With an economic crisis looming, Telluride business owners and residents took to the streets Wednesday to urge the town’s ski resort and its patrollers, who are currently on strike, to come to an immediate agreement in hopes of salvaging what’s left of the winter tourist season.
About 100 people congregated downtown around midday to effectively beg both parties to end their negotiation stalemate and reopen the mountain. The ski patrollers went on strike less than two weeks ago, on Dec. 27, prompting the resort to close. Though the resort reopened one lift this week, tourism has plummeted and the effects have already trickled down to the local workforce.
Twelve days into the disruption, local businesses have been forced to lay off or furlough staff and significantly reduce employees’ hours. Dozens of rental condos and homes currently sit empty and are expected to remain that way for the rest of the month, without the promise of skiing.
“Economic disaster is already unfolding in front of our eyes. If it goes on, it’s going to be catastrophic to the local (and) regional economy,” said Tommy Thacher, co-founder of Telluride Brewing Co. Business is down about 40% at the company’s Mountain Village brewpub, at the base of the ski area, and it may close temporarily soon, he said.
Attendees at Wednesday’s rally said they hope that resolving the labor dispute quickly will inspire people to visit in February and March, and allow the locals to get back to work – and back to skiing. In the afternoon, local students marched from their school to the downtown gondola station, chanting “pow to the people” to protest the mountain closure.
“I think it sucks,” said 12-year-old Joaquin Sloan. “This town is built around skiing, and if you take that away from us, it’s not OK.”
By the end of the day’s collective action, locals had renewed hope for a resolution. Telluride Ski & Golf announced Wednesday it had made a new contract offer to its patrol. Though details were not disclosed, Graham Hoffman, president of the Telluride Professional Ski Patrol Association, confirmed the union will vote on the offer Thursday.
Damage is done
Despite optimism about the parties reaching an agreement soon, business owners said significant damage had already been done to the local economy.
Telluride local Tabitha Rosa participated in the rally and march on Wednesday, Jan. 7 to advocate for unity amongst the community. The Telluride ski patrol strike and subsequent mountain closure has been dividing locals. (Tiney Ricciardi, The Denver Post)Telluride is a remote enclave on the Western Slope, which no doubt plays into its charm. But unlike the Front Range, the area doesn’t see as many regional visitors who come at the last minute. That’s part of the reason why the holidays are such a crucial time of year – and why the impact has been so swift and severe.
Tamas Paluska worked for a ski concierge and valet; his company was immediately shut down alongside the mountain. “The timing couldn’t have been any worse, absolutely any worse,” he said. “Especially with the lack of snow, it was going to hurt us anyway. But with this, it was devastating… Nobody has any funds for rainy days.”
“We’re all coming out of the off-season and the off-season is a lean time and, depending what sector you’re in, you’re just trying to pinch pennies knowing that you’re going to have that December holiday revenue coming in,” said Luke Brown, owner of Wild Oak property management company.
Brown estimates the holiday season accounts for about 20% of Wild Oak’s annual revenue. When the ski resort announced it was closing right before Christmas, the guest services team was fielding feedback from tourists, some of whom were understanding and others not so much.
“We’re the ones bearing the brunt of the frustration, the anger,” he said. “Our ethos as a small company over the last two weeks has been bringing as much grace and grit as we can, and finding a balance between being a human and being a business. Because those two things are going to be in opposition to each other, unfortunately, right now.”
Wild Oak has rebooked some guests for later in the winter; however, right now, many visitors would typically schedule their upcoming holiday weekend and spring break trips. “High-dollar bookings that we’d start to see coming in now, people aren’t touching Telluride with a 10-foot pole,” Brown said.
Some of Brown’s staff have taken furloughs, and more are likely. He’s especially concerned about keeping contractors, many of whom commute an hour or more from Montrose and other surrounding towns, and get paid based on the volume of accommodation turnovers.
Local restaurants are also feeling the impact. Josh Klein owns four restaurants – Smuggler’s Union, Side Work, La Marmotte and Kazahana – with a collective employment of about 150 people. Business dipped 25% year-over-year during the stretch from Christmas to New Year’s and has since declined 40%, he said. That’s translated to an equal percentage reduction in staffing.
“There’s no sugarcoating it, the reality of reducing people by way of their livelihood is a painful experience, personally frustrating, nauseating, all the things you can imagine,” Klein said.
Telluride students marched on Wednesday, Jan. 7 to protest the mountain closure. They chanted "pow to the people" as they walked from their school to the gondola downtown. (Tiney Ricciardi, The Denver Post)Community divided
Part of what makes the circumstances so upsetting is that Telluride is a tight-knit community. Klein has seen a few dozen people already move away and estimates hundreds have been laid off and had their schedules cut by half. This kind of financial fallout was improbable just a few weeks ago, even though Telluride has short spurts of profitability that carry businesses and their employees through the otherwise tight times.
“The mechanism that is being utilized by both parties to close the resort is leaving all the small business owners and workforce in a position of complete vulnerability and complete lack of ability to defend,” Klein said. “I’m sad, I’m bummed, and I’m not sure what the cost is going to be.”
The recent upheaval also appears to be driving a wedge between locals. Discussions about the strike and closure online often turn ugly and devolve into blaming one side or the other. The reality is more nuanced, as the town and the ski resort are interdependent.
“Just as there is no community without an economy, there is also no ski resort without a ski patrol,” Thacher said.
Crowds at the rally chanted “work it out,” and many attendees called simply for unity.
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Elaine Schroedl, a local of nearly 50 years, said she’s never witnessed the kind of hostility like she’s seeing now. “It’s not the Telluride friendly way,” she said.
Even during dark times, like the pandemic and other low-snow years, Telluride banded together to get through it, said Brown. That doesn’t necessarily feel true this time around, but a “resolution that allows us all to take a deep breath” will go a long way to start the healing process, he said.
“I think it’s going to engender a lot of desirability amongst people to come to the table and have a conversation collectively to address these wage issues and these deeper issues,” Brown said.
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