“I came for the winter and stayed for the summer” is a common mountain-town refrain. That sentiment, combined with a pandemic-fueled real estate boom, has resulted in a dearth of affordable housing, both seasonal and permanent, in mountain towns across America. In many small western communities like Steamboat Springs, Durango, and Snowmass, Colorado; Sun Valley, Idaho; and Mammoth Lakes, California, it used to be that employees and locals lived in houses, and tourists stayed in hotels. The reverse is now true: houses are monopolized by Airbnb and VRBO rentals and second homeowners, and some hotels are being purchased by ski resorts and converted to affordable employee housing.

Winter has belatedly arrived at Tahoe, on the California-Nevada border, with roughly six feet of glorious snow, and ski resorts have finally opened after a very dry November. But this year, a warming climate isn’t the only challenge resorts will face. At California’s Sugar Bowl, a workforce shortage is creating problems. On December 12, season pass-holders received an email with the subject line “This Winter: Operations Update.” In it, they found a letter from Sugar Bowl CEO and president Greg Dallas breaking the news that the resort was cutting back on some guest services over the holidays because it simply doesn’t have enough staff.