The Shift Beyond Vertical Metres
When you pay close to three hundred dollars for a day on the slopes, the skiing itself might not feel like enough. North American ski operators seem to agree. This winter, a wave of dining investments is arriving at resorts from British Columbia to Vermont, spanning everything from rebuilt lodges to surprise s'mores handouts.
The trend is clearest at properties managed by Vail Resorts, which describes its current food and beverage rollout as the company's largest to date. At Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia, Steeps Grill & Wine Bar now offers caviar and Champagne service on its mountain terrace. The restaurant sits inside Roundhouse Lodge, near the summit of Whistler Mountain, and has historically focused on Pacific Northwest ingredients. The new offering does not overhaul that menu but adds a noticeably upmarket option for visitors willing to linger mid-ski day.
On the neighbouring peak, Christine's restaurant at the top of the Blackcomb Gondola has introduced On The Rocks, an outdoor bar built from ice that serves cocktails and sparkling wine. The setup mirrors similar winter bars that have appeared at European resorts in recent years, though this marks one of the first permanent installations of its kind in Canada.
Guided Eating and Wandering Dessert Carts
At Park City Mountain in Utah, Vail Resorts is taking a different approach. A roaming sleigh stocked with s'mores ingredients will move around the resort without a fixed schedule, handing out free treats to skiers who happen upon it. The resort has not disclosed routes or stopping times, framing the sleigh as a spontaneous encounter rather than a scheduled amenity.
Park City is also expanding its Peak to Plate programme, a guided experience that costs 150 US dollars on top of a lift ticket. Participants ride the Sunrise Gondola while eating breakfast burritos, stop at Cloud Dine for doughnuts, ski to Mid-Mountain Lodge for lunch and a cocktail, then finish at Lookout Cabin for a private gathering. The programme debuted earlier in 2026 and is now running more frequently this season.
Other Vail properties are following similar patterns. At Hunter Mountain in New York, the existing Main Lodge bar is being rebuilt as Corduroy's, adding a 360-degree bar and space for more than one hundred additional guests. Vail Mountain in Colorado is reviving an outdoor ice bar near the Back Bowls entrance and renovating Bistro 14 with new seating and a spritz menu. Breckenridge's TenMile Station now includes a dessert counter serving cobbler, brownies, and oversized cookies. Keystone's Summit House has added a Sweet Shack selling waffles on sticks, loose candy, and hot chocolate.
Alterra's Quieter Strategy
Alterra Mountain Company, which operates Mammoth Mountain, Palisades Tahoe, Steamboat, Deer Valley, and other resorts, has allocated more than 350 million US dollars across its properties for the 2026-27 season, according to the company. Most of that investment is directed toward lifts and snowmaking infrastructure rather than dining.
At Mammoth Mountain in California, the Westin Monache has reopened its former Whitebark restaurant under a new name, Apricity, following a renovation of the dining room. The updated menu emphasises seafood and shareable plates, though Whitebark served similar dishes, leaving the extent of change unclear.
Stratton Mountain in Vermont is opening a new slopeside lounge with a restaurant, bar, and outdoor deck, but access is limited to holders of a premium pass that costs extra. It remains uncertain whether the venue will operate similarly to the Apex Club, a members-only space Alterra launched at Palisades Tahoe last season.
A Forty-Two-Million-Dollar Rebuild at Snowmass
The most expensive single dining project this winter is at Snowmass, Colorado, where the longtime Ullrhof restaurant reopened in November 2026 after a 42-million-dollar reconstruction. The new three-storey building spans more than 26,000 square feet and seats over six hundred guests, more than double its previous capacity. It sits near the Big Burn lift, a busy area of the resort.
Rather than a single cafeteria, the rebuilt Ullrhof houses four separate concepts named after Ullr, the Norse god of winter: Ullrhof, Ullrmarket, Ullrbar, and Ullrgrill. Aspen Skiing Company, which operates Snowmass, confirmed that burgers, hot dogs, fries, and milkshakes remain on the menu but has not yet explained how the four spaces differ from one another. The building is the resort's first all-electric on-mountain restaurant.
Ice Bars and Experimental Menus
Big Sky Resort in Montana is expanding Iglu, an après-ski bar constructed from snow and ice near the Lone Peak Tram. A new staircase from the Explorer Gondola now allows visitors to reach the bar without skiing down. The resort is also bringing back a pop-up restaurant by chef Grant Achatz's Alinea Group. Last season, the tasting menu included ponderosa pine ice cream made with a charred log. New dishes are planned for this winter, though the resort has not disclosed them.
Revelstoke Mountain Resort in British Columbia is opening Chop Steakhouse & Bar at the base of the mountain this winter. The restaurant will occupy space inside the new Cabot Revelstoke Mountain Lodge, a 155-room hotel still under construction. The steakhouse will serve regional ingredients and seasonal dishes, offering a sit-down dinner option after a day on Revelstoke's steep terrain. The hotel itself is not scheduled to open until 2027, but the restaurant will debut ahead of that timeline, according to Cabot.
Waffles, Igloos, and Whiskey Tastings
Elsewhere across North America, smaller additions are appearing at resorts of various sizes. Alta Ski Area in Utah is adding 3,400 square feet of dining space to its existing Albion Day Lodge, along with expanded patio seating and a larger Alta Java coffee shop. Brighton Resort, also in Utah, is converting its Milly Chalet into a Mexican restaurant and moving Snow Blossom Bistro into Wasatch Mountain Lodge to serve Asian-inspired dishes, including noodles and sushi.
Banff Sunshine Village in Alberta is adding Coco Lab, a specialty coffee and hot chocolate bar, to Goat's Eye Lodge. Sugarloaf in Maine is introducing igloo dining at its existing Bullwinkle's restaurant. Beaver Creek in Colorado is debuting three new experiences: a whiskey tasting called Last Drop, a Champagne option at its on-mountain beer garden, and Spruce Saddle Cabin Corner, which will serve cabin-inspired dishes on select dates.
Diamond Peak in Nevada is adding a coffee and waffle trailer to its base area. Sun Peaks in British Columbia is increasing the frequency of its Alpine Fondue dinner at Sunburst Lodge and introducing a converted snowcat with an eight-passenger cabin to transport non-skiers down the mountain afterward. Mount Snow in Vermont is launching a Vermont maple syrup tasting flight paired with mini waffles or tater tots at Iron Loft.
Why Food Matters Now
The timing of these investments is not coincidental. Lift ticket prices at major North American resorts have climbed steeply in recent years, with some day passes now approaching or exceeding three hundred US dollars. At that price point, skiing alone may not justify the cost for many visitors, particularly those who ski only a few days per season or bring non-skiing family members.
Dining upgrades offer a way to extend the value proposition. A guided food tour or a summit Champagne service adds an element that does not require advanced skiing ability and can appeal to visitors who might otherwise spend less time on the mountain. For resorts, it also creates new revenue streams beyond lift tickets, lessons, and equipment rentals.
The shift also reflects changing visitor expectations. Ski holidays are increasingly seen as multi-day experiences rather than single-day outings, and guests are looking for more than heat-lamp burgers and pre-packaged sandwiches. Resorts that can offer memorable meals or unique food experiences have an advantage in attracting repeat visitors and justifying premium pricing.
Not all of the changes are aimed at high spenders. Free s'mores sleighs, expanded coffee shops, and waffle trailers are lower-cost additions that improve the experience without requiring guests to spend significantly more. They signal that resorts are thinking about food as part of the overall visit, not just a necessity to keep people fed between runs.
Whether these investments will meaningfully shift visitor behaviour remains to be seen. A rebuilt lodge or a new cocktail menu is unlikely to convert someone who dislikes skiing into a regular resort guest. But for those already planning a ski trip, the growing range of dining options may influence where they choose to go and how long they stay once they arrive.
