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So what's going to happen next season?

Christy

Angel Diva
Tremblant is on Ikon. So that is the season pass along with the Tonik (local non-holiday pass). Day tickets through the website only and limited. Limited "non dated" tickets are being sold..ie Costco or clubs. I imagine that there are a few groups that had already ordered, so they could be a go. And with the border closed, I'm thinking if we can stay out of trouble, could be a good year!!

Is Tremblant mostly a destination resort, or is it close to a populous area?

Crystal is essentially in the backyard of 3.5 million people. I don't know how they plan to control crowds with so many people nearby, unless, I guess, they have controlled pass sales, and there's been no indication they have.
 

Jilly

Moderator
Staff member
Tremblant is 1 1/2- 2 hrs from both Montreal and Ottawa. So locals, but it also promotes itself as a destination resort. Since Ikon there have been lots of America tourists. Between the exchange rate and the paid pass, it's been busy. Before that a few, but also Brits. They used to run a program called "ski/ride la gap". The Brits would send over their young adults for part of their gap year. 3 months of lessons and skiing as a group.

It's really too far for Toronto people to drive, but there were flights. Right now I don't think Air Canada has any plans to operate that flight and Porter isn't even flying. If Toronto people come, it for couple of days, not just a weekend. It takes them 8 hours to get there on a good day.

Not sure what's going to happen to events like - World Cup Freestyle - Moguls this year...If the border is still closed, no brainer there. (which is sounds like it is going to be)
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Is Tremblant mostly a destination resort, or is it close to a populous area?
As someone who travels a fair amount for skiing, I view Tremblant as a destination resort. It's a relatively big mountain for the region with a fair amount of slopeslide lodging and a nice "village" for people who don't want to do any driving once they get their stuff moved into their lodging for a long weekend.

Tremblant certainly has more to offer in terms of terrain than Snowshoe in WV. For the southeast, Snowshoe is THE destination resort. People drive from Atlanta or even as far as Florida for a ski vacation. Some families make the trip an annual tradition.
 

SkiBam

Angel Diva
I'm so thankful I can claim Tremblant as my "local" resort. It's an hour away, and while there are a number of closer hills, they're small. I ski at them sometimes, but am happy to have Tremblant nearby. And happy to hear season passes will be honoured. I have the Tonik - much better deal for someone my age as Ikon has no senior rate (believe me, I've complained!).

And while the Tonik (only for locals, I believe) has some blackout dates, it also offers three floater days, meaning you can go on any three blackout days you choose.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Interesting, looking at the websites for Killington, Copper, and Eldora turned up a slight difference. Copper and Eldora will have parking reservations. So will Killington. But the box to click is labeled "Managing Guest Capacity" instead of "Parking Reservation."

https://www.killington.com/plan-your-trip/getting-here/20-21-winter-experience/managing-capacity

MANAGING GUEST CAPACITY
We will be limiting the number of guests at the resort in order to facilitate physical distancing. Our primary method for limiting the number of guests will be accomplished by adjusting our ticket and pass product offerings and sales channels as well as limiting the number of tickets we sell on any given day.
We are also implementing an online parking reservation system for all guests. This means that whether you’re a season pass holder or day ticket holder; you will need to let us know you’re coming. Implementing this system proactively will help us track and manage volume and ensure an experience which enables appropriate physical distancing. We plan to share more details on how this will be implemented in the coming weeks.
 

MissySki

Angel Diva
Sunday River provided an update today. Some good expansion ideas for spreading out parking and warming areas in their hotels as well. They will not open until top to bottom is possible without downloading, but will go as early as they can for that without a set date as usual. The mountain will open to passholders only to start, not sure if that includes Ikon or not.

Winter 2020-21
While many things remain uncertain about the future, we're committed to delivering a fun and safe experience this winter. Below is an overview of what to expect based on our current plans.

On-Mountain
  • Opening day will be based on when we are able to offer top-to-bottom skiing with no lift downloading. We will initially open to passholders only.
  • We remain dedicated to providing the most dependable snow in New England, and will push to open new terrain as fast as possible and take advantage of our expansive resort footprint to spread skiers out.
  • Lift line layouts will be adjusted to allow spacing between lanes.
  • Lift capacity will be reduced by not combining parties on chairs, and limiting single loading onto one or two based on chair capacity.
  • Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) gates at chairlifts will allow direct-to-lift access for passholders and lift ticket purchasers, and limit guest-to-team member contact.
  • Face coverings will be required across the resort including while riding lifts.
Ticketing
  • We do not currently plan on requiring reservations for Season Pass, Ikon Pass, or ticket pack holders.
  • Season passes and ticket packs are on sale through October 12, and will go off sale after that point.
  • Lift tickets may have limited availability on peak dates. Tickets in ski and stay packages will not be affected.
  • Online lift ticket purchases will be encouraged and possibly required, with contactless pickup kiosks in all base lodges and hotels.
  • The Welcome Center at South Ridge Lodge will have expanded hours on Friday nights for ticket pickup to avoid Saturday morning congestion and delays.
Parking & Shuttles
  • New parking areas will be available for day-use parking at the Grand Summit and Jordan Hotels.
  • Both hotels will have space available for day guest use with full amenities, except bag storage.
  • Shuttle capacity will be reduced to 2/3 on all vehicles.
  • Shuttle routes and drop-off locations will vary based on lodge capacity at the time of pick-up.
  • Use of drop-off areas at each base lodge will be encouraged for families and groups to reduce shuttle volume.
Base Lodges
  • Masks will be required in all indoor public spaces, except when seated to eat.
  • Guests are encouraged to minimize the amount of time spent in base lodges, with a limit of 30 minutes.
  • Seating will be limited to 50 people per room with six feet of distance between tables.
  • Bag storage will be limited to bag check areas at each lodge Bag check services will be expanded, but based on availability. No bags can be left in open areas. Guests are encouraged to leave bags in their car if possible.
  • Restroom access will be limited to exterior entrances only to reduce walking traffic through lodges.
  • The Grand Summit and Jordan Hotels will have day guest facilities for booting up, warm-up breaks, seating, and eating. There will be no bag storage available.
Food & Beverage
  • Seating in all restaurants will be limited to 50 per room with no standing areas, following state guidelines.
  • New lunch options:
    • Grand Ave at the Jordan Hotel will have soup offerings and seating.
    • Camp at the Grand Summit Hotel will offer seated lunch service.
    • New bar added upstairs in White Cap Lodge by Shipyard Brew Haus.
    • Online ordering available for interior and exterior pick-up from the South Ridge Food Court.
SnowSports School
  • Adjustments will be made to meeting times and locations.
  • Designated warming areas will be available for SnowSports School programs.
Equipment Rentals
  • Expanded hours on Friday night at South Ridge Lodge for weekend arrivals.
  • Online reservations will be encouraged.
Events
  • No large gathering events are planned.
  • Competitions will follow the guidelines of each event's governing body.


We will continue to work with Boyne Resorts, as well as our partners at Ski Maine and the National Ski Areas Association to determine best practices while following the guidelines set by the State of Maine.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Sunday River provided an update today. Some good expansion ideas for spreading out parking and warming areas in their hotels as well. They will not open until top to bottom is possible without downloading, but will go as early as they can for that without a set date as usual. The mountain will open to passholders only to start, not sure if that includes Ikon or not.

Winter 2020-21
While many things remain uncertain about the future, we're committed to delivering a fun and safe experience this winter. Below is an overview of what to expect based on our current plans.

On-Mountain
  • Opening day will be based on when we are able to offer top-to-bottom skiing with no lift downloading. We will initially open to passholders only.
Based on what else Boyne Resorts has done in the past few months related to their northeast season pass offering, my guess would be that the early season access would be limited to Boyne passes. I wouldn't think that would be a big deal given that an Ikon holder is not too likely to want to use one of their days for early season conditions.

The Maine Pass options are available until Oct. 12. It's possible passes won't be sold after that, depending on the number bought. That includes 4-day packages for SR and Sugarloaf, and the 3-day for SR only.

Clearly Boyne is limited sale availability in order to have as much control as possible over the total numbers. Since RFID was installed, that will make it that much easier to track what passholders and others do as the season progresses.
 

MissySki

Angel Diva
Based on what else Boyne Resorts has done in the past few months related to their northeast season pass offering, my guess would be that the early season access would be limited to Boyne passes. I wouldn't think that would be a big deal given that an Ikon holder is not too likely to want to use one of their days for early season conditions.

The Maine Pass options are available until Oct. 12. It's possible passes won't be sold after that, depending on the number bought. That includes 4-day packages for SR and Sugarloaf, and the 3-day for SR only.

Clearly Boyne is limited sale availability in order to have as much control as possible over the total numbers. Since RFID was installed, that will make it that much easier to track what passholders and others do as the season progresses.

Good point, that's very true regarding managing days on Ikon passes, especially this season. I'm super excited we'll finally have RFID too, been seeing pictures of gates being installed recently.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Here are points for Steamboat that I found most interesting in the email sent out today as a followup to the Sept. 14 general announcement by the Alterra CEO. The info on their website is quite detailed. Clearly expecting that during holiday periods some method to avoid long lift lines will be necessary.

Additionally, we wanted to share with you our plans for the Trail Forward with the following policies and procedures for the winter season:
  • Reservations for Ikon Pass, Ikon Base Pass, and Steamboat pass holders are not required at Steamboat, at this time.
  • Guests who pre-book packages through Steamboat Central Reservations, or approved travel partners, prior to November 2 will have access for the dates of their pre-booked package. Our Worry-Free vacation policy provides flexibility when booking your winter vacation.
  • To limit on-mountain capacity, especially during holiday and peak periods, we currently are not offering, and will be tightly regulating, stand-alone lift tickets and other products. Advanced purchase packages and season pass products are the only way to access the mountain at this time.
  • For pass holders and pre-booked packages, additional lift-line management (specific queue times) may be necessary during holiday and peak periods. If this is the case, guests will receive further instructions closer to, or during, the season.
  • Single and multi-day lift tickets not part of a package (stand-alone) are not available for sale at this time. Currently, lift tickets may only be purchased as part of a package through Steamboat Central Reservations.

  • Advanced reservations are required for ski and snowboard rental equipment with specific fitting times. Walk in rentals will not be available this winter. Reservations for equipment can be made as part of a package and booked now through Steamboat Central Reservations; details on how to reserve equipment fitting times will be available later this fall. Guests may also choose Steamboat Sports Delivery for rental fittings and delivery to certain locations, providing the most personal experience for receiving your equipment.
  • Advanced reservations for Snowsports School lessons are required. Private lesson class sizes will be limited to 5 students. Group lessons will be half-day sessions with a target of 5 students per instructor. Children ages 2.5 to 4 years old may participate in private lessons with a maximum of 2 students. Childcare and group lessons will not be available for children under 5.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Snowbird has started to put info on their website. But still missing details, especially for the actual reservation systems for parking and gear rental. They are working on an FAQ, so possible to submit questions.

https://www.snowbird.com/winter-experience-2021

Snowbird is not going to even try to open for Thanksgiving week. Opening Day is set for Nov. 30 to allow more time for snowmaking in order to have more terrain open at the start.

There won't be lift access reservations required but everyone will need a parking reservation if driving up LCC. There won't be tickets available from outlets like Liftopia or local ski shops. Based on the Ikon reservations webpage, Snowbird season passes and Ikon will be unrestricted. I would guess that will be true for the MCP as well.

Snowbird will have an app for the first time. (They were slow to adopt RFID too.)

The tram will be running at 25% capacity, which means about 25 people. Means it will actually be possible to see the view on the way up, but hard to know how long the wait will end up. Usually can only count a view if downloading on the tram.

Lift tickets will go on sale in Oct.
 

WhyKnot

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
That makes two Powdr resorts planning to use parking reservations to limit the number of people on the slopes: Copper and Killington/Pico.

If more people carpool, that will also mean that lifts will be able to load more "travel buddies" together. That would help to make lift lines a bit shorter.
But Carpooling is an Covid issue. I would imagine cars coming from same household or pod would in essence be carpooling anyway. I am concerned people will travel together that are not in a pod together. I hope there is not too much of that.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
But Carpooling is an Covid issue. I would imagine cars coming from same household or pod would in essence be carpooling anyway. I am concerned people will travel together that are not in a pod together. I hope there is not too much of that.
I would guess that people who ride together for a ski day trip, or any other outdoor activity, also get together at other times.

Keeping a window cracked is recommended if anyone in the car is concerned about keeping good ventilation. For a short ride (< 1 hour), could use face masks. But that's probably not going to happen for people who are about to spend the day skiing together.
 

WhyKnot

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I would guess that people who ride together for a ski day trip, or any other outdoor activity, also get together at other times.

Keeping a window cracked is recommended if anyone in the car is concerned about keeping good ventilation. For a short ride (< 1 hour), could use face masks. But that's probably not going to happen for people who are about to spend the day skiing together.
Yes, exactly, though more than cracked I'd do. Both sides open (cross ventilation, yeah I know it's winter!) and wearing masks. Which I guess what I was saying was that I was concerned carpools may NOT be that vigilant (meaning not only people pod-ing together). Far too many people I hear about pay no mind to these things (cue several college campuses). When I was living out in the Portland area people hitched rides (via Social Media, etc) to Mt Hood. What becomes of all that this season? Will skiers/riders without transport chose to skip the slopes or will they hitch with strangers? It's all TBD. Of course I hope ski season goes off well and everyone stays healthy. If in fact the major spreader area was the bars and lodges last season, we will see I guess by the vigilance of people who may just stay outside and ride the lifts. My best to you and everyone.
 

StayWarm

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Powder Mountain just came out with their plans for this season: https://www.powdermountain.com/winter2021. They've capped day-ticket sales for years, and also are in a unique position of being low-density even on busy days, so the changes aren't so big.

What I do like to see is that they're setting out plans at three levels, depending on COVID risk/restrictions (green, yellow, red). Off-piste access is a big part of PowMow's deal, too, and I think it's pretty cool that they've bought some open-air snowcats for the cat skiing. By contrast, Loveland (which typically has free cat skiing as part of a day ticket) won't be offering any cat skiing this season.

We're in Colorado and Powder Mountain is probably the only out-of-state ski trip we'll try to take this season, so it's great to see such a solid plan from them.
 

Christy

Angel Diva
Crystal, which is otherwise on Ikon, just came out with a local weekday pass (you can also ski weekends before 12/20 and after 2/27). $499. It could be a good option...or weekdays might be the new weekends, and they might be crowded and annoying (no reservations at Crystal, but also no walk up tickets, so a person without a pass may be locked out).

There is also a "hall pass" option for $599, which 2 people can share (not at once), which is interesting. I won't typically ski on weekends anymore anyway, whereas my husband is happy to get up at a ridiculously early hour and beat the crowds, so it could work for us.
 

Chris W

Certified Ski Diva
I'm foreseeing a tough go this winter for my family. Ski trips are an important part of our lives but we're not at any one place consistenly enough to have passes, and with all of the unknowns and restrictions on numbers and travel, we are going to need to play everything very last-minute and hope that there actually will be opportunities.
 

Christy

Angel Diva
we are going to need to play everything very last-minute and hope that there actually will be opportunities.

I hear that. We won't be doing our usual Sun Valley week, since we wouldn't be able to have the kind of ski vacation we like to have there this year, and I don't want to fly anywhere. But in terms of going anywhere else, somewhere we can drive to, with a ski in/out condo, where it's all about the skiing--I'm not willing anymore to make reservations far in advance then spend a bunch of time and money to have crappy conditions in a place where there's nothing else to do. But will anything be available fairly last minute? Maybe not, judging by how booked up vacation properties have been in the PNW this summer and fall.

With BC off-limits I was kind of surprised to find, last night when I was searching, there isn't much in terms of ski in/out within reasonable driving distance (6 hours?) from my home anyway. I was hoping Brundage or Tamarack had on-site lodging, but they don't. Maybe I'll need to drop that requirement.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Crystal, which is otherwise on Ikon, just came out with a local weekday pass (you can also ski weekends before 12/20 and after 2/27). $499. It could be a good option...or weekdays might be the new weekends, and they might be crowded and annoying (no reservations at Crystal, but also no walk up tickets, so a person without a pass may be locked out).

There is also a "hall pass" option for $599, which 2 people can share (not at once), which is interesting. I won't typically ski on weekends anymore anyway, whereas my husband is happy to get up at a ridiculously early hour and beat the crowds, so it could work for us.
I guess the idea is that someone who doesn't plan to travel and doesn't want to pay for Ikon has local season pass options. Noticed that it's possible to get A-lot parking for a little more. Is that a big or small parking lot?

Hall pass makes good sense to me. Just says shared by "two individuals" so sounds like could be two friends who don't live in the same household.

Screen Shot 2020-09-23 at 10.19.39 PM.png
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Noticed that people who want to switch to one of the Crystal-only passes but had already bought Ikon can get a refund for Ikon. As opposed to simply deferring the Ikon pass to 2021-22. Presumably the goal is to get as many locals as possible to ski midweek instead of weekends.
 

Christy

Angel Diva
@marzNC A lot is small. it is the only parking near the base, so you wouldn't have to ride the shuttle, so being able to park there would be pretty sweet. I wonder if it's possible they only sell as many of those passes as there are parking spots there? Or do they sell more in hopes that not everyone shows up at once?
 

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