No more skiing?

"facw" (facw) 03/15/2020 at 09:54 • Filed to: Skilopnik, Skiing, covid-19, coronavirus

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Vail Resorts and Alterra Mountain Company have both announced they are shutting down their resorts (over 50 mountains between them, including many big names) starting tomorrow. Vail has announced a shutdown of a week, while Alterra is closed indefinitely. It seems unlikely the situation will be noticeably different in a week. We will have to see if other mountains follow their lead, or try to take advantage of reduced competition to cash in.

Edit: Looks like Powdr has shut down well, adding another 10 or so mountains to the list. The last major resort company, Boyne has shut down some of its resorts, but has others open . Independent operations seem to be staying open at this point.

Lifts and slopes don’t seem like they should be that dangerous, but tight quarters in lodges seem like the sort of thing that should be avoided.

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pip bip - choose Corrour > facw 03/14/2020 at 22:04

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that’s going to suck for those who ski and the seasonal workers there

facw > pip bip - choose Corrour 03/14/2020 at 22:07

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Yep. Vail says that their workers will be fully paid for next week (without needing to take time off), but nothing about any continuing closure, and I also don’t know if all of their “employees” are actually employees for the purposes of this, or if they are contractors who get nothing.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > pip bip - choose Corrour 03/14/2020 at 22:08

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One of my friends is a hotel worker and has already had a ton of their shifts cut

Just Jeepin' > facw 03/14/2020 at 22:10

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This would be a really good time to introduce UBI...

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > facw 03/14/2020 at 22:12

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Saw this about an hour ago, total bull shit IMO. Whitefish mountain resort is still open thank god.

facw > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 03/14/2020 at 22:17

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We’ll see if it stays this way. Less than 24 hours ago Vail Resorts spammed out a big list of COVID-19 changes, and then immediately decided to shut everything down instead. I got this from three resorts at 6:30AM today, and then only 13 hours later they announced they were shutting everything down :

As a global operator of 37 ski resorts, Vail Resorts continues to monitor the rapidly evolving impacts of coronavirus (COVID-19) from all angles. Unwaveringly and without question, our top priority is the health and wellbeing of our guests and employees. We are fortunate to have strong partnerships with the communities where we operate and we are closely monitoring the statements and following the guidance and recommendations from local, state/provincial and federal health agencies on COVID-19.

All of our North American resorts are open as scheduled, and operating according to the most updated guidance and precautions from health officials.

Over the course of the weekend, we will begin to deploy specific actions to encourage social distancing and to slow the spread of COVID-19. Actions include:

We are reducing operations at our on-mountain, quick-serve dining facilities to avoid crowding.

We will have limited pre-packaged food options available, but we will not be serving hot food. Please plan accordingly.

We will ask guests to ride on chairlifts and gondolas with their parties only. We ask for our guests’ patience while we implement this new protocol.

We will post signage with social distancing reminders and our employees will be on site to help encourage safe protocols.

We are aware that there are event restrictions in place across many states, provinces and counties where we operate. We are – and will continue to – follow all official guidance and cancel or postpone events as directed. Updates will be posted on resort and event websites.

We will continue following the most updated guidance and precautions from health officials, with attention to the cleanliness and the environment of our facilities.

We continue to ask our guests and employees to follow public health officials’ guidance of frequent handwashing and to stay home if they are feeling ill. Health officials advise that people at higher risk of severe illness, including those who are 60 years or older, should stay home and away from larger groups of people as much as possible.

We are in constant contact with health officials and will continue to follow their updated guidance as provided. This means there could be additional precautions taken that could impact our operations at any time.

Again, the health and wellbeing of our guests, employees and the communities where we live, work and play is of utmost importance. We thank everyone for their understanding during this unprecedented time.

We also understand that many guests are concerned about traveling during this evolving situation and we encourage guests to refer to our standard cancellation policies posted online. Guests with reservations at Vail Resorts owned and operated lodging properties – who are due to arrive prior to April 30 – can apply the dollar amount of their deposit to a future stay at the same property for up to 365 days from the date of arrival. Additionally, guests with reservations at these properties can rebook the same dates at another resort, based on availability and at the applicable rate. Cancellation and date change policies through third party lodging and booking partners will vary by property. Guests should reach out to their reserved lodging property or reserved booking source if they need to discuss changes. 

The Snowman > facw 03/14/2020 at 22:18

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Still skiing deer valley tomorrow but by car shuttle. I'll be amazed if I come within 50 yds of another person besides my wife(shuttle driver)

facw > The Snowman 03/14/2020 at 22:22

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Deer Valley is one of the Alterra resorts that is shut down, but I guess the shuttle lets you bypass that? I imagine having a closed mountain to play on would be quite fun, provided you have a way to get to the top, and don’t injure yourself.

smobgirl > facw 03/14/2020 at 22:24

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I haven’t read any of the stories in detail but I wonder if people are going to try to skin up and still ski...

RPM esq. > pip bip - choose Corrour 03/14/2020 at 22:25

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From the article:

Nonessential employees were encouraged to work remotely, and all employees, including seasonal workers, would be paid during the closing, Mr. Katz said in the statement.

PowderHound > smobgirl 03/14/2020 at 22:32

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One of the park city posts has this question and they said they are restricting it. Tons of other places to skin up if you want though

smobgirl > PowderHound 03/14/2020 at 22:42

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A Basin says uphill pass users are still allowed but I wonder if that’ll change when the ski resort shutdown becomes state mandated.

whatisthatsound > facw 03/14/2020 at 22:48

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Time to get your skins out and tour to earn your turns. (I know most don't/can't tour) 

The Snowman > facw 03/14/2020 at 22:50

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Exactly and DV has houses all over it so the wife can shuttle me and the dog pretty easily. As for safety I'll be on runs that are much much easier than what I regularly ski and much closer to help than our normal back country skiing.

PowderHound > smobgirl 03/14/2020 at 22:54

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i thought I heard the state did shutdown resorts in Colorado.  Maybe I’m wrong there.

smobgirl > PowderHound 03/14/2020 at 23:03

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Ah, last I’d seen it was imminent but not officially declared yet. Looks like that’s changed. 

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > facw 03/14/2020 at 23:42

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Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > smobgirl 03/14/2020 at 23:43

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Heck yeah skin for turns.

InFierority Complex > facw 03/15/2020 at 00:14

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Fo r whatever reason Eagle County currently has the 2nd highest confirmed cases in Colorado. I guess because so many people are traveling to and from for skiing.

Grindintosecond > facw 03/15/2020 at 01:20

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Nothing preventing you from hiking up on snowshoes or xc ski skins + telemarking down. Full on workout.

SmugAardvark > facw 03/15/2020 at 02:15

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Same for nearly all the Tahoe resorts as well. Heavenly, Squaw, Northstar, Kirkwood, Sierra-at-Tahoe, Boreal, and Sugar Bowl are all closed for at least the following week. I think Diamond Peak is the only one open, but my guess is that they will follow suit on Monday.

McMike > facw 03/15/2020 at 08:24

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Mrs McMike is taking care of her Mom for a month in Summit County. I was supposed to fly out there this Friday to see her and to ski a few days at Copper.

Looks like I’m staying home. Her parents (60s and 80s) became less and less confident with me traversing two airports, a flight, and a shuttle from DIA to come stay with them.   :(

functionoverfashion > facw 03/15/2020 at 09:31

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Yup, because of Corporate, Wildcat is closed today (that’s where we were going to go). My father in law is going to keep skinning up as long as they’ll let him, it’s usually open into April.

So we’re going back to King Pine today, I guess they’re open. It is a tiny little place, independently owned and operated. Even so, it might be closed after this weekend.

On a related note: I wonder how this is really going to affect the ski areas, in terms of income/expenses. Late March isn’t usually a time with tons of people flooding the ticket office. It’s typically season passholders and a few daily peeps, but they still have to spin most of the lifts, keep foodservice open, heat the lodges, pay ski patrol, and on and on. So there are a lot of expenses that they’re not incurring, even if they still pay their employees. 

facw > functionoverfashion 03/15/2020 at 09:42

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Yeah, I’m sure it was easier financially to decide to close in mid-March, as opposed to mid-January. Looks like P owdr (Killington and Pico in the East) has shut down as well. Some Boyne resorts are closed but it looks like Loon, Sunday River, and Sugarloaf are all staying open for now, though Loon has shut down their g ondola, so if you want to make it to the main summit, you need to take a fixed-triple and then ski down to the old peak double. Looks like independents are staying open for the time being, but we’ll see if that lasts.

functionoverfashion > facw 03/15/2020 at 10:04

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Related note - At Loon, they have plans to put in an EIGHT PACK chair to replace the Kanc Quad next fall.

facw > functionoverfashion 03/15/2020 at 10:09

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Yep, I’ve seen that and think it’s nuts. I don’t even like six packs, and frankly Loon can’t even manage to fill their quads consistently, I anticipate an eight-seater being a total shitshow. I do at least hope they have the good sense to run it all the way to the peak (or to the where quad that connects to the south peak is) instead stopping in the middle like the current quad, so that it can help relieve the load on the gondola instead of just routing more people towards it.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > facw 03/15/2020 at 10:44

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https://skiwhitefish.com/snowreport/

Good to go but I might freeze to death

The Ghost of Oppo > facw 03/15/2020 at 10:44

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My friends are getting married in South Lake Tahoe the second week of June, I’m really hoping everything has cooled off by then. 

facw > functionoverfashion 03/15/2020 at 15:25

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And  there goes Loon (and the other Boyne resorts)

facw > functionoverfashion 03/15/2020 at 17:29

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I see King Pine now says they are closed for the season. Mad River Glen as well. Ragged Mountain, Pats Peak, Wachusett, and Cranmore all are suspending operations at close of business today.

Meanwhile Cannon says they are operating unless ordered to shut down by the state, and Bretton Woods and Waterville Valley seem to be operating, and don’t seem to have much of anything to say about covid-19.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > facw 03/15/2020 at 19:11

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And my home resort just had their last day open today. At least I was there and got last chair.

functionoverfashion > facw 03/15/2020 at 20:55

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Our season passes are at Cannon and we’ll go next weekend if we can. We can park next to the hill and change at the car, which we often do in the spring anyway, tailgating is fun!

Yeah, King Pine was talking about how they were closing at 4:00 today. We were very lucky to get two beautiful days in.

Waterville is limiting their services but spinning lifts for now. They were only allowing people to ride on the chair with the people in their group, or else alone.

I feel like the dominoes will keep falling and we’ll be staying home next weekend. Not too long ago, Mass. shut down its restaurants and bars?!

I’m starting to feel good about our well-stocked pantry. 

functionoverfashion > facw 03/15/2020 at 20:59

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Oooh, I wonder if it will go higher than the current Kanc. I do certainly hope so, and hadn’t thought about that really. I haven’t been to Loon in a few years. I guess that spot gets overwhelmed on weekends (Governor Adams lodge?)... ? The Kanc quad isn’t that old as lifts go. I clearly remember when they put it in. 

facw > functionoverfashion 03/15/2020 at 21:01

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Yep, my dinner plans for next week are ruined!

But yeah as I said in my other post, I see Cannon, Waterville, Bretton Woods, and Gunstock are still operating, but I wouldn’t give any better than 50/50 odds of being open on Tuesday. Things are moving very quickly.

facw > functionoverfashion 03/15/2020 at 21:10

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Yeah, the current one is an express quad so not so terrible. Looking at it, I don’t see any indication they are planning to send it higher, but not doing that seems a bit silly especially since it looks like the path up would be very open along the existing lift route:

functionoverfashion > facw 03/15/2020 at 21:17

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Yup, I mean, my kids were going to school on Tuesday as of Friday, but after 1:30 today it was 3 weeks off.

It really is like dominoes here

functionoverfashion > facw 03/15/2020 at 21:19

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True, it would be great if they pushed it up to that point! It’s pretty flat and open up there, too. Hmm

facw > functionoverfashion 03/19/2020 at 11:22

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Well places made it past Tuesday, but it looks like as of today, all the ones I knew of that were still open have shut down for the season.

Cannon’s statement says they’ll be reaching out to pass holders so maybe they’ll give you a small discount off next year’s or something to make up for the lost month of skiing.

functionoverfashion > facw 03/19/2020 at 13:33

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Interesting. My wife and son had passes there, my daughter was free (5) and I have a deal there. But maybe we’ll get a little something from it. We didn’t even go to Cannon that many times this year due to weather. I think we didn’t get our money’s worth, honestly. But I’m ok putting some money back into a ski area after I spent my high school and college years finding every possible loophole and scam to get on the lifts cheap.