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Survey reveals ski resort visitors' top concerns for upcoming winter

ski diva

Administrator
Staff member
From the Summit Daily News. More than 20,000 skiers an snowboarders responded.

Screen Shot 2020-10-29 at 4.34.21 PM.png

What's your top concern?
 

Christy

Angel Diva
I don't think anyone is proposing that we wear a mask "at all times" (so, while actively skiing), are they?
 

gingerjess

Angel Diva
I'd be super interested to get more metadata about the distribution of these survey results. I bet the "making an online reservation... on a specific day" one is seriously bimodal.
 

newboots

Angel Diva
My top concern is that other skiers won't follow the resort's or the state's rules! I can adjust to most any rule, except difficulty accessing a bathroom. (So, if you see me on the hill this winter bulging in the derriere, it is not because I've stuffed a pillow in my pants to cushion the fall.)
 

snoWYmonkey

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
My top concern is being forced to ride the gondola with strangers who fail to wear their masks as they eat their lunches while protected from the cold and wind. I can already hear the outrage at a single filling up an 8 seater... Missing the 2 person gondolas in Japan. Hopefully my anxiety is greater than the actual experience.
 

newboots

Angel Diva

Simygirl

Certified Ski Diva
My top concern is that other skiers won't follow the resort's or the state's rules! I can adjust to most any rule, except difficulty accessing a bathroom. (So, if you see me on the hill this winter bulging in the derriere, it is not because I've stuffed a pillow in my pants to cushion the fall.)
That’s double purpose and new fashion! You might be up to something!
 

Simygirl

Certified Ski Diva
I’m a bit surprised that making online reservations to ski got a less desirable vote. I think this might be the best way for crowd control and also tracking. Anyone else was surprised by that?
 

MissySki

Angel Diva
I’m a bit surprised that making online reservations to ski got a less desirable vote. I think this might be the best way for crowd control and also tracking. Anyone else was surprised by that?

As a passholder I did not want to have to make reservations. So I’m happy that my mountain is currently not planning to do so for passholders. We’ll see how it is in practice. I’d be fine with day tickets requiring reservations ahead of time everywhere. I think a lot of resorts took the stance of selling less season passes with the plan to control crowds through day ticket availability.
 

newboots

Angel Diva
@Simygirl - I'm not surprised. I think that skiers (as a very large group) can be quite demanding and selfish. I mean, inside my head I'm having a tantrum right now because it's clear that it's not going to be easy, like driving 20 minutes, no issues parking, short lift lines, and all the rest. But we want what we can't have. It just isn't business as usual. We have to do it differently, or we can't do it at all.

But yes, part of me wants to pound on the floor and sob, "It isn't fair!" Then I remember that I'm all grown up, and there are kids who can't learn because there's one computer in the house with 4 kids and their internet service is as bad, or worse, than mine. And people without jobs, and people in the hospital, and people who are grieving. So I try to keep my ski tantrum in check!

I think you're right, that reservations are a reasonably good way to keep the crowds down. And all the other measures listed are things we need to do, too.
:cry: :hurt: :cry:
 

kiki

Angel Diva
I’m a bit surprised that making online reservations to ski got a less desirable vote. I think this might be the best way for crowd control and also tracking. Anyone else was surprised by that?
Yes, that is the least of my worries this season, I was surprised about it
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
I don't think anyone is proposing that we wear a mask "at all times" (so, while actively skiing), are they?
All I've seen for American ski areas/resorts is that mask usage is required indoors and everywhere outdoors where keeping at least 6 ft away from other people is not possible. Meaning people a person didn't ride with or isn't sharing lodging with, whether family or just friends.

However there are countries where masks are/were required anytime someone stopped outside their home. Didn't really make much sense when someone was running or biking solo in an uncrowded area.

The NSAA Ski Well Be Well guidelines say that "Face Coverings Must Be Worn Whenever Physical Distancing Cannot Be Achieved." So an instructor and any students should be keeping their faces covered during a lesson when they are standing on the slope talking/listening before starting a run. I think I've seen ski school guidelines that state a face covering is supposed to be worn at all times during a lesson.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
I’m a bit surprised that making online reservations to ski got a less desirable vote. I think this might be the best way for crowd control and also tracking. Anyone else was surprised by that?
It's hard to say what types of people were represented by the 20,000 who responded. Doesn't sound like any sort of random sample. (My academic background is in statistics.) Meaning the people who found out about the survey and were motivated to respond may not represent the entire spectrum of people who normally ski/board. If more of the respondents ski at a "local" mountain, then they are more likely to want to be able to make a last minute decision based on snow conditions. They may think the any reservation system would be more likely to lock them out of deciding the night before to go skiing the next day. May well not be true except for Saturday powder days, but until the season gets going the phrase "perception is reality" probably applies. Obviously the situation is quite different for people who have to plan ski trips well in advance due to how long it takes to reach a resort where they normally stay overnight for one more more nights.

Clearly Vail Resorts decided the safest approach was to require lift access reservations for both large and small resorts. I think VR learned a lot from the experience of opening up three resorts in Australia in late June. Two had to close after four days due to a surge in that state. Perisher was open the entire season. As was neighboring Thredbo, an independent resort, that took an entirely different approach to limiting the number of people on the slopes.

I noticed that a ski club in DC has only one ski trip that is almost full for this season. It's a trip to Vail, so the Epic reservation system will probably apply. The trips to Alterra/Ikon resorts aren't as popular. Ikon holders will have to make reservations but don't get a chance to hold dates before day tickets are sold like is going to happen for Epic. Normally the trips for that club fill up by late September.
 

bsskier

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
All of my crew received this survey (wording is exact) about 3 months ago. I thought we all got it because we're passholders, but others who got it said it seems anyone who signed up for the resort's winter newsletter was in receipt. I don't remember what I ranked these events because some weren't applicable (for example, parking), but I do remember urging my people to respond and being thankful the resort was reaching out for opinions.
 

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