Telluride Ski Patrol Strike

Going on Strike//Skiing, many at the Telluride Ski Resort are unaware of the strike that took place in December Ski Patrol employees went on strike due to their low wages, which made life unaffordable. Many thought that they weren’t being paid enough for the place they live in as well as seeking retention over things they should be able to control. (Photo Courtesy of Creative Commons)

The Telluride Ski Patrol Strike started on December 27, 2025, yet the situation was bound to happen for months. In August of 2025, a contract stating these employees' wages and living costs expired. This led all of the employees to go into the 25-26 season with low wages which caused them to get angry. A new contract was going to be made, but negotiations by the employees were not being put in place, causing them to feel as if it was unfair treatment. 

Chuck Horning is the owner of the Telluride Ski Resort. He is known for managing it under an independent entity. There have been many complaints about the choices he has made that have to do with the operational part of the ski resort, as well as taxes. The community and he are contentious at times, leading many to not have trust in the decisions he makes. When the patrollers went on strike, it was his decision to shut down the resort as it could not be operated without all of the workers. An article by The Colorado Sun explains more.

“The gist is that Chuck Horning, the owner of Telluride ski area — who is often unpredictable in both his behavior and business decisions — is better than ownership by a large company.”

We can tell that many believe him to be spontaneous in a way, with his decisions proving many to not approve of things that he chooses. After months of failed wage negotiations from the employees, it should be expected that they would go on strike. On the other hand, many were disappointed that the ski patrol made the decision to strike at that specific time. As soon as they started to open, the employees went on strike, forcing the resort to close. Many skiers who went to this resort have expressed that they are disappointed and they wish that the workers would have gone on strike earlier, before the season began. Not only was it the time that the season began, but many travelled to go in this critical time when many students and adults have time off for Christmas break. 

CBS shared that bookings dropped by 50%, meaning half of what they were previous to the strike. Many of the workers at the ski resort have been there for an immense amount of time, and they were not getting paid enough for the amount of work and effort they were putting into the resort. The Telluride Ski Resort is located in the San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado, and living near there can be extremely expensive. According to NBC News, San Juan has one of the most expensive housing markets in America. So, when location is included, it shows that the employees are not getting paid enough for the cost of food, mortgage, etc. The patrol lost 7 people over the summer because of the low wages.

The strike lasted two weeks from December 26, 2025, to January 8, 2026. Finally, they were able to come to an agreement with a new three-year contract that allowed for a 20% raise. Previously, the starting wage was $28/hr, and now it is $48/hr. Although it seemed as though everybody ended up happy in the end, many employees resigned because they were still unhappy about the conditions as well as the lack of transparency being shown by the mayor and the owner of Telluride Ski Resort. During the period that the ski patrol was on strike, investigations have discovered that the mayor of Mountain Village, Mayor Marti Prohaska, and Telluride Mayor Pro Tem Meehan Fee told Chuck Horning that many investors were interested in a 51% stake in the ski resort for $127.5 million. They signed a deal, but it was later released to the public, causing the resignation of both mayors. 

What started as a strike by ski patrol employees for higher wages led to a greater scandal, introducing sophisticated problems as well as angry government officials and citizens of the towns surrounding the Telluride Ski Resort. Although many agreements have been made since the beginning of this continuous strike, it has not led to many solutions, leading to the happiness of the overall population. While the strike is over, new investigations are continuing, releasing new information about this small area's secrets. What started as just a small seed of unjust wages has grown into a blossom of the loss of jobs, leaders, and trust.