More Après, Less Ski: What This Season’s Weather Means for Ski Season

“I think something happened during the pandemic where people realized the mountains are a place where you can get away from whatever craziness you have in your life,” said Travis Holland, the communications manager for Solitude Mountain Resort in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah.

For many, part of that escape extends to partying, and some of the newer spots, especially, are recruiting this crowd.

The Vintage Room is a clear structure set up at the St. Regis Deer Valley in Park City, Utah, accessible by skis, but also by road or funicular (cable train). On a Saturday in late January, hundreds of millennials packed into the tent, dancing to Abba hits and taking “shotskis” (shots off a ski, for those who haven’t, or won’t).

Reservations have been selling out weeks in advance, and a line to get in forms every day it’s open, said Chris Okamura, the director of operations. He estimated that 25 percent of the customers have never put on ski boots. “They want to enjoy après-ski without having to deal with rental equipment, the ski passes, the lift lines,” he said.

That doesn’t mean the crowd doesn’t resemble skiers. “A lot of them dress up and have fun in those ’80s, colored onesies” intended for skiing, said Patrick Lacey, the public relations manager of Palisades Tahoe in California. (One skier in New York City recently complained about ski clothes being unavailable on Rent the Runway, taken, she was sure, by women who weren’t even skiing.)

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/13/style/ski-season-snow.html