What will be different for 20/21 Ski Season?

[urungus]

Being from Massachusetts right now is like being the one kid in a group project that does all the work, being dragged down by NH, Vermont, Maine.

My ability to access the skiing (other than Wachusett) requires me to go out of state, and for NH/Vermont to get a handle on this virus so please, residents of northern New England get it together. Rhode Island and Hawaii were just added to the Mass quarantine requirement. Let's not have NH be next.

You could still go to Berkshire East, Jiminy Peak, Bosquet, Butternut, Catamount, etc. Actually Catamount presents an interesting case since it straddles two states for which the quarantining rules may be different.

 

[BenedictGomez]

Glad to see that this forum is taking COVID more seriously now. Had to leave this site in May when all the posters here thought it was a hoax.

Of all the things that never happened in AlpineZone history, this never happened the most.

 

[BenedictGomez]

- The operation of the Aerial Tramway is certainly a question mark at this time, and there's no telling whether (or when) its operation will be approved relative to social distancing measures and both State of NH and CDC guidelines;

NOTE: Much larger than a gondola car.

 

[mister moose]

Actually Catamount presents an interesting case since it straddles two states for which the quarantining rules may be different.

Humorous technicality, but likely to treat Catamount purely as a MA area as that is where the base, entry, access and parking is.

 

[ss20]

Cannon update:

Here are some plans we can share right now, all of which come with a *subject to change:

- Opening Day is scheduled for Friday, November 27th;
- Snowmaking will begin as usual in the weeks prior to Opening Day;
- Base lodge spacing and seating will be very different as we will likely be directed to limit capacities and encourage only short-term use of inside facilities to follow social distancing guidelines... you should plan to spend a lot more time outside than you may have in past years;
- We WILL be selling day passes (tickets)... and purchasing said tickets may move to an online-only system;
- We do not plan to curtail season pass usage or require reservations at this time, but we may have to ask for the assistance of our passholders in helping us plan usage from week to week so that we know what our sales capacity may be in a particular week;
- Snowmaking, grooming, and lift operations may be revised to reflect reduced capacities and revenue projections;
- Lift schedules are being discussed, and there will likely be changes in line spacing and on-chair capacities;
- The operation of the Aerial Tramway is certainly a question mark at this time, and there's no telling whether (or when) its operation will be approved relative to social distancing measures and both State of NH and CDC guidelines;

This is all good stuff!

 

[sugarbushskier]

So for all you Cannon regulars - If the Tram isn't running, is there a way to ski Kinsman Glades/DJ's Tramline and cut back to Zoomer Lift? Want to hit those trails, but w/o the Tram, not sure if feasible.

 

[bizarrefaith]

From DJ's you should be able to cut through around Banshee glade and get over to the Skateway to Zoomer without much hassle. From Kinsman I think you have to have left a car over there. Assuming the shuttle's not running.

 

[thebigo]

Being from Massachusetts right now is like being the one kid in a group project that does all the work, being dragged down by NH, Vermont, Maine.

My ability to access the skiing (other than Wachusett) requires me to go out of state, and for NH/Vermont to get a handle on this virus so please, residents of northern New England get it together. Rhode Island and Hawaii were just added to the Mass quarantine requirement. Let's not have NH be next.

Where are you getting your data? The NYT tracker shows ME/VT/NH to have the three lowest per capita new cases in the country.

However with bike week, labor day and an extended last couple weeks of summer vacations I suspect the numbers may deteriorate.

 

[EPB]

Of all the things that never happened in AlpineZone history, this never happened the most.

No kidding. I can think of maybe one or two people advocating something that would approach "hoax" territory. Unless refraining from acting like the sky is falling one's idea of calling this a "hoax". Regardless, this is hyperbolic.

I actually feel much better about COVID-19 than I did in March/April when I was waiting an hour to get into the grocery store, we had yet to learn that surface-based transmission is unlikely, and people thought that the death rate was much higher than it has proved to be (as you pointed out at the time ).

Logistics for the ski industry are going to be tough though, and I'm very curious to see what changes between now and ski season. The most fascinating part to me will be how conventional wisdom changes between now and then.

In taking with Dr. eastern powder baby Sr. recently, the two things that stuck out were:
1) There is no such thing as "COVID-19 experts" yet - just virologists/epidemiologists.
2) Hopefully this isn't the case, but the vaccine studies could fail to show conclusively that vaccines work. The vaccinated and control groups could look too similar to draw conclusions because A: participants are encouraged to follow distancing guidelines and are therefore unlikely to contact the virus and B: the virus has a very low death rate for healthy non-seniors to begin with. The end result could be two groups where very few people get the virus and almost everyone/everyone recovers.

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[bizarrefaith]

I don't think there's much chance a vaccine has a significant impact on this ski season - the timeline seems too small. Even if we have a proven and safe vaccine in December or January, you're talking about vaccinating like 200mm people.

 

[EPB]

I don't think there's much chance a vaccine has a significant impact on this ski season - the timeline seems too small. Even if we have a proven and safe vaccine in December or January, you're talking about vaccinating like 200mm people.

Yeah even if it went off without a hitch and we had one by December, we'd still likely have shortages, triaging, and refusal to vaccinate by a decent chunk of the population to contend with.

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[cdskier]

Yeah even if it went off without a hitch and we had one by December, we'd still likely have shortages, triaging, and refusal to vaccinate by a decent chunk of the population to contend with.

I'll be honest, I'm very pro-vaccine, yet the compressed time-frame of clinical trials in this case does worry me a bit and would make me think twice about getting it right away.

 

[EPB]

I'll be honest, I'm very pro-vaccine, yet the compressed time-frame of clinical trials in this case does worry me a bit and would make me think twice about getting it right away.

Me too. My family has never turned one down, but rushing is how mistakes/oversight issues are made. No matter where your bias, I think there's plenty of legitimate reason for skepticism. One would have to assume that the "evil" pharma companies and the "incompetent/bureaucratic" government managed to execute a rush job successfully on the up-and-up to be totally comfortable with the vaccine. I don't know how many people get there unless there unless they're just very positive and trusting people.

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[ss20]

Yeah even if it went off without a hitch and we had one by December, we'd still likely have shortages, triaging, and refusal to vaccinate by a decent chunk of the population to contend with.

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I won't find the article but I saw a headline that according to a poll only 50% of Americans would get a vaccine. Of course I open with, "I saw a headline"... so take it with a minuscule grain of salt.

 

[Bumpsis]

I'll be honest, I'm very pro-vaccine, yet the compressed time-frame of clinical trials in this case does worry me a bit and would make me think twice about getting it right away.

In full agreement with this and the post by eastern powder baby. I fully realize the benefits of vaccines, yet bad and not so pleasant things can happen, especially when the job of getting an effective one is rushed. The potential downsides of COVID-19 are just head spinning and new bad news keeps popping up. Now, looks like even people in their 20s can be severely affected too (Edwardo Rodriguez, Red Socks with myocarditis??).
I'll take the vaccine if and when available - well, may be not the Russian one, but I'll be weary.

I had a super nasty reaction to recent Shingrix vaccination that was way more severe than the 3-4 days of "discomfort". Perfect example of a vaccine product that has some significant holes in background knowledge and lack of full safety info. I'm guessing that GlaxoSmithKline had plenty of time to do proper tests to assure the safety of the product and at least by my experience (and others, however anecdotal) they fell short.

 

[BenedictGomez]

Yeah even if it went off without a hitch and we had one by December, we'd still likely have shortages, triaging, and refusal to vaccinate by a decent chunk of the population to contend with.

Doctors & nurses will get it first, but the highlighted above I believe will be the biggest threat, worsened by an alarmist media which seeks to only push out the absolute worst possible eventualities & possibilities for all things COVID19-related.

Risk is a relative term. Is there "risk" that this process was greatly accelerated? Sure, but after taking literally thousands of people through clinical trial it should be really small. And if you have a comorbidity or are > 60 there is no way in hell any vaccine risk will outweigh the mortality risk to you from COVID19. But as I mention above, I'm confident any vaccine risk will be massively blown out of proportion by the media, which will scare people into not getting the vaccine, and I'm confident that it will cost lives.

 

[BenedictGomez]

I had a super nasty reaction to recent Shingrix vaccination that was way more severe than the 3-4 days of "discomfort". Perfect example of a vaccine product that has some significant holes in background knowledge and lack of full safety info. I'm guessing that GlaxoSmithKline had plenty of time to do proper tests to assure the safety of the product and at least by my experience (and others, however anecdotal) they fell short.

Dont blame GSK, blame your bodies immunomodulatory response!

It happens. I'm one of the 2% of people who are lucky enough to have a severe adverse reaction to the tetanus booster, but that's on my bodies' overly-aggressive immune system response, not on Teva or Mylan or whoever made the generic vaccine. My injection site pain was so bad that I could not lift my left arm, I had to use my right arm to move it. Lasted about 3 days, and I had some decent injection site pain (though not nearly as severe) for about a month. It was awful. Not as awful as tetanus though.

 

[sugarbushskier]

From DJ's you should be able to cut through around Banshee glade and get over to the Skateway to Zoomer without much hassle. From Kinsman I think you have to have left a car over there. Assuming the shuttle's not running.

Thanks! Figured there's a way (there always is even if "unofficial"). Probably stick to the tramline though, but always like exploring terrain. Are the Kinsman Glades that much better?

Still unsure about the passes, but Indy is looking better and better. Thanks for the info. Never liked shuttles as it takes away from slope time.

 

[Smellytele]

Thanks! Figured there's a way (there always is even if "unofficial"). Probably stick to the tramline though, but always like exploring terrain. Are the Kinsman Glades that much better?

Still unsure about the passes, but Indy is looking better and better. Thanks for the info. Never liked shuttles as it takes away from slope time.

Kinsman and DJ’s are 2 different types of trails so one being better than the other is not comparing apples to apples. DJ’s is about rocky outcroppings and small “chutes” through them. Kinsman is tight off camber glades.


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[JimG.]

In full agreement with this and the post by eastern powder baby. I fully realize the benefits of vaccines, yet bad and not so pleasant things can happen, especially when the job of getting an effective one is rushed. The potential downsides of COVID-19 are just head spinning and new bad news keeps popping up. Now, looks like even people in their 20s can be severely affected too (Edwardo Rodriguez, Red Socks with myocarditis??).
I'll take the vaccine if and when available - well, may be not the Russian one, but I'll be weary.

I had a super nasty reaction to recent Shingrix vaccination that was way more severe than the 3-4 days of "discomfort". Perfect example of a vaccine product that has some significant holes in background knowledge and lack of full safety info. I'm guessing that GlaxoSmithKline had plenty of time to do proper tests to assure the safety of the product and at least by my experience (and others, however anecdotal) they fell short.

I had an uncomfortable reaction to Shingrix as well. Pain and swelling at the injection site and a mild fever for a few days.

But I would not pass on getting the vaccination based on that. Far better than a full blown case of shingles.