SNOW SPORTS REIMAGINED
Whistler Operators Respond to Heightened Need for Socially Distanced Recreation
This past summer, sales of bicycles and bicycle parts soared in North America as citizens seeking socially distanced outdoor recreation after months of coronavirus-related restrictions forged their way out onto the roads and trails. It reached the point where retailers simply couldn’t keep up with demand, and some types of recreational equipment and replacement parts were out of stock.
It appeared a similar trend was developing in western Canada and elsewhere as the pandemic carried into the winter of 2020-’21.
“We’re hearing from a lot of retailers that gear is being snapped up at the shops,” said Tim Hope, managing director for Whistler Olympic Park ( WOP), the popular cross-country skiing and snowshoeing venue that hosted the Nordic events during the 2010 Winter Olympics. “We’re also seeing good sales of our season’s passes.”
Jennifer Smith, Pacific Northwest communications manager for Vail Resorts, said that for Whistler Blackcomb ( WB) and Vail’s other 33 properties, early-season sales of the various pass products for 2020-’21 were up 18 per cent over last season.
“Each summer, we all wait patiently for the return of winter, and this year more than ever, we need it,” Rob Katz, Vail Resorts CEO, wrote in a letter to guests and employees in late August. “We need to reconnect with the outdoors, we need to feel normal and energized as we carve down the mountain with crisp alpine air in our faces.”
Granted, the need to keep visitors healthy means the experience of going skiing and snowboarding or otherwise getting outdoors in the snow has forced operators to rethink their business models — in particular, the number and proximity of interactions between guests and staff, and each other, in and around lodges, on lifts and other resort infrastructure.