Virus chills early Vail ski season

BROOMFIELD — The COVID-19 outbreak took a huge bite out of Vail Resorts Inc.’s (NYSE: MTN) late-season ski area revenues last spring and the virus appears to be having a similar effect on the early 2021 winter season. 

Season-to-date total skier visits were down 16.6% compared to the 2020 ski season, which began to see a COVID-19 revenue hit in March when Vail began shuttering its resorts. 

Lift ticket revenue season to date is off by 20.9%, ski school sales are down 52.6% and dining revenue has fallen 66.2%.

“As expected, COVID-19…