Ski Resort Response to COVID-19

Newpylong · Jul 31, 2020

Everyone is going to try to polish this turd but If there is a straight shooter out of all ski resort execs it is Solimano. I have met and observed plenty and he is about as good as they come. The Nyberg era (ie the early Powdr doldrums) really shaped his leadership style and openness.

ALLSKIING · Jul 31, 2020

BenedictGomez said:
And yet the K-1 gondola is currently running, so that guy should probably lay off chirping about what, "the science says", multiple times in that article.

You ride it with people in your house hold is what the sign says. Of course thats up to your group.

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Smellytele · Jul 31, 2020

ALLSKIING said:
You ride it with people in your house hold is what the sign says. Of course thats up to your group.

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Not enough line space to separate people is going to be part of the problem. the line for the gondi is crazy 1st thing in the morning without social distancing. Add social distancing and you be wrapped up and around the lodge over to superstar.

icecoast1 · Jul 31, 2020

VTKilarney said:
Yeah, it’s not like a ski resort executive would try to put a positive spin on things. /sarcasm

The flaw in your logic is the assumption that anything will be up to this executive. The state will come up with a set of rules for ski areas just as they have done for other industries.

Yup, these mountains are certainly hoping and planning on having a ski season but in the end it's not really up to them. Some states will probably fare better.than others as far as restrictions.

BenedictGomez · Jul 31, 2020

ALLSKIING said:
You ride it with people in your house hold is what the sign says. Of course thats up to your group.

Viral particles can linger in the air for several hours.

We already know this is an enclosed issue indoors in bars, restaurants, and stores. Now do shoebox.

BenedictGomez · Jul 31, 2020

Here's another way to look at it; replace each dollar bill with an active COVID19 viral particle & that's my depiction of riding in gondolas right now.

prize-vault-cash-machine-eventgo2guy-zac-1-1-152x300.png

Edd · Jul 31, 2020

This seems like a great excuse to get rid of gondolas at ski areas. Is it possible to replace the cars with chairs? Considering chondolas exist, I assume you can. Not cheap, though.

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cdskier · Jul 31, 2020

BenedictGomez said:
Viral particles can linger in the air for several hours.

We already know this is an enclosed issue indoors in bars, restaurants, and stores. Now do shoebox.

I don't get why people have a problem grasping this concept. The virus doesn't magically disappear from a tiny enclosed space as soon as an infected person leaves that space.

AdironRider · Jul 31, 2020

Edd said:
This seems like a great excuse to get rid of gondolas at ski areas. Is it possible to replace the cars with chairs? Considering chondolas exist, I assume you can. Not cheap, though.

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Wildcat did this (maybe they still do?) for ages. Gondolas in summer, chairs winter.

Edd · Jul 31, 2020

AdironRider said:
Wildcat did this (maybe they still do?) for ages. Gondolas in summer, chairs winter.

Yeah, they do. I’d forgotten about them.

EPB · Jul 31, 2020

Edd said:
This seems like a great excuse to get rid of gondolas at ski areas. Is it possible to replace the cars with chairs? Considering chondolas exist, I assume you can. Not cheap, though.

I'd be down. As a side point, I actually kinda like chondolas because the gondola loving-crowd self selects into the longer of the two lines.

For how often I ski the place (very sparingly), it would be great to see this prompt Jay Peak to add a short double to the summit like they briefly had. I despise trams.

https://newenglandskihistory.com/lifts/viewlift.php?id=285

nhskier1969 · Jul 31, 2020

As we know, most resorts are going to have a problem with inside facilities. I am not sure if someone mentioned already, why can the resort rent/buy several wedding tents and put a ton of heat lamps in it?
Maybe have it for brown baggers. They normally make up half the seats

mbedle · Jul 31, 2020

nhskier1969 said:
As we know, most resorts are going to have a problem with inside facilities. I am not sure if someone mentioned already, why can the resort rent/buy several wedding tents and put a ton of heat lamps in it?
Maybe have it for brown baggers. They normally make up half the seats

I would guess that will happen at a lot of places. I would also expect to see a lot of people drinking in the parking lots and getting a lot of fines for doing so.... lol Stowe parking lot is going to be a shitstorm on the weekend, not that it isn't already...

skiur · Jul 31, 2020

mbedle said:
I would guess that will happen at a lot of places. I would also expect to see a lot of people drinking in the parking lots and getting a lot of fines for doing so.... lol Stowe parking lot is going to be a shitstorm on the weekend, not that it isn't already...

It isn't illegal to drink on the street in VT. NY it is, I don't know about NH or ME.

BenedictGomez · Jul 31, 2020

cdskier said:
I don't get why people have a problem grasping this concept. The virus doesn't magically disappear from a tiny enclosed space as soon as an infected person leaves that space.

I think that's a bit harsh. I'm educated & trained to understand this crap, but I can see if you dont have exposure to healthcare how the physics of viral particulate isnt exactly common knowledge.

What I do find bizarre is the cognitive dissonance on the part of ski area management, very publicly acting as if the 24,000 square foot "indoor ski lodge" must be defended & protected against at any expense to diligently guard against this serious viral threat 24/7, but let's just completely ignore all those 24 square foot gondy cars & sweep them under the rug as if they dont exist. Forgive me for being cynical, but I have a hard time believing it isnt intentional.

drjeff · Jul 31, 2020

While BG I do respect your opinions on most things, gotta call BS on this. As someone who works within 2 feet of numerous people who have who knows what, while generating an intense areosol spray within that 2 feet for about a quarter century now, with hardly ever a communic able disease ever caught, proper mask wearing and personal hygiene is a combo that works.

Ones own personal fear levels are certainly legit, but the reality is with COVID 19, that proper PPE and some social distancing makes a massive advantage. I trust implicitly my own health and that of my families, even times 2, since my wife is an orthodontist who is also working in close quarters to numerous oral cavities every day she's in her office, with a mask, and proper hand washing.

Its time to be realistic or be media scared for all but the most at risk segements of the population

BenedictGomez said:
I think that's a bit harsh. I'm educated & trained to understand this crap, but I can see if you dont have exposure to healthcare how the physics of viral particulate isnt exactly common knowledge.

What I do find bizarre is the cognitive dissonance on the part of ski area management, very publicly acting as if the 24,000 square foot "indoor ski lodge" must be defended & protected against at any expense to diligently guard against this serious viral threat 24/7, but let's just completely ignore all those 24 square foot gondy cars & sweep them under the rug as if they dont exist. Forgive me for being cynical, but I have a hard time believing it isnt intentional.

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Newpylong · Jul 31, 2020

BenedictGomez said:
I think that's a bit harsh. I'm educated & trained to understand this crap, but I can see if you dont have exposure to healthcare how the physics of viral particulate isnt exactly common knowledge.

What I do find bizarre is the cognitive dissonance on the part of ski area management, very publicly acting as if the 24,000 square foot "indoor ski lodge" must be defended & protected against at any expense to diligently guard against this serious viral threat 24/7, but let's just completely ignore all those 24 square foot gondy cars & sweep them under the rug as if they dont exist. Forgive me for being cynical, but I have a hard time believing it isnt intentional.

I don't see these as being one in the same and certainly not an issue anyone is trying to hide or trivialize. There could potentiallly be hundreds of people in the lodge, within fairly close proximity, likely with poor air circulation, no gloves on, and no two parties likely from the same household.

A gondola may be 4? people at a time that likely will be in the same group. These people will be fully clothed, not touching anything with bare skin, and the cabins will have 10 minutes unoccupied on the way down. Hopefully good airflow with windows open if they can figure that out.

Yes Covid can be aerosolized but I think all things considered if you're gonna catch it the lodge is a higher inflection point.

In the case of Killington at least, there are ~20 other lifts to ride if one is uncomfortable.

BenedictGomez · Jul 31, 2020

drjeff said:
While BG I do respect your opinions on most things, gotta call BS on this. As someone who works within 2 feet of numerous people who have who knows what, while generating an intense areosol spray within that 2 feet for about a quarter century now, with hardly ever a communic able disease ever caught, proper mask wearing and personal hygiene is a combo that works.

So while you're skiing you wear a full medical face shield with an N95 or N100 mask?

I guess drjeff will be easy to pick out on the slopes.

On a serious note, I'm not even sure I understand what you're saying here. You DONT think a gondy is a COVID19 risk? Am I reading that correctly?

BenedictGomez · Jul 31, 2020

Newpylong said:
Covid can be aerosolized but I think all things considered if you're gonna catch it the lodge is a higher inflection point.

I doubt it very much. For starters, we already know lodges will be run at minimum capacity. But even ignoring that fact, the only part of your reasoning which makes sense to me is the fact that there are far more potential "victims" in the lodge with more opportunity for interaction. But that's not what I'm getting at, I'm talking about a very specific interaction where your risk is exceptionally high.

Yes, there are far more people in a crowded lodge who potentially could come in contact with some viral particulate than in any single gondy car, but anyone in a teeny gondola car with a COVID19 positive person is 100% going to be exposed to a very high dose of active virus immediately expelled from the vector (i.e. every floating virus particle is still "alive"). Viral load is a major factor in actually getting sick. Let's say there are 6 people in a gondy car, and 1 person is COVID19 positive, and it's a typical 10 minute ride. My guess is at least 3 of the 5 other people would contract COVID19. There's no way to know for sure without running studies, but there are enough global documented close quarter infection rate cases to know it's going to be a very high percentage, and there's no global documented close quarter infection study that I'm aware of as small as a gondola car. It cannot be overstated just how insanely infectious this virus is.

BenedictGomez · Aug 1, 2020

Lastly, this brings us to IMO the biggest misnomer people seem to have regarding this subject, which is this belief that as long as you're not in the same car as the COVID19+ person, you're okay. That you can jump in a gondy car that HAD a COVID19+ person in it 10 minutes ago, but since they're "long" gone you're going to be fine.

I call total BS on that given the known aerosolized 1/2-life of the virus. So do as you all will this season, but I will sure as hell not be riding in any gondy ever again until 3 weeks post my vaccination. And this is coming from a guy who believes COVID19 risk is way overblown by the media & the general public at large, and yet I still wont be ******* with or testing my luck in gondys. The scientific evidence is just too overwhelming.

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