Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Optimism rises as resorts look to reopen safely in pandemic
DENVER — Helmet, goggles, skis? Check. Hand sanitizer, face covering, reservation? Check.
Roughly seven months after the coronavirus cut the ski season short at the height of spring break, resorts across the United States and Canada are slowly picking up the pieces and figuring out how to safely reopen this winter. While many of the details are still being worked out, resort leaders are asking guests to curb their expectations and to embrace a new normal while skiing and snowboarding amid a pandemic.
That could mean wearing masks, standing 6 feet apart in lift lines (about the length of a typical ski), no dine-in service, riding lifts only with your group and no large gatherings for an après drink.
“We’re very optimistic about skiing this winter,” said Dave Byrd, director of risk and regulatory affairs at the Colorado-based National Ski Areas Association. “The fact that we ski outside in ultraviolet sun and in the wind, and it’s common for us to wear goggles, gloves and face coverings. All of those things bode very well for us as a sport.”
Resorts, some of which are set to open at the beginning of November, are trying to avoid a repeat of last spring when many mountain communities were disproportionately hurt by the virus as travelers from all over the country and the world hit the slopes during one of the busiest times of the season.
Several counties in Colorado that are home to some of the country’s largest and most popular ski resorts were particularly hard-hit, and state health officials warned that small community hospitals didn’t have the resources to treat patients with the disease.
This time, industry leaders and health officials are hoping the knowledge that comes with several months of life during a pandemic will help guide their efforts to provide a safer experience.
Many ski areas have already consulted with state and local health agencies and issued rules for the upcoming season.
Most will require social distancing, masks and online ticket sales, and will limit how many people are allowed in indoor spaces like base lodges and restaurants. But many are going a step further by requiring reservations, which has irked some skiers and snowboarders concerned about getting a spot on the mountain.
Vail Resorts, which owns 34 resorts in the United States and Canada, has announced it will implement a reservation system that allows pass holders exclusive access at the beginning of the season, unlimited week-of reservations and a rolling selection of priority days.
Resorts will limit capacity based on past visitation rates, available terrain, traffic modeling of the upcoming season, and how individual resorts handle COVID-19 restrictions, CEO Rob Katz said.
He acknowledged that some guests might not be able to ski and snowboard any time they want but said, “the bottom line is, is that in a typical season for most days, capacity at our resorts is at a level that would not require us to have to impose any limits.”