So what's going to happen next season?

[SkiBabyMD]

Have you seen an announcement from Loveland regarding the plans for the upcoming season? I didn't find anything on their site.

Not yet. DD13/11 participated at Keely's Camp at Mt. Hood a few weeks ago and didn't have to partake in the lottery but did have to remain socially distant with precautions. I imagine Keely's Camp will have a similar arrangement with Loveland.

 

[SallyCat]

In the Summit Daily, CEO Rob Katz speaks: Vail resorts offers a preview of a socially distanced ski season.

Late to reading this, but it's interesting. He doesn't mention reducing crowds or using day-pass lotteries and seems more concerned that guest numbers will be low this season. That surprised me; I'm in Vermont and like others here (@newboots ), I've been noticing the unusually large crowds at trailheads and swimming holes. If there's a flu outbreak combined with COVID still at large, that would likely limit peoples' indoor options in the colder weather and drive them to look for other forms of entertainment/recreation. I wouldn't be surprised, just based on how many out-of-state cars are out and about here now, if this ends up being a quite busy winter.

I'm a little worried about the economic aspect of crowd-control. If resorts go to day-pass lotteries, that would price an awful lot of people out of skiing this year. So many uncertainties, though, and I'm just seeing my little sliver of the issue.

 

[newboots]

Vermonters Complaint Corner.

I don't know if I'm seeing more crowds now or not. Woodstock is traversible, which is unusual in the summer. Usually it's one big traffic mess. And they are counting out-of-state cars at the border and finding them to be less than last year, but elevated on holiday weekends (to be expected). I haven't heard about any traffic counts since the Fourth, though
.

I do think, though, that visitors are largely ignoring the 14-day quarantine upon entering the state. They would have to look up the state's website and read the rules (which have been relaxed with the possibility of a negative test after 7 days or a quarantine at home). I don't actually know how many, of course, but we have relatives who drive up for a weekend (second home), have a party with locals and widespread family invited, and drive home after 3 days. No social distancing in sight. (No, I didn't go! I heard!)

 

[ski diva]

An open letter from Mike Kaplan, Aspen Snowmass CEO, on what's going to happen next winter.

Mostly, it's this: "The short answer: We don’t have all the answers yet, but we are doing everything possible to anticipate how to open on time and stay open all winter."

 

[marzNC]

An open letter from Mike Kaplan, Aspen Snowmass CEO, on what's going to happen next winter.

Mostly, it's this: "The short answer: We don’t have all the answers yet, but we are doing everything possible to anticipate how to open on time and stay open all winter."

Pretty straightforward comments. Anyone do the Aspen survey?

". . .
We’re learning valuable lessons during our summer operations, which are going quite smoothly to everyone’s enjoyment. Yes, there will be new procedures this winter, some of them annoying, and a handful of the exuberant social activities we are famous for will be greatly subdued. But there is an overarching opportunity in this new normal that I’m trying to embrace.
. . .
The guest surveys we’ve conducted show that most of you are accepting of the necessary operational changes. But to the handful who say we should operate as normal and ignore our public health professionals, I want to be clear: We will only go back to business as usual at the ski areas and in our restaurants and hotels when the science and health experts give us the unanimous “all clear.” Until then, we’ll be serious and vigilant about keeping one another safe. Just like in skiing, we each must take responsibility for our own safety and absolutely avoid endangering others. If we can all own our roles and live them, I know we will open on time and remain open as long as the snow allows.
. . ."

 

[fgor]

Late to reading this, but it's interesting. He doesn't mention reducing crowds or using day-pass lotteries and seems more concerned that guest numbers will be low this season. That surprised me; I'm in Vermont and like others here (@newboots ), I've been noticing the unusually large crowds at trailheads and swimming holes. If there's a flu outbreak combined with COVID still at large, that would likely limit peoples' indoor options in the colder weather and drive them to look for other forms of entertainment/recreation. I wouldn't be surprised, just based on how many out-of-state cars are out and about here now, if this ends up being a quite busy winter.

I'm a little worried about the economic aspect of crowd-control. If resorts go to day-pass lotteries, that would price an awful lot of people out of skiing this year. So many uncertainties, though, and I'm just seeing my little sliver of the issue.

Here in Canterbury, New Zealand, our ski season is busier than it's ever been. I thought I might have just been imagining the insane weekend traffic - I probably have to leave a solid half hour earlier than usual to get a carpark that doesn't involve needing to shuttle to the skifield - but my boot fitter/usual ski shop confirmed that ever since we left strict lockdown around the start of May (and we still had restrictions then!), they've been absolutely run off their feet with business. The local ski area here wasn't even open until mid-June. For us in NZ, I think it's because people can't leave the country, so they're looking more locally for winter activities to do.

 

[marzNC]

A company that makes "fabric" buildings is encouraging ski resorts to consider adding indoor space. A big advantage is the short construction timeframe. Vail Resorts built a Sprung building after a fire. The blue Taos Welcome Center is a Sprung building.

One of the pics on the Sprung website shows cafeteria tables set up with dividers


https://www.sprung.com/structures/sports-recreation-buildings/ski-lodges/

 

[marzNC]

Apparently Jackson Hole has been in touch with one of the Australia ski resorts that's open now. Thredbo is on Ikon, but is independent. They opted to refund all season passes and go to an online advance purchase day ticket approach. Season passholders got discounted rates with bigger discounts after a certain number of tickets were purchased for a given person.

July 28, Canberra Times (Australia)
Thredbo, Perisher open in a season like no other amid pandemic, unpredictable snow conditions
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/st...ss-of-running-a-ski-resort-during-a-pandemic/

 

[ski diva]

A company that makes "fabric" buildings is encouraging ski resorts to consider adding indoor space. A big advantage is the short construction timeframe. Vail Resorts built a Sprung building after a fire. The blue Taos Welcome Center is a Sprung building.

Mt Abram in Maine has (or had, maybe it's been replaced by now) a "fabric" lodge after their old one burned down. I skied there a few years ago and it was pretty nice. Here are a couple photos that show both the inside and out:

 

[Jilly]

North side of Tremblant has a permanent tented structure attached to the old lodge. I've seen lots of these as there are many in this farming area.

 

[NewEnglandSkier]

Didn't Stowe have a temporary lodge (not sure if it was fabric) over on Spruce Peak area years back when they were constructing the Spruce Peak side? I seem to recall that they did

 

[MissySki]

I'm not positive now thinking about it, but isn't the South Peak lodge at Loon a building like this as well?

I actually like the dividers lol, gives you some space over what you can usually finagle in a lodge! Sunday River posted a non-detailed update on their website for 2020/2021 mountain operations that talks about reservation systems for on mountain restaurants, RFID is still going forward (yay!) etc.

https://www.sundayriver.com/covid/winter

 

[SkiBabyMD]

Vail's CEO message today.

"At Vail Resorts, we are strong advocates for face coverings and believe that in public gathering spaces – indoors and outdoors – everyone needs to wear a face covering at all times. There should be limited exceptions in areas designated for eating and drinking, but just as other tourist destinations have required, we must ensure that face coverings are not optional if you are walking around with a drink or snack in your hand. We also believe that physical distancing between unrelated parties is a must – which means events or other public gatherings that don’t allow for 6 feet of distancing should be restricted or limited. This goes for gatherings in town and on the mountain. We need to accept that this will likely be the reality for the full season."



https://news.vailresorts.com/corpor...XBAUkWSjg_HOFBT4u_mkDH30QBJoNCjgjR097YVtoITbQ

 

[MissySki]

Here’s an article interviewing Mike Solimano at Killington about what next season might look like. One of the main things is what we’ve all already been talking about here, and that’s the possibility that lodges will not be accessible for booting up or eating.

https://www.mountaintimes.info/qa-with-mike-solimano-5/

 

[ski diva]

Here’s an article interviewing Mike Solimano at Killington about what next season might look like. One of the main things is what we’ve all already been talking about here, and that’s the possibility that lodges will not be accessible for booting up or eating.

https://www.mountaintimes.info/qa-with-mike-solimano-5/

Good to hear that Pico will be open.

It seems that closed lodges are going to be the new norm. This is going to be tough on super cold days, when you'd like to duck in to get warm. And I wonder about bathrooms......

 

[marzNC]

Here’s an article interviewing Mike Solimano at Killington about what next season might look like. One of the main things is what we’ve all already been talking about here, and that’s the possibility that lodges will not be accessible for booting up or eating.

https://www.mountaintimes.info/qa-with-mike-solimano-5/

Seems clear that they are learning from the summer experience. Of course, eating outdoors when it's winter in VT is not of interest to most people.

MT: Has crowd control been an issue? Have you turned people away?​

​

MS: We started the summer very cautious with more restrictions in place, including requiring guests to pre-register which allowed our team to see an expected volume level each day. We have since stopped requiring pre-registration. As the summer progressed, we were able to operate more lifts, and with the additional uphill capacity, we have not had to turn away guests. We still have capacity limits on dining locations so at times that has resulted in some time slots being sold out.​

 

[marzNC]

Good to hear that Pico will be open.

It seems that closed lodges are going to be the new norm. This is going to be tough on super cold days, when you'd like to duck in to get warm. And I wonder about bathrooms......

I don't see having a base lodge open for access to restrooms any different than restrooms at gas stations or restaurants serving people outdoors or state-maintained rest stops on major highways. Fairly low risk to walk into a building but only stay inside for under 15 minutes. Especially if everyone is wearing a face mask.

A family with children under 12 pretty much must have access to restrooms without having to get back in the car. Even if they are only skiing half-day.

 

[MissySki]

Good to hear that Pico will be open.

It seems that closed lodges are going to be the new norm. This is going to be tough on super cold days, when you'd like to duck in to get warm. And I wonder about bathrooms......

Yeah, these are some really nice perks of doing a seasonal condo rental on mountain.. I went back and forth about doing an off mountain rental next season because it's significantly cheaper, but a) being on mountain is so darn convenient and hard to leave now that I've done it for a season and 2) with Covid it just makes sense. I think that'll be super valuable this season because I won't need a lodge to get ready/warm up/use the restroom/eat and drink.

 

[Abbi]

Good to hear that Pico will be open.

It seems that closed lodges are going to be the new norm. This is going to be tough on super cold days, when you'd like to duck in to get warm. And I wonder about bathrooms......

Definitely bathrooms are a concern for me! And booting up in parking lots and walking on ice in boots .... not a fan, but I'd do it to ski.

 

[santacruz skier]

Yeah, these are some really nice perks of doing a seasonal condo rental on mountain.. I went back and forth about doing an off mountain rental next season because it's significantly cheaper, but a) being on mountain is so darn convenient and hard to leave now that I've done it for a season and 2) with Covid it just makes sense. I think that'll be super valuable this season because I won't need a lodge to get ready/warm up/use the restroom/eat and drink.

That is great. I'm pretty lucky as my timeshare is across the street (literally) from the Heavenly gondola and the Northstar house is pretty close to the village as well. Plus in California we do get cold days in the mountains but often warm and sunny. Out of state trips will be ski in ski out if they even happen.