Vermont 19-20

[Abbi]

Can anyone give me an update on current Okemo or Mt Snow conditions?

Mixed conditions this morning at Okemo. Soft in the sun, crunchier in the shade. I went out almost three hours and picked my way around the mountain. Lots of good skiing until it got chewed up. I’ll admit to snowplowing through the really deep wet stuff leading to the six pack. Easier to push it out of the way than fight it. There were those ripping it up who don’t get bogged down in mush like I do.

Should be cooler Friday and Saturday then warm again.

 

[NYSnowflake]

Mixed conditions this morning at Okemo. Soft in the sun, crunchier in the shade. I went out almost three hours and picked my way around the mountain. Lots of good skiing until it got chewed up. I’ll admit to snowplowing through the really deep wet stuff leading to the six pack. Easier to push it out of the way than fight it. There were those ripping it up who don’t get bogged down in mush like I do.

Should be cooler Friday and Saturday then warm again.

Thank you Abbi! I hope it’s not all rock solid refrozen mush on Saturday! I actually like the mashed potatoes more than the firm conditions.

 

[marzNC]

Stowe cancelled the Sugar Slalom scheduled for April 4-5. Only other info about COVID-19 is a link to the generic Vail Resorts webpage.

 

[MissySki]

Jay Peak is closing tomorrow

 

[marzNC]

Jay Peak is closing tomorrow

Did you get an email?

March 13, 2020, 5:39pm, VT Digger
Hand-sanitizing, but little hand-wringing, at ski areas amid COVID-19 outbreak
https://vtdigger.org/2020/03/13/han...wringing-at-ski-areas-amid-covid-19-outbreak/
" . . .
Steven Wright, the president and general manager of the Jay Peak ski resort in far northern Vermont, said he’s seen some cancellations that were related to the spread of the virus. But they’ve been outweighed by new reservations.

“We’ve been a net positive,” he said, adding that he’s looking forward to another wave of reservations related to the Ontario schools spring break next week. “Part of that might be a result of folks who decided not to fly,” Wright said. “Some of those fly-in destination resorts might get hurt at a higher index than some of the resorts like ours.”

Wright also theorized that outdoor sports like skiing and snowboarding might be safer than some of the other activities that are being cancelled, such as concerts, plays, classes, and other gatherings where people are in close quarters indoors.
. . ."

 

[marzNC]

Jay Peak is closing tomorrow

Never mind, I found out what happened in a different article. The VT Digger interview for Jay must have been done before it was published this afternoon. Québec and Ontario are restricting access to the U.S. That's where Jay expected people to come from for spring break. Closing is being called temporary but I think that's because they plan to re-open for summer activities on May 1.

March 13, 3:30pm, Freeskier
https://freeskier.com/stories/ski-resorts-respond-to-coronavirus-with-lift-closures-canceled-seasons
"On March 13, Jay Peak announced a temporary closure of the resort due to COVID-19. The resort stated that Quebec’s decision to limit entry into the United States and similar restrictions placed on travelers from Ontario were the biggest factors in the decision, given the upcoming Ontario spring break and the high number of eastern Canadian visitors the resort was expecting. Jay will be offering either full refunds or will help facilitate rebooking of vacations to next winter."

 

[BlueSkies]

Did you get an email?

March 13, 2020, 5:39pm, VT Digger
Hand-sanitizing, but little hand-wringing, at ski areas amid COVID-19 outbreak
https://vtdigger.org/2020/03/13/han...wringing-at-ski-areas-amid-covid-19-outbreak/
" . . .
Steven Wright, the president and general manager of the Jay Peak ski resort in far northern Vermont, said he’s seen some cancellations that were related to the spread of the virus. But they’ve been outweighed by new reservations.

“We’ve been a net positive,” he said, adding that he’s looking forward to another wave of reservations related to the Ontario schools spring break next week. “Part of that might be a result of folks who decided not to fly,” Wright said. “Some of those fly-in destination resorts might get hurt at a higher index than some of the resorts like ours.”

Wright also theorized that outdoor sports like skiing and snowboarding might be safer than some of the other activities that are being cancelled, such as concerts, plays, classes, and other gatherings where people are in close quarters indoors.
. . ."

Jay has posted it on the web site on the conditions report page

 

[ski diva]

Got an email from Killington today:

As you are likely following the COVID-19 news we want to provide you with an update on our course of action at Killington. We are monitoring the dynamic situation and will continue to follow the advice and guidance of federal and state officials and health agencies.

We are committed to doing what we can to maintain our operations in ways that responsibly take into consideration the needs of our staff and guests. We are doing so because it is our foundational belief that it is beneficial for the soul to live and enjoy the adventure lifestyle—and this is particularly the case in times like this, when anxiety and stress are high.

There are many ways skiing and riding can be enjoyed while we simultaneously implement a number of actions to protect the health and wellbeing of our guests, employees and community. We continue to strictly reinforce our sanitation practices throughout the resort, including such things as increased and thorough cleaning of common areas, including surfaces and items that are most likely to be touched frequently. We have also placed hand sanitizing stations in common areas, and posted CDC developed educational materials as visible reminders for guests and employees to help us keep the Killington

The majority of our operations and services are currently available and we plan to maintain operations through the Spring. So that we may do so, we are taking a number of actions to limit potential risks:

•We are cancelling all live music, special events and conferences scheduled through April 4, including the Vermont Brewers Festival, K-1 Lodge Teardown Party and Bear Mountain Mogul Challenge
•Closing some of our smaller food and beverage outlets including Yurt Lunch and Dinner, Motor Room Bar, Brat Haus, Clubhouse Bar and Grill, Wobbly Barn Night Club
•Elimination of self-serve salad bar stations at the Peak Lodge and Wobbly Barn Steakhouse
•Enforcement, starting immediately, of reduced or modified occupancy limits in all base lodges and on-mountain restaurants
•Removing seats and tables from base lodges to increase space per occupant and increase social distancing
•Suspending maximum loading policies on our gondolas and the Snowdon Six pack bubble chair for added space per occupant
•Suggest that guests try to avoid base lodges during the busy lunch period, when density is highest. Bringing a brown bag lunch or grabbing food items to go and eating outside or at your vehicle will help to spread people out and meet distancing guidelines
•Closure of the Killington Grand Spa until further notice. The Grand pool and Health Club will remain open

We understand that your travel plans may need to be adjusted, so we have eased our cancellation and booking policies. Please contact us at 800-621-6867 if you need to shift your plans or have any questions.

We take this situation seriously and we are doing everything we can to maintain our operations so that you may enjoy more great days out on the mountain, doing what you love with those you love. Please stay tuned to our website for updates and event information as this is an extremely dynamic situation.
Sincerely,

Mike Solimano
President and General Manager
Killington Resort and Pico Mountain

 

[ski diva]

And this from Sugarbush:

Dear Member of the Sugarbush Community,

As Coronavirus (“COVID-19”) has become an evolving and uncertain public health issue affecting people globally and close to home, we at Sugarbush want to reassure our Sugarbush Community that your health, safety and well-being are of the utmost importance.

We are closely monitoring this situation and are in contact with state and local government and health officials to assess this evolving situation. Sugarbush, along with our parent company, Alterra Mountain Company, is also closely monitoring Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and the World Health Organization’s (WHO) guidance for responding to Coronavirus.

The evolving nature of this event requires us to be flexible in how we respond and provide service to you, our guests. Here are some of the things that we are doing:

Additional hand sanitization stations have been added in high trafficked locations
Increased frequency of disinfection and cleaning of public restrooms and high-touch indoor areas, such as bathrooms, food halls, kitchen surfaces, door handles, tables, restaurants, bars, and lesson and rental check-in counters, and communal computer workstations

Employees who appear symptomatic or who have traveled to high risk areas have been asked to stay home, and we would ask guests to do the same.

Updated Change/Cancellation Policy
We also understand the difficulty around making advance trip decisions during these uncertain times and want you to feel confident doing so. If you choose to book a stay at Sugarbush directly with us (this does not include 3rd party bookings) between now and our projected season closing date of Sunday, May 3, your lodging, ticket, or ski lesson booking will be 100% refundable with no cancellation fee, up to 24 hours prior to arrival.

Despite some of the roller coaster weather we experienced again this week, our snowmaking trails are holding up very well, and weather permitting, we are still planning to remain open every day through Sunday, April 26th and then reopen for a final weekend on May 2nd. Many of our trails with snowmaking such as Stein’s and Spring Fling still have 8-10 feet of depth on them. Personally, Lili and I, along with our children and grandchildren, plan to continue skiing and enjoying our wide-open spaces, fresh mountain air and thousands of acres of wilderness here in the Mad River Valley. We’ll also continue enjoying après and dining in our various establishments here at Sugarbush and throughout the Mad River Valley while making sure to wash our hands more frequently. And, of course, if any of us are not feeling well, we will stay home.

Please do not hesitate to reach out personally with any question or concerns.

All the best,
Win

 

[marzNC]

Jay has posted it on the web site on the conditions report page

Some very thoughtful consideration is being given to Jay staff.

As to our staff which has worked tirelessly both long-term to deliver a great season despite the difficulties, and short term to try and provide what product we could, we will be integrating the following:

· Allowing hourly year-round employees to file for short term unemployment and then making up the difference between the State compensation and their total rate of pay to keep them whole through this shut down period.

· Any members of our team who are in long-term employee housing will have their rent forgiven throughout this temporary shutdown.

· Employees receiving standard benefits including the accrual of vacation time will continue to do so throughout the period regardless of employment status.

· For those participating in the resort’s 401k program, we will continue with our resort match throughout the temporary shutdown.

· We will be operating our outdoor pizza oven intermittently throughout the shutdown period to feed our team members to-go pizzas as well as provide them with cleaning and disinfectant products for their homes.

 

[ski diva]

Burke is closing tomorrow. They're offering their employees the same benefits as Jay (they're the same company):

To all Burke staff, skiers, riders, guests and resort community members,

The past few weeks have been ever changing and those changes have accelerated in the past few hours, so I wanted to give you an update regarding ski and lodging operations, future plans and an update regarding Burke staff.

Effective the end of business operations, 4pm, on Saturday March 14th, we will be closing winter operations for the 2019-2020 season. Operations tomorrow will continue on the Sherburne Express, Mid Burke Express, J-Bar and Magic Carpet with limited food and beverage operations at the View Pub. All other food and beverage outlets, ski school, retail and rentals and repair will close at the end of business operations this evening, March 13th.

This is an incredibly difficult decision for us and one that was made with hours and days of deliberation using the most up to date information on the virus and its implications for daily life. We have an obligation to our guests, friends and family, the larger Burke community and ourselves to prioritize safety above all else. It was this respect for one another that we have made this decision.

If you are guest at the Burke Mountain Hotel and Conference Center we will be offering either full refunds or we will push vacations to next year and lock in this year’s rate at no additional cost. Our Reservation line at 866-966-4821 will be available 12 hours a day, 7 days a week to assist you.

Our current plan is to deep clean common areas, offices and lodging in the coming days and weeks. The intention is to reopen for the summer season on Friday May 1st. Bike Park operations will begin May 23 and we look forward to an incredible summer on the trails and an Enduro World Series in August.

As to our staff which has worked tirelessly to deliver a great season, we will be instituting the following:
Allowing hourly year-round employees to file for short term unemployment and then making up the difference between the State compensation and their total rate of pay to keep them whole through this shut down period.
Employees receiving standard benefits including the accrual of vacation time will continue to do so throughout the period regardless of employment status.
The resort will continue to commit match funds to the resort 401k program regardless of employment status.

This is a difficult time for Burke employees, their families, community members and guests, and we make this decision knowing that its impact to all is real. We feel we are acting in the best interest of everyone and will do what we can to assist our staff in this transition.
What we do also know is that Burke, where resiliency runs from the summit to the base lodge, will be back. We look forward to welcoming you this summer.
Thank you.
Kevin Mack
General Manager