Ethan Kavanagh, a lift operator at Vail ski area, packed up his car outside his Timber Ridge apartment on Tuesday, March 17. Vail Resorts employees living in the company-provided housing at Vail's Timber Ridge apartments were notified Tuesday that, due to the early closure of ski resorts, they would need to vacate employee housing by March 27. (Jason Blevins, The Colorado Sun)



When Vail Resorts early Tuesday announced it was closing its North American ski resorts for the season because of the new coronavirus, hundreds of workers in Eagle and Summit counties also learned they had 10 days to vacate their employee housing.

“It kind of sucks how they are kicking us out with all this uncertainty floating around, but what can you do?” said Mike Brodzik as he loaded up his car on Tuesday for a trip back home to Buffalo, New York.

Brodzik has spent the past 18 months in an apartment in Vail’s Timber Ridge complex, where the ski area houses some of its seasonal workers. He’s a team leader for a gondola crew and expected to leave his apartment in late April, after the mountain was scheduled to close.

Most seasonal employees in company housing were going to leave after the resorts’ scheduled closing.

Brodzik said he was going to wait for the forecasted snow to clear before driving home.

“I have to wait for this storm, I guess, and hopefully they’ll have plows out on the roads. Who knows what will be in operation next week, you know?” he said. “It kind of blows. I was looking forward to the rest of the season. But I’m sure this is all new to (Vail Resorts), too. I’m sure they’ve never shut down for a contagious virus before.”

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