association’s 70-plus members have been picketing near the gondola station in downtown Telluride, as well as walking through town and traveling to the neighboring Mountain Village to spread the word about their cause. It’s unclear how long they will be on strike; Hoffman said he has not heard from the resort and there are not currently plans to go back to the bargaining table.
“There’s no saying how long this is going to last,” he said. “We did everything we possibly could to avert this and we will happily come off the line once there’s a contract that addresses our broken structure and concerns.”
When asked last week if there were plans to resume negotiations, Clark said, “The ski resort is always open to continue discussions exploring how this offer may be arranged to better meet the ski patrol union’s priorities.”
In the meantime, locals have been seeking creative solutions to provide a stopgap, as they remain on edge about the long term implications of this disruption during one of the busiest times of the winter. Monday afternoon, the towns of Telluride and Mountain Village and San Miguel County issued a joint statement addressing “increasing calls” for regional governments to use taxpayer funds to help bridge the gap in financing and end the strike.
“While the merits of this approach have been considered, the regional governments have consulted labor counsel and have been told that such contributions are prohibited under applicable labor laws,” the statement said. “Additionally, both parties have indicated they are not interested in third-party financial contributions to resolve this matter.”
Mountain Village, where the base of the ski resort is located, also began offering free parking and free holiday programming to visitors as consolation for being unable to ski.
