Epic By Nature

For nearly two decades, our integrated network of world-class resorts has been at the heart of our success as a company. In this episode of Epic By Nature, CEO Rob Katz explains how that owned-and-operated model will play an even bigger role in driving future growth. He also addresses external questions about whether our mountains would be more successful on their own and shares how we think about those perspectives, as a public company.

In this episode of Epic By Nature, CEO Rob Katz sits down with Joel Gratz, Founder and CEO of OpenSnow to pull back the curtain on what it really takes to predict a powder day. From translating complex weather models, to the emotional weight of knowing millions of people are watching every forecast update in real time, Joel shares the process, pressure, and passion behind OpenSnow.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

"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 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 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?

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.