The Roaring Fork Ski Fair Co-op surfaced over the summer by way of an online petition advocating for lower pricing of Aspen Skiing Company (Ski Co) season passes for the local workforce.
It all started with Anna Rosenberg. Before coming West, she grew up on an organic farm in Cincinnati, Ohio, where her parents did what they loved at the expense of having higher-paying jobs. Rosenberg watched other kids at Walnut Hills High School, whose parents could afford it, regularly bus to the nearest downhill mountain about 45 minutes away. Rosenberg eventually followed her mother to Colorado and learned how to snowboard at Sunlight Mountain Resort.
Fast forward to this summer. When Ski Co’s super-early Chamber Pass pricing came online, Rosenberg was displeased to discover that it had not only gone up by $100, which she expected, but by $125 compared to the super-early deal for the 2024-2025 season of $1,899. This was the impetus for the petition.
“I’m the kind of girl who will get in a fight over $25,” Rosenberg told The Sopris Sun. Recognizing that she was not alone in her frustration with the wider issue of affordability, she created the petition.
Rosenberg has some history with the company and said she is an “inactive” employee of Ski Co’s catering department — she hasn’t picked up a shift in over a year. She took on this effort outside of her role there, but said she wants to work with the company to accomplish the Co-op’s goals.
“We want to absolutely be working in unison with [Ski Co],” she said. “We exist in a mutually beneficial relationship: The Roaring Fork Valley does not thrive without Ski Co because of the tourism it brings in, and Ski Co does not thrive without the Roaring Fork Valley because we have created this really awesome place that tourists love to come see.”
The petition includes four asks: “1) Introduc[ing] a new community-tiered premier pass for full-time Roaring Fork Valley locals who are not affiliated with a chamber-member business … 2) Implement[ing] long-term safeguards on chamber premier pass pricing — including: A) capping annual price increases at no more than 3%, aligning with typical inflation; B) rolling back the Chamber Pass price to $1,745 by the 2026–2027 season (the inflation-adjusted rate based on the 2016–17 price of $1,299); C) preventing further hikes that outpace the local cost of living. 3) Increase transparency around how pass pricing is determined and the rationale behind annual increases for locals. 4) Uphold the commitment to local access by acknowledging that affordability is essential to maintaining the soul and inclusivity of our ski community.”
As of Wednesday, 1,420 verified signatures were recorded.
When asked where the 3% average-inflation figure came from, Rosenberg said it was the cumulative average of the past decade and likely gleaned from an online search. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the consumer price index (CPI) for “all items” rose 3% in 12 months as of September, but peaked at 9.1% in June of 2022. The last time the CPI leveled out at 0% was in 2015. The 10-year average is around 3%.
In a statement from Aspen One, Ski Co’s umbrella company, Sara Roston, the vice president of corporate and brand communications, said that the company met with Rosenberg twice “in good faith to understand her concerns.”
“Our business is one that is increasingly complex and costly,” Roston said. “Everything we do on and off-mountain — from snowmaking to lift infrastructure and maintenance, from upgrading our food and beverage outlets to mountain safety and operations, from increasing employee benefits to building employee housing — relies on revenue generated in large part by pass and lift ticket sales.”
Ski Co “offer[s] 10 pass products available at a variety of price points ,” Roston added, “with many discounted pass options for groups that include seniors, students, teachers, members of the military, Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club and more.”
One hurdle for the Co-op’s proposed non-chamber locals discount for season passes is a Forest Service (USFS) regulation that bars “discriminatory pricing … based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or place of residence.”
“Guidance from the USFS is we cannot discount season-long access by location/zip code of the purchaser,” said Roston, which partly explained why its seven-day Valley Pass is permissible — an offering that’s also extended to the general public for in-person purchasing one week every October.
“The Chamber Pass is offered to a group (members of the chamber of commerce), not individual consumers, which allows us to provide the access we do through that product,” Roston explained, “which is also extended to member spouses/partners.”
Regarding transparency, Rosenberg said that if Ski Co doesn’t disclose specifics in how it calculates annual increases, the Co-op would like to bring its own research, but needs help collecting reliable data. Therefore, the Co-op is seeking specialized assistance in that analysis.
It is also in search of a fiscal sponsorship and is hoping for support from an attorney to thoughtfully navigate legal parameters, such as the USFS regulation.
“Ski Co does a lot of great things for their community. They are probably the leader in ski resorts in what they do for their community,” said Rosenberg. “We see that they are contributing a lot. We are asking for them to look at the Average Joe, and we want them to contribute more.”
Playing off of the “Fair” in the Co-op’s name, Rosenberg is encouraging supporters to wear fairy wings or tutus to display their support, particularly while on one of the four mountains.
Regular-season pricing went into effect on Dec. 6. As of now, a full-season Chamber Pass costs $2,704 and a nondiscounted adult Premier Pass is $3,834.
For more from the Roaring Fork Ski Fair Co-op, visit its petition page at www.tinyurl.com/RFSkiFairCoop
To get in touch, email rfskifaircoop@gmail.com
What do you think of Roaring Fork Ski Fair Co-op’s mission to bring down ski pass pricing for working-class locals? Join the discussion on Mountain Perspectives.