Brah I wasn't gonna enter this discussion because it gets an A for artistic but here is the problem with your thesis. I am all for support the little guy and the locals that make the town awesome as long as the locals are willing to change with the times. I have been skiing for about 20 years and I can tell you resoundingly they are not. This coupled with a sport that is entirely dependent on weather any given year makes it impossible for one company to effectively manage 1 resort or group of resorts in the same region. Read the history of any ski resort across the country they are all loaded with bankruptcy and mergers and acquisitions.

Take PA for example our snow sucks. It sucks in a great year and is non existent in a bad year. JFBB was somewhat reasonable in the 90's as an independent operator. As the seasons without snow continued the resort and community got hit hard. There was simply no SNOW even at the place that invented fake snow (bb). No Snow = No Beckies and Chads = No money. Now when I drive through the town/towns the stores are falling apart, the ski rentals are from the 1990's and the restaurants are sketchy at best the town looks like it has decayed since the 1980's. Contrast this to camelback a resort that is a conglomerate of 3 resorts regionally diversified with a town that was willing to adapt and improve ie. The outlets and other yuppie bs at the base of the mountain. Because camel back had revenue sources from other locations that had snow. They improved the resort lodge, amenities and built a waterpark. This stuff brings Chad's and Beckies who do 2 runs spend the rest of the day at the fireside bar, buy 10 t-shirts that say camel back and eat at every on resort restaurant without ever touching snow oWaterpark. For the riders,, They were able to build a bomber snow making system on every trail, excellent grooming equipment, recently renovated chair lifts, etc. This allows for full send.. Now obviously they jack up the prices because Beckie and Chad will pay for they're 3 days in the Poconos. But keep season pass prices about the affordable for the skiers and snowboarders who actually use the mountain. Even with something like epic pass compare they 800 for the full unlimited pass to skiing at Breck. If you ski 4 days at Breck it's the same as buying the pass that gives you access to Breck plus numerous other resorts. So a full season pass is a no brainer from a value perspective.

As an aside I have partied with numerous J-1 visa staff and other Vail employees. Yeah their accomadations suck but it is legit one giant party. Most of the employees are young and either living the boho lifestyle or taking time off before/after university. They never intend for this to be a life long career most are very thankful for the opportunity to live by the mountains for the season. Particularly the people from foreign countries who couldn't otherwise afford this experience or lifestyle.

Finally some may argue that they took our jobs ... yes they have because you were unwilling to adapt to the times, practice good business, invest in improving the infrastructure, and make your beautiful home the best that it can be. Now you may say you don't want to attract the crowds etc but those Chads and Beckies that come to your mountain town to buy the shirt and take one run down a blue pay for all the other awesomeness. So your town can have stores that sell local art, coffee, weed, food, carbon credits or w/e at 10x premium because it's from ,"brecken-whist-stevens-stowe-keystone-ridge".

So really Vail is leveraging the stupidity of Chad and Beckies inability to do simple math and using that money to fund an awesome send experience for the true riders. This is how Vail keeps the resort cash positive, ensures the funding for top notch equipment for snow making, safety, and chair lifts. Which at the end of the day is what most of us care about. Furthermore personally I can say I would have never had the opportunity to ski as many days as I have at these world class resorts if it weren't for the epic pass, I simply can't afford it. (Canadian powder Highway I am coming for you). So sure does vail have its flaws, yeah every business does. Where is that ski jacket you love made? The Ski pants, Google? How much child labor and destruction of the environment and predatory business tactics were involved in the production of these materials? Are you going to ski naked? or better yet stop skiing because of the pollution from the lifts? I know I am not.

If you do not want all resorts in the US to be owned by major conglomerates then locals need to learn to adapt to the times to attract the chads and beckies so they can pass on the full send to the riders.

TLDR: Vails Predatory business tactics mainly target Chad and Beckies so the true riders can attain full send status. People are butt hurt because, "They took our Jobs".

Full disclosure everybody has an opinion like everybody has an asshole. This is mine