Loveland Opening Day 2020

[StayWarm]

My husband and I made it up to Loveland today for their opening day. It felt *so good* to be back out on the mountain (after the first run, when I wondered if I even knew how to ski anymore). Loveland is an independent mountain and isn't on any of the big passes. Since it's only an hour from Denver and doesn't have a base village with lodging, it's mostly a locals and day-trippers spot, rather than a destination resort. I love it for the chill vibe, varied terrain, and reasonable prices. I've missed it since March.

View from the base. The lift that was running was on the left.



For opening day, they had one lift running and one run from top to bottom (all green). The only crowding was on the catwalk at the top of the lift, which is a bit narrow until it opens up further down. Here's the view from the lift down the catwalk (when it wasn't crowded) and looking out toward other lifts and runs.



On the whole, I was reassured by the various covid measures that they had in place:

• Everyone was masked.
• I used the restrooms in the locker room. They had an in door and an out door, and the seating areas where people would normally boot up were closed off. Basically, we only went indoors to pee and to pick up our season passes, and in both cases they were managing how many people could go in at a time.
• Reasonable guidance on maintaining spacing in the lift line. It wasn't a long line or a big crowd anyway.

Here's a picture of the inside where we went to pick up our season passes. They had someone monitoring the door to control how many people were indoors, and all of the employees were masked and behind plexiglass. Folks who needed pictures taken kept their masks on.


We didn't check out the cafe areas, so can't say much about that. I think they definitely benefited from having opening day on a weekday. It might feel too crowded with so little terrain open on a weekend. Given that it wasn't crowded, we also didn't need to use a parking shuttle, which remains my biggest concern this season.

Fingers crossed that we can stay open safely. The numbers are not looking good in Colorado.

 

[COcanuck]

My husband and I made it up to Loveland today for their opening day. It felt *so good* to be back out on the mountain (after the first run, when I wondered if I even knew how to ski anymore). Loveland is an independent mountain and isn't on any of the big passes. Since it's only an hour from Denver and doesn't have a base village with lodging, it's mostly a locals and day-trippers spot, rather than a destination resort. I love it for the chill vibe, varied terrain, and reasonable prices. I've missed it since March.

View from the base. The lift that was running was on the left.

View attachment 14055

For opening day, they had one lift running and one run from top to bottom (all green). The only crowding was on the catwalk at the top of the lift, which is a bit narrow until it opens up further down. Here's the view from the lift down the catwalk (when it wasn't crowded) and looking out toward other lifts and runs.

View attachment 14058View attachment 14057

On the whole, I was reassured by the various covid measures that they had in place:

• Everyone was masked.
• I used the restrooms in the locker room. They had an in door and an out door, and the seating areas where people would normally boot up were closed off. Basically, we only went indoors to pee and to pick up our season passes, and in both cases they were managing how many people could go in at a time.
• Reasonable guidance on maintaining spacing in the lift line. It wasn't a long line or a big crowd anyway.

Here's a picture of the inside where we went to pick up our season passes. They had someone monitoring the door to control how many people were indoors, and all of the employees were masked and behind plexiglass. Folks who needed pictures taken kept their masks on.
View attachment 14056

We didn't check out the cafe areas, so can't say much about that. I think they definitely benefited from having opening day on a weekday. It might feel too crowded with so little terrain open on a weekend. Given that it wasn't crowded, we also didn't need to use a parking shuttle, which remains my biggest concern this season.

Fingers crossed that we can stay open safely. The numbers are not looking good in Colorado.

You can say that again, I moonlight urgent care at Kaiser, numbers are up....way up...

 

[StayWarm]

You can say that again, I moonlight urgent care at Kaiser, numbers are up....way up...

Thank you for the work you're doing in urgent care!

I'm mentally preparing myself for the high likelihood that the season gets interrupted by a lockdown at some point. My impression is that indoor dining and family/friend gatherings are the bigger contributors to spread right now than outdoor activities, but I don't have much faith that we'll get well-targeted shutdowns. I heard Polis' press conference earlier this week urging people to cancel their social engagements with people outside their families/pod, but I don't think the message is getting through.

 

[COcanuck]

Thank you for the work you're doing in urgent care!

I'm mentally preparing myself for the high likelihood that the season gets interrupted by a lockdown at some point. My impression is that indoor dining and family/friend gatherings are the bigger contributors to spread right now than outdoor activities, but I don't have much faith that we'll get well-targeted shutdowns. I heard Polis' press conference earlier this week urging people to cancel their social engagements with people outside their families/pod, but I don't think the message is getting through.

I don't think it's getting through either...the vast majority of the cases I'm seeing are from family and friend social gatherings. I'd rather see a lockdown on bars/restaurants/gyms, etc, than ski hills...but I guess I'm also a little bit biased in that as well!

 

[StayWarm]

We were back at Loveland today, from about noon to 2:30pm (we're not typically early risers on the weekends). Arriving when we did meant that we were able to park just a couple rows from the lifts, in a spot left open by an early morning skier, once again avoiding any parking shuttles (although I'm not sure they were running yet).

They've opened a second lift (Lift 2), but based on the one run we took over there, that was mostly used by beginners and was frankly kind of hazardous on the way down, with people falling left and right. Hopefully more terrain in the next couple of weeks. They're making snow over in the Valley, too, which is Loveland's dedicated beginner's area.

It was much busier than on Wednesday, and we spent 5-10 minutes in line for every run. Line management was good, though. Everyone was masked, and the one time someone wasn't, they got yelled at by a liftie.

 

[marzNC]

Here's what it says on the Loveland website about shuttle buses.

Expect a significant occupancy reduction on the shuttle buses.​

​

Face coverings will be required in buses for the 2020/21 season for ages 4+.​

​

Hand coverings (gloves/mittens) will be required on all buses for the 2020/21 season.​

 

[marzNC]

Check out the video that Loveland made a month ago to get across the differences this season. The dogs seem to like being stars.

 

[StayWarm]

Here's what it says on the Loveland website about shuttle buses.

Expect a significant occupancy reduction on the shuttle buses.​

​

Face coverings will be required in buses for the 2020/21 season for ages 4+.​

​

Hand coverings (gloves/mittens) will be required on all buses for the 2020/21 season.​

I know that they have plans in place for the shuttle buses... I just don't like the idea of riding one all the same. If they said that the windows would always be open, that might help my (maybe not entirely rational) anxiety around this one. The good news is that the shuttle ride is usually no more than 10 minutes, and only that if you're coming from the furthest parking lot.

The Bernese Mountain Dog in the video is quite the celebrity around here. He's the official Loveland mascot and also the honorary mayor of Georgetown, which is just down I70 from Loveland: https://twitter.com/officialsnowdog

 

[marzNC]

I know that they have plans in place for the shuttle buses... I just don't like the idea of riding one all the same. If they said that the windows would always be open, that might help my (maybe not entirely rational) anxiety around this one. The good news is that the shuttle ride is usually no more than 10 minutes, and only that if you're coming from the furthest parking lot.

Not irrational at all to want windows to be open. Doesn't need to be wide open, even a crack helps move air around. Everyone on a shuttle is bundled up any way. Keeping windows open is recommended in vehicles in general if the people inside are not from the same household or pod. One of the key recommendations for school buses.

As you noted, a short ride under 15 minutes in a bus with face coverings and distancing isn't a big deal in any case.

 

[Après Skier]

Thank you for sharing your experience and observations about social distancing. Looks like Loveland is handling the situation well. Fingers crossed the entire ski community follows suite

 

[cheerrabbit]

Thanks for the updates!
I'd be interested in seeing what Loveland is doing for food options this year.
We stopped doing season tickets about 2 years ago due to injuries (husband and son), but my son wants to ski again. I purchased 4 packs for us this year since I'm not sure how much we will get to ski. I figure I can take a weekday off every now and then.
I understand why the cabins are closed but they made for a nice break, especially over on Lift 8. Basically, I will take everything in stride this season.

 

[StayWarm]

Thanks for the updates!
I'd be interested in seeing what Loveland is doing for food options this year.
We stopped doing season tickets about 2 years ago due to injuries (husband and son), but my son wants to ski again. I purchased 4 packs for us this year since I'm not sure how much we will get to ski. I figure I can take a weekday off every now and then.
I understand why the cabins are closed but they made for a nice break, especially over on Lift 8. Basically, I will take everything in stride this season.

I hear you -- I just know that I'm going to miss the warming cabin over on 8, and at the top of Ptarmigan -- Loveland can be super cold and windy.

I remember reading that the downstairs bar is closed this season, but that there will be pre-made/grab-and-go food options. I saw an employee coming back to the lifts from their lunch break with a burrito, so I'm guessing that's one of the options, but I haven't been inside yet. I hope you get the chance to use those 4 packs!

 

[alison wong]

I moonlight urgent care at Kaiser

Me too. But KP Mid Atlantic States (MAS) with KP HealthConnect.