Skiing in the Pandemic

[ilovepugs]

Based on how nuts Ludlow, VT, is this week and the zillion cars in the area with out of state plates, I'd say no, too.

Kind of feeling glad I’m blacked out this week - the temptation to go has been totally removed! I’m going to be hiking in Stowe in the notch tomorrow and I predict Stowe resort will be a mad house as well. The lot was extremely full even early season a few weekends ago, despite only a handful of trails being open.

 

[ling]

Forgot to mention this too. My ski buddy at Taos has 2 friends who ski with him regularly. Not a good idea this year.
First guy is from TX and he just flew back to TX on 12/24 and flew back to NM on 12/28. He was already out skiing on 12/29...
The other guy, also from TX, brought his grandkids to the mountain on 12/28. While chatting at the line, he disclosed that the reason why he was out with the grandkids was because his son, the father of the grandkids, tested positive a day earlier and was really sick, so he couldn’t bring the kids. WTH?! THEY ALL LIVE UNDER THE SAME ROOF IN TAOS!!!! SMH...

You still ski with your “buddy”?

 

[StayWarm]

I'm so grateful that there's a ski season at all right now and have been, for the most part, happy with the measures the places I've gotten to so far have taken. With that said, I'm still sticking with my own rules for what I feel okay about: I only go indoors for restrooms and avoid the parking shuttles.

All of the resorts I've gotten to so far are day-trippable from Denver:

• Loveland: Relatively good adherence to masking. Lifties are getting better at enforcing. Lines have been long, though, especially at the base. Today was the worst line day I've ever seen at Loveland. They clearly underestimated how many people were going to show up. The parking lot wasn't any more full than usual, though, so I think it must have been more groups of people driving up together. I'm hopeful that the line situation will improve significantly after the holidays and as more terrain opens.
• Copper: A well-oiled machine on mask enforcement in the lift lines, but less adherence in folks heading into the restrooms (and no monitors posted there). Lines have been short or moderate, definitely manageable.
• ABasin: I went here for the first time (ever, not just this season) yesterday. Similar population to Loveland, since it's mostly a locals mountain (no base lodging). Lines were slightly better managed than at Loveland, in part because ABasin has RFID. Good mask adherence in lines (about the same as Loveland).

Worth noting that of these three, only Copper has a reservation system in place that also covers season pass holders -- you have to reserve parking. It seems like a much more precise tool for controlling how many people are on the mountain than the calculations/estimates that Loveland and ABasin must be making around how many season passes are likely to show up. I'd be very curious to know what the numbers were like at Loveland today; they either sold too many day tickets or wildly underestimated how many season passes would show up.

 

[Susan L]

You still ski with your “buddy”?

Not after hearing about his 2 TX friends...I ski alone now.

 

[TNtoTaos]

I started skiing Taos on Dec12, a week after their delayed opening. With limited capacity and passese sold, it was quite empty. I chatted with the director of guest services and he said the season will be empty like this, even on weekends and we’d not see the nornal weekend crowd. Boy was he wrong. It was good up until the day after Christmas, Taos was suddenly invaded by a mob of non compliant visitors - chin diapers, large group, no distancing and everything else. Taos have signs up everywhere but these people either couldn’t read or couldn’t care less. Also a coincidence that the parking lot was filled with out of state plates, a majority were from a neighboring state that didn’t believe in safety protocols. Doubt any of them quarantined for 14 days before heading to the mountain.
All the lifts are running with just a small part of the mountain still closed on the back side. I feel that the mountain has more beginners this week as there were plenty of people falling/sitting/laying around and were not too excited to get out of the way as quickly as possible. Witnessed quite a few people hiking down or wedging down Taos legenary steep Al’s Run. Not sure why so many think they will be ok going down Al’s when they have no business being there in the first place.
I also found people congregating indoors when there were signs everywhere telling people to get out. They didn’t care. TSV also noted on their website that if you have no tickets to ski, please do not come up. Nope, that didn’t stop people from coming up. I have counted at least 6 groups of 10+ heads (while sitting in my car charging) heading to the base in regular clothing, obviously not going to participate in any snow activities. Not exactly sure what there is to look at other than a sea of people...
As for parking, it was fine before Christmas - there are no shuttles this year so everyone has to park and walk. The 2 parking lots closest to the base were only 1/2 full until after Christmas and then the lots were so full they had to park along the road outside of the ski valley. I drive electric so I park at the charging stations to charge up. There are only 6 chargers and I have never seen them all taken...until after Christmas.
I felt safe being at the ski valley up until Christmas. I emailed management about my concerns and I could see them making changes the next day to address my concerns. So I am glad they listened. I think TSV has done a great job setting up protocols to make this season happen but unfortunately there are some people who just don’t get it and refused to comply.
I sure hope this rowdy crowd would head home soon and Taos would not be negatively impacted by their bad behaviors from the last few day.

Wow, @SusanL, I am really disappointed by all of this, although I guess I shouldn't be surprised, considering the neighboring states. I've been in NM, quarantining with family, for the past 10 days, and was hoping to be able to head over to TSV in another few days - hopefully the post-Christmas crowd will be gone and TSV will be back to normal. UGH-i can't even imagine it the way you've described it - I've never seen cars backed up onto the road!

 

[Susan L]

Wow, @SusanL, I am really disappointed by all of this, although I guess I shouldn't be surprised, considering the neighboring states. I've been in NM, quarantining with family, for the past 10 days, and was hoping to be able to head over to TSV in another few days - hopefully the post-Christmas crowd will be gone and TSV will be back to normal. UGH-i can't even imagine it the way you've described it - I've never seen cars backed up onto the road!

Parking up the road happened a handful of times before, mostly on President’s day weekend but it is not a good sign during a pandemic. TSV responded that it was due to all the staff having to drive themselves up, no shuttles/buses, and guests not sharing rides anymore so it “seemed” to be more busy. I am not sure I buy that. They did “sell out” between 12/28-30 and those were the busiest days of the week. Yesterday seemed a little less crowded and they weren’t sold out.
Again, skiing itself is a low risk activity but it becomes high risk when people are reckless and put others at risk.

 

[SkiBam]

I'm pretty happy with Tremblant's webcams. The one on the summit appears to be new and is actually a video that pans almost the entire area. It also zooms in on the big info board, so you can see which lifts are running, wait times, and temperature. And the cams at the north and south bases can be adjusted so you can see the lines for all the lifts.

I haven't been there since before Christmas so we'll see how things are next week. At least more terrain seems to be opening up so people can spread out.

 

[lisamamot]

Out of state plates does not mean non-compliance, at least in Maine. I agree Vermont's restrictions are very difficult to adhere too, hence why I have not seen my sister or my mother since last winter.
That said, everyone I know from MA tests before coming to ME...perhaps I just know very conscientious people? The line in the sand of state lines doesn't really make someone from out of state more dangerous than someone from in state though. People with in-state plates can travel elsewhere and return too. There are plenty of people at Sunday River coming up from Portland, ME which has COVID stats very similar to MA. People from Portland can come and go from Sunday River without testing - frankly I would rather sit next to someone from MA that is masked and tested before arriving, than someone from Portland who doesn't test and may not be accustomed to masking like people from MA are.

 

[patoswiss]

I skied in PA in the 80's and the lift lines that I have seen so far this season mirror those. They are so long and the slopes are packed to the point of being dangerous. Plus there are SO MANY people who have decided that this is the perfect season to learn to ski and they are all over the place. And the rental lines are insane, too. Over an hour line for people waiting to rent for the day. And I think prices have gone up. I kinda get that, they need to make money, but it seems like the prices are hiked but they aren't reducing capacity very much. Since we can't sit comfortably inside we tend to ski until we are tired and then leave, instead of take a break and go back out in prior seasons. The 4 hour lift ticket at Blue Mountain is our new go to.

 

[alr]

We just returned from skiing 28-31Dec at Bretton Woods. I would say mask compliance is somewhat lacking. I saw a lot of uncovered noses and those masks with breathing holes. No one is telling people to wear or fix their masks in lift line. Only parties who arrive together are being loaded on the lifts and gondolas so that’s good. They are hand scanning tickets so that’s not as good as rfid. Parking is easy and the walk to the base not far from most places on the lot. We have special parking privileges as pass holders so we get to park very close if we arrive early. Lift lines were non-existent from 8:30-10:30 and then as we approached the noon hour got very long. We found that if we started skiing at 8:30 we got pretty tired by the time the lift lines started getting long so we would just head back to our cabin. So we basically went for half days in the morning. We were up at Bretton woods two weeks prior on the weekend and it was very uncrowded then. Even with the somewhat spotty mask compliance I feel ok safety wise since we don’t spend much time at all inside and the separation in the lift line is adequate. Note a lot of the mountain is still closed so that’s making things more crowded right now though I’m guessing when they are more open they will probably sell more tickets before they “sell out”

 

[MissySki]

Today I witnessed an exchange I found notable. Someone was wearing a mask with the breathing holes in it and had gotten all the way through the rfid gates before anyone noticed apparently. (Not that I can fault patrol for that on a powder day with people all bundled up and snow falling making it hard to see). The patroller caught the woman when she was second in line to board the lift and pulled her and her partner out of line. I think the woman complained because the patroller handed her a mask and said she could either put it on over/under her current holed mask, or she wouldn’t be getting on the lift. Unfortunately by then I was getting on so I didn’t get to see how it ended. Was good to see strong enforcement, but mind numbing to try and understand how someone thinks it’s appropriate to wear a mask with mouth and nose holes in it, just wow..

 

[Susan L]

Today I witnessed an exchange I found notable. Someone was wearing a mask with the breathing holes in it and had gotten all the way through the rfid gates before anyone noticed apparently. (Not that I can fault patrol for that on a powder day with people all bundled up and snow falling making it hard to see). The patroller caught the woman when she was second in line to board the lift and pulled her and her partner out of line. I think the woman complained because the patroller handed her a mask and said she could either put it on over/under her current holed mask, or she wouldn’t be getting on the lift. Unfortunately by then I was getting on so I didn’t get to see how it ended. Was good to see strong enforcement, but mind numbing to try and understand how someone thinks it’s appropriate to wear a mask with mouth and nose holes in it, just wow..

I was at Trader Joe’s a few weeks ago and saw a lady with a see-thru scarf over her face When a staff approached her about not wearing proper face covering, the lady responded: My face is covered

Most people I saw today had some kind of face coverings but plenty of noses hanging out. Saw a guy walking around the base without a mask, but tried to cover his lower lips with his hoodie. I really don’t understand why it is so difficult for some to get why they need to cover their faces. There were staff around but they did not approach these offenders.

 

[marzNC]

Like Colorado and Oregon, there are resorts that have reported outbreaks (2+ cases, same building/group) in Canada. Big White in BC has made the most news. Sun Peaks had a few cases of staff at a hotel. In all the situations I've noticed, the resorts continued to operate.

For Colorado, possible to see all outbreaks attributed to a business for each county. Contact tracing seems to be reasonable effective there. I noticed at least one outbreak that involved a few people working at a ski school.

 

[ling]

For Colorado, possible to see all outbreaks attributed to a business for each county. Contact tracing seems to be reasonable effective there. I noticed at least one outbreak that involved a few people working at a ski school.

Where can one find the detailed outbreak information for Colorado? Friend of mine is working in the mountains. She would love to get that kind of information.

 

[marzNC]

Where can one find the detailed outbreak information for Colorado? Friend of mine is working in the mountains. She would love to get that kind of information.

My starting point has been the ongoing article in the Summit Daily. It has links to the relevant county and state webpages. Here's an example of the Outbreak Map showing Keystone and Frisco so you can see the categories for the type of businesses or events. The Vail Daily has a similar article for Eagle County.

https://www.summitcountyco.gov/1408/Outbreaks

https://covid19.colorado.gov/covid19-outbreak-data

 

[Jenny]

Well, day 2 here and I think I can say that we’re basically on our own for protection, at least as far as the lift line is concerned. The crowding was better, since the second "peak" is now open, but I don’t know that I saw anyone being the mask police.

 

[newboots]

Unlike.

 

[ski now work later]

We arrived at our local mountain (Berkshire East in Charlemont MA) the Sunday after the storm, early. Nice and quiet when we arrived, but the other side of the mountain wasn't open yet and by 9:40 there were soooo many people! We left by 10:20. Then the rain came, not sure when we will return. Ordered YakTrax for next time too. Sigh.

 

[newboots]

I'm signed up to ski with the Hudson Valley Ski Club tomorrow at Hunter. Ski clubs are completely new to me. Turns out the crowd will include a family of 8! And a few others.

And, Saratoga Springs (pretty far north, but - ) reported its first case of the rapid-spreading mutation of the virus (the UK mutation). Some members could be traveling from further north.

And I'm definitely not 100% after my virus-scare last week. Will they divide in groups? Will I be the last one down on every run? Will they decided to start the day at some double-diamond on the summit?

I can beg off group skiing to work on my skills, but sheesh. And why do I make it harder with all this anxiety?

 

[MissySki]

I'm signed up to ski with the Hudson Valley Ski Club tomorrow at Hunter. Ski clubs are completely new to me. Turns out the crowd will include a family of 8! And a few others.

And, Saratoga Springs (pretty far north, but - ) reported its first case of the rapid-spreading mutation of the virus (the UK mutation). Some members could be traveling from further north.

And I'm definitely not 100% after my virus-scare last week. Will they divide in groups? Will I be the last one down on every run? Will they decided to start the day at some double-diamond on the summit?

I can beg off group skiing to work on my skills, but sheesh. And why do I make it harder with all this anxiety?

Make sure you keep track of Hunter updates today/tonight. Apparently they unexpectedly didn’t open today due to not having enough patrollers and referenced something relating to Covid but it was vague. Will they be able to open tomorrow is the question.

I’ve never skied with a ski club, but I’m sure you’ll be fine! Likely to break up into various levels or terrain interests as with any group I’d assume. Also, stop worrying which spot you come down the mountain in, I promise that no one cares. We all lead and lag sometimes, it’s just how it is. I actually prefer to pull up the rear in many cases, you can tell a lot about the slope from the person in front of you and which line they choose. Have fun!