Crowds/Reservations?

[Boston girl]

What is the point of the reservation system if the slopes are more crowded than ever?
Is this new system really working? I plan on going to Stowe this Saturday because I have the Epic Pass .

 

[MissySki]

Are we talking slopes or lines? Lines aren't going to be better with reservations because chairs are not being filled and lines are also spaces out more side to side so they go longer than wider as well.. Most Eastern resorts also just don't have enough terrain open yet, so there are a lot of pinch points. Hopefully with the continued cold for snowmaking that will keep evolving in a positive direction, along with mother nature eventually helping out some. I haven't been to an Epic resort this season though and from what I've seen on social media, they do seem to be pretty bad for crowded lines in the East right now..

 

[Boston girl]

I heard lift lines and slopes. I didn’t ski December because of the freeze/thaw cycles that we had and I didn’t want to drive up there for bad conditions. Weather seems to be turning around (fingers crossed!).

 

[Christy]

Where I ski (WA state) the law is that ski areas have to operate at 30% reduced capacity. But, like @MissySki said, lift chairs aren't going up full and since people aren't carpooling, so there are long lift lines and full parking lots. There's also a lot of congestion around the base area because people aren't allowed to hang out inside the lodge. So it appears a lot more crowded than it really is, though there is undeniably a hassle factor with the lines, parking and congestion (again, where I ski at least). My slopes aren't more crowded, but since the mountain does sell out every day, there are more people on the runs than you'd otherwise get on slow days, but less on what would have been very busy days (though people ignoring the reservation policy and coming without one is still a problem).

It's a tough year. I've gotten frustrated with how things are working, but I'm also sympathetic to the ski areas that have to figure this stuff out and deal with it.

 

[Boston girl]

Yes. In Massachusetts the governor’s closed down only some gyms depending on the town. So now the gyms that ARE open are even more crowded because it’s being condensed. The governor actually made it worse. We get all the people from Brockton Planet Fitness coming to Stoughton Planet Fitness. How does this spread people out?
It brings everyone closer together.

 

[badger]

At my local mountain the crowds are so bad that I cannot justify going up there. Yes, not all terrain is open and the slopes are actually dangerous due to lack of space and all the beginners using advanced runs. What's worse as far as Covid is that the lifts are packed to capacity. Last time I went I was standing in the lift line and attempting to create room for only one or two other riders; the liftie was telling people to jump on with me. I told him that three was plenty, and then he said "What? No. Go on guys and get on the lift with these folks."

I then skied down to the beginner area with the idea that people over there would not be nearly so impatient. That part proved to be true, but the landscape was dotted with so many sitting snowboarders that a pair of slalom skis would have been the best tool for the day.

I ended up leaving. That was a month ago, and I have yet to return.

 

[Boston girl]

What mountain was that?

 

[MissySki]

Last time I went I was standing in the lift line and attempting to create room for only one or two other riders; the liftie was telling people to jump on with me. I told him that three was plenty, and then he said "What? No. Go on guys and get on the lift with these folks."

Woah, what!?!? That is NOT okay.. We are not made to ride with anyone, and I actually end up riding solo a bunch of the time if I'm skiing alone because most of the base areas don't have singles lines right now so it's hard to find people to pair with. I've even ridden a 6 person lift by myself a few times which feels so weird!! I prefer to jump in with a group of 2-3 for that if it's available and they are happy to have me since a 6 seater is so big. If there is another single nearby etc. we'll usually ask each other if the other is okay with pairing up on the ends of a quad. I haven't had anyone say no, but I wouldn't be offended if they did either. In my ski school classes we also can pair up or have up to one less than the capacity of a chair, but it's up to everyone's comfort level.

 

[MissySki]

Where I ski (WA state) the law is that ski areas have to operate at 30% reduced capacity. But, like @MissySki said, lift chairs aren't going up full and since people aren't carpooling, so there are long lift lines and full parking lots. There's also a lot of congestion around the base area because people aren't allowed to hang out inside the lodge. So it appears a lot more crowded than it really is, though there is undeniably a hassle factor with the lines, parking and congestion (again, where I ski at least). My slopes aren't more crowded, but since the mountain does sell out every day, there are more people on the runs than you'd otherwise get on slow days, but less on what would have been very busy days (though people ignoring the reservation policy and coming without one is still a problem).

It's a tough year. I've gotten frustrated with how things are working, but I'm also sympathetic to the ski areas that have to figure this stuff out and deal with it.

We don't have reservations for passholders or Ikon, but over the holiday Sunday River did put a limit on day ticket sales and they sold out each day. They say this will only come into play on the busiest of time periods this season, but we'll see. Strangely until the last day or two it wasn't crowded at all so I assume it was passholders staying away, probably mostly due to lower level passes being blacked out. I know some people who couldn't get day passes and were super bummed for the powder day we had Saturday. I was not displeased though, least crowded powder day/end of the holiday period ever!

 

[badger]

Arizona Snowbowl. Which in the Summer was so strict about COVID protocols, that I was dismayed by the attitude of the lifties come Winter.
A friend of mine posted to their Facebook website about my interaction with the liftie, and the resort replied saying that this was a very inappropriate treatment of a guest, and that the lifties would be retrained. From what I see on the cameras, I doubt that has been implemented; because unless the Partridge Family and the entire Mormon Tabernacle choir are skiing there, I seriously do not think these are all families riding the lift together .

 

[Boston girl]

I look at this way, even if Stowe is really crowded at least the runs are very long.
This will be my first time at Stowe because I normally ski Killington and didn’t want to deal with ridiculous parking reservations to add to this mess.

 

[Christy]

I would be really happy if my ski area had parking reservations. As it stands now, parking sometimes fills up, so some people who have a reservation to ski are finding no place to park and have to go back home. It's a 2 hour drive for me so that would suck.

 

[Boston girl]

I would be really happy if my ski area had parking reservations. As it stands now, parking sometimes fills up, so some people who have a reservation to ski are finding no place to park and have to go back home. It's a 2 hour drive for me so that would suck.

Wow! Where is this? What mountain?

 

[Christy]

Crystal Mt WA. But parking has been filling everywhere in WA--even little tiny ski areas far from population centers (two examples from two very remote areas, below). Everyone is driving up separately so there are way more cars than usual.





Etc. Parking fills up so regularly at Crystal Mt and Stevens Pass they don't post about it.

 

[kiki]

At WB the hill is empty. The line up issue is the main gondolas from base to get up. That is extremely long as a 10 person gondollas is carrying up 1-2 people at a time. They have staff walking the lines enforcing the masks and distancing. There are cones showing you where to stand. There are staff manning entrances to the bathroom etc spraying your hands with disinfectant as you go in and managing the number that go in at once. I think they are doing what they can but only very dedicated skiiers are going to go through the hassle.

 

[kiki]

And also at WB parking is an issue, as folks are not carpooling or taking the coach buses up as in the past, also tourists in the past would not be parking but now everyone skiing pretty much is parking. I think more local staff vs foreign workers mean more staff cars too. I don’t consider this a safety issue, just goes to the hassle issue. The effort to ski and hassle involved is significantly higher than normal.

 

[Jilly]

We had the long lines too at Tremblant on Sunday. Saturday was better as the locals only pass was still blacked out. Same reason as everyone else, social distancing and limited #'s/chair. I decided a couple of weeks ago, we're back to the 80's when there wasn't a gondola and rode 2 chairs to get up.

They are limiting day tickets to online only. Rumour on the mountain on Sunday was there were not day tickets till March. Don't know for sure.

The one interesting fact was I think there were more people skinning up Algonquin than coming down.

 

[marzNC]

Fair to say that the situation varies by region and ski area/resort.

I skied at Jackson Hole, Grand Targhee, and Alta in December. It was obviously early season so terrain was limited. Was well before the holiday period so most days weren't overly crowded on blue/black terrain. On a Saturday at GT, the beginner/teaching lift was busy all day with families as as well adult beginners/intermediates. A Host said it was the first good weekend of the season.

My home mountain in northern VA was quite busy over the holidays. Per usual, few people were around today, Jan. 4. I normally come the first non-holiday week of the season. The amount of open trails is pretty typical. I gather there were people who booked lodging (large 4-season resort) during the holidays were annoyed because lift tickets sold out. Most people who ski/board at Mnut are beginners or intermediates. Often they only get on the slopes once a year.

There are other first-hand observations in this thread:
https://www.theskidiva.com/forums/index.php?threads/skiing-in-the-pandemic.25323/

 

[TeleChica]

I look at this way, even if Stowe is really crowded at least the runs are very long.
This will be my first time at Stowe because I normally ski Killington and didn’t want to deal with ridiculous parking reservations to add to this mess.

Hi @Boston girl. Just a heads up that just getting to the mountain can be a chore with long lines to get in to the lot. There is one road in. I had to park at the XC center preCOVID, and I though going at 9 am was early enough. My advice is to get there well before the lifts open. Good luck! Stowe is wonderful, you'll have fun.

 

[Boston girl]

Hi @Boston girl. Just a heads up that just getting to the mountain can be a chore with long lines to get in to the lot. There is one road in. I had to park at the XC center preCOVID, and I though going at 9 am was early enough. My advice is to get there well before the lifts open. Good luck! Stowe is wonderful, you'll have fun.

How long did you have to wait to get in ? Is it worth the trip from Boston?