Washington State Attorney General receives “significant” number of complaints about Stevens Pass

Crowds at Stevens Pass in Washington. Photo: Jeremy Rubingh

SKYKOMISH, Wash. — Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson said on Wednesday that his office has received more than 80 complaints about the Vail Resorts-owned Stevens Pass Ski Resort in the past two months.

“This is a significant number of complaints in a short period of time,” Ferguson said in a tweet. “If you have been impacted, or have information, I’m asking that you file a complaint with my office.”

The announcement comes after a viral petition titled ‘Hold Vail Resorts Accountable‘, which now has over 42,000 signatures, accused Vail Resorts of violating the Washington Consumer Protection Act with its mismanagement of the Stevens Pass.

“As Stevens Pass skiers, snowboarders and customers who purchased Vail Resorts “Epic Pass,” we are disgusted with the mismanagement of the ski area, the failure to treat employees well, or pay them a livable wage, and the failure to deliver the  product we all paid for and bought with hard-earned money during a pandemic,” the petition’s creator Jeremy Rubingh wr0te.

“We believe that Vail Resorts’ failure to comply with our request is a violation of the Washington Consumer Protection Act.”

Vail has sold roughly 47% more Epic Passes compared to last year. Pass prices were reduced by 20% for the 2021/2022 season.

“Staffing was always going to be tight given the global labor shortage, but the acceleration of Omicron, late snow, and many other factors created particularly challenging impacts for our operations teams,” Vail CEO Kirsten Lynch said in a December letter to employees.

Rubingh had a new call to action this week for pass holders — cancel auto-renew.

“Vail thinks of itself as skiing as a service or a subscription, like Netflix. They have our money for 21-22 season but one key metric that subscription companies look for as a business is renewals. This will put pressure on Vail’s 22-23 season,” he wrote.

Along with garnering thousands of signatures, the original petition gained press in the Seattle Times, Newsweek, and local television news networks.

Vail Resorts did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

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Information about filing a complaint with the Washington State Attorney General’s Office is available at: https://atg.wa.gov/file-complaint