Vail Resorts, Alterra Mountain Company and two smaller rivals were sued in federal court in Colorado for allegedly colluding with a ski-industry trade association and a research firm to fix prices for multi-mountain season passes and lift tickets.
The plaintiffs allege the four resort companies collectively own most of the 32 "destination” ski venues in the United States. Peak daily lift tickets at flagship resorts climbed more than 55% since 2020, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit says the ski resorts violated antitrust law by sharing confidential revenue and cost information with the data firm, which prepared and circulated reports that helped to guide business strategy and decisions.
The firm used its database to recommend pricing to the resorts, allowing them to avoid meaningful competition and keep prices high, according to the lawsuit.
Vail and the other defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Lead attorneys for the plaintiffs also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The complaint alleges the four resort operators, since at least January 2020, have shared confidential pricing data through reports prepared by RRC Associates. The Colorado-based National Ski Areas Association is an advocacy group for ski resort owners and operators.
The complaint also cites Alterra, Boyne and Powdr's shared use of the dynamic-pricing platform Aspenware as evidence of an alleged coordinated pricing strategy. The lawsuit said collective use of the platform has made sharing information "even more efficient and effective."
The case is distinct from one filed in March against Vail and Alterra that accused them of illegally bundling access to resorts through multi-mountain season passes. The companies have denied the antitrust claims in that lawsuit and their bid to dismiss the case is pending.
The case is Nicholas Green et al v. Vail Resorts Inc et al, U.S. District Court, District of Colorado, No. 1:26-cv-03555-CYC.
For plaintiffs: Ellen Jalkut and Stacey Slaughter of Robins Kaplan; James Martin and Jennifer Hackett of Zelle; and Warren Burns and Christopher Cormier of Burns Charest
For defendants: No appearances yet
