Ski Resort Response to COVID-19

[EPB]

$timulu$

I wouldn't count on it, haha.

That said, I do think Les Otten's vote announcement was a smart/rational publicity stunt to signal to the potential future Biden administration that there's a man of high principle who could do a great deal of good for a beleaguered part of the state/country with $100 million of other people's money.

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[abc]

Yeah I think we're basically in agreement. No chance a Vail resort doesn't open knowing what we know today, for example. Smaller ones are a different story. I think quite a bit of the clientele would give smaller places a pass this year, but maybe I'm too forgiving.

But doesn't most "smaller" ones cater to mostly local traffic, which isn't affected by the travel restriction?

 

[EPB]

But doesn't most "smaller" ones cater to mostly local traffic, which isn't affected by the travel restriction?

To make myself clear (because this wasn't), I mean small businesses more than physically small mountains.

In VT, Burke is one that is small in terms of skier visits but high in fixed operating costs (high speed lifts) to open for a day.

Black (NH) is a "small" place that I happen to be more familiar with. They do cater to locals to a degree, but would be in serious trouble if nobody from MA could visit.

I bet Bolton does fine. They're a "local Burlington/Montpelier" hill the best I can tell.

Magic might be a different story - never been tough, but that place seems to be kindof a shoe string budget place reliant on out of state traffic like Black NH.

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[skiur]

It wouldn't make sense for a resort to not open. How many employees wouldn't return the next season? How many season passholders would never return? And you'd still be paying taxes on the land, and have buildings depreciate. You're better off running a season in the red. If there's anything positive about this industry, it's that these ski resorts can weather the storm and are used to having an occasional unprofitable season. Most bounce back.

For a small ski area for a season I can see it making some sense- less equipment and buildings to mothball for future use. But a big resort with 15+ lifts, multiple resort-owned lodges, hotels, and condos, dozens and dozens of pieces of heavy machinery like groomers and shuttle busses, the investment of having a few key staff members preparing/keeping things mothballed probably would not be worth it for just one season.

Even if that is the case and they do not close, pray for a lot of natural snow cause they won't be blowing much and they were will be running a few lifts as possible. Wouldn't bet on a lot of grooming either, and that's great if it snows a lot but try recovering from rain then a freeze up with limited grooming. Larger resorts might not even open all areas of the mountain.

 

[ne_skier]

Looks like I can say goodbye to a 2020-2021 ski season
https://twitter.com/liftblog/status/1323694446181978112

 

[ss20]

To add to the insanity of Vermont...7 Vermont counties are currently above the 400 cases/million threshold. 6 counties are under the threshold.

So over half the counties would be banned from their own state.

 

[cdskier]

Looks like I can say goodbye to a 2020-2021 ski season
https://twitter.com/liftblog/status/1323694446181978112

This is rather bizarre. VT is requiring ski resorts to threaten their own customers that the ski resort itself will not let them be a customer in the future if they are caught lying? How exactly does VT plan to enforce ski resorts "banning" guests in the future? So VT is relying on private businesses to penalize their own customers...

 

[ne_skier]

To add to the insanity of Vermont...7 Vermont counties are currently above the 400 cases/million threshold. 6 counties are under the threshold.

So over half the counties would be banned from their own state.

And I'm sure that the ski areas will be jumping out of their seats to learn that whether or not they turn a profit pretty much depends on whether or not the mass majority of their usual clientele is willing to sit in a hotel room for 1-2 weeks just to ski

 

[ne_skier]

This is rather bizarre. VT is requiring ski resorts to threaten their own customers that the ski resort itself will not let them be a customer in the future if they are caught lying? How exactly does VT plan to enforce ski resorts "banning" guests in the future? So VT is relying on private businesses to penalize their own customers...

They're doing it with hotels too. We called up our usual hotel asking what the Covid rules were. They said that all guests by VT law must sign a waiver saying that they have either quarantined for 14 days or 7 days with a negative Covid test, also that they didn't stop for more than a brief amount of time on the way up and that they traveled in a personal vehicle.

 

[cdskier]

They're doing it with hotels too. We called up our usual hotel asking what the Covid rules were. They said that all guests by VT law must sign a waiver saying that they have either quarantined for 14 days or 7 days with a negative Covid test, also that they didn't stop for more than a brief amount of time on the way up and that they traveled in a personal vehicle.

I get requiring them to ask the question or sign a waiver. I don't get the part about also requiring the businesses to threaten to dole out the penalty themselves for non-compliance. That would be like if I owned a store and the town put up a no parking sign in front of my store and then told me I was responsible for giving a ticket to anyone that parked there and walked into my store.

 

[VTKilarney]

My wife and I purchased snowshoes for this winter. We will wait and see how things develop before we strap on a pair of skis.

 

[drjeff]

I'm guessing that there's a couple of VT second home owners, who are attorneys, who will be filing a case challenging the Governor's edict, in the not too distant future.

Also interesting how the Governor released this guidance on election day, when the distraction factor is bound to be a higher than usualy right now.

 

[gittist]

I think ski areas will figure out where they'd lose the least money and go with that. Unless they come out with a vaccine by Christmas, this isn't going to be a banner year for ski areas unless they happen to be in a state with few restrictions.

 

[Slidebrook87]

To me this is still a bunch of bullshit. How can the state or resorts determine what people are doing. If I am at home for two weeks only doing essential activities and come to Vermont would not seem any different to the state than someone who had a huge party at their home and then came to Vermont. This is impossible to enforce and is purely a way of discouraging as many out of staters from coming in the first place as the state knows that there is no way to completely stop travel. The effort should really be focused on safety measures that can actually be enforced and have more of an impact. Say I quarantine for 2 weeks then go have a party right before skiing? It seems as though in Vermont’s eyes that’s safer than someone who takes extreme cautions both at home and in Vermont but doesn’t quarentine. There is no logic in these new “rules”. They’re still merely guidelines.


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[fbrissette]

My wife and I purchased snowshoes for this winter. We will wait and see how things develop before we strap on a pair of skis.

My wife an I have snowshoes. Truth is, snowshoeing sucks.

 

[VTKilarney]

My wife an I have snowshoes. Truth is, snowshoeing sucks.

You're a buzzkill! LOL!

 

[kingslug]

Vermont= "Where are your papers"

 

[VTKilarney]

Here is a nice summary of the ski area rules issued today by Vermont.

1. Visitors must comply with travel guidelines.
2. Contact tracing information will be collected.
3. Ski areas must reduce the number of out-of-state staff.
4. They must reduce lift capacity to 50-percent unless those visitors are traveling together. Gondolas can only carry one party unless they’re big enough to comply with a six-foot buffer zone.
5. Day-use lodges must reduce capacity to 50-percent or a maximum of 75 people in that space.
6. Ski areas must loosen cancellation policies so sick people don’t feel pressured to come here or lose money.

 

[VTKilarney]

Vermont= "Where are your papers"

New York's new rules are even worse. If you are coming to New York from a non-adjacent state, you must have proof of a negative covid test within 72 hours prior to arrival and then you STILL have to quarantine. You can test on the 4th day of quarantine and will only be released from quarantine if you test negative.

 

[ss20]

Here is a nice summary of the ski area rules issued today by Vermont.

1. Visitors must comply with travel guidelines.
2. Contact tracing information will be collected.
3. Ski areas must reduce the number of out-of-state staff.
4. They must reduce lift capacity to 50-percent unless those visitors are traveling together. Gondolas can only carry one party unless they’re big enough to comply with a six-foot buffer zone.
5. Day-use lodges must reduce capacity to 50-percent or a maximum of 75 people in that space.
6. Ski areas must loosen cancellation policies so sick people don’t feel pressured to come here or lose money.

It's all nothing new. Except that before you'll ski you'll get a "sign here please" saying you quarantined.

Most resorts already were collecting contact tracing info- name, age, phone number, email, address.

Someone should do a mock-up report of this pandemic if it had happened 20 years ago. I couldn't even imagine. I feel like today this virus makes things a PITA, back then without all the online logistics and internet and everything things would've been hellova lot different.