Vail Resorts Announces Plans for 2020/21 Ski and Snowboard Season with Comprehensive Focus on Safety

[weatherman]

Does hiring a "guide" or a private lesson bypass the reservation system?

Yes. Ski school includes lift access.

 

[Ken_R]

A huge question for me is how do they keep people from reserving every single day of a week, each time the system allows for it.

Locals do seemed screwed...no more before or after work laps on a whim. Or storm chasing. It’ll all be luck. Low hanging fruit backcountry will be a shitshow.

I think the system will be overrun VERY quickly.

 

[pchewn]

Well I can hope that Mt Hood Skibowl and Timberline Lodge do the same with their shared Fusion Pass ... but I've heard no announcement yet. Passes supposedly go on sale in September.

I wonder how a sophisticated computerized reservation system is going to be implemented at Mt Hood Skibowl? They don't even check passes on a normal ski day. (Hence the nickname "FreeBowl")

 

[Eric@ict]

Yes. Ski school includes lift access.

That’s not been my experience in summit county? Keystone and Breck require you to purchase a
lift ticket.

 

[Jilly]

I think "weatherman" is missing - "Priority" access.

 

[Ron]

A huge question for me is how do they keep people from reserving every single day of a week, each time the system allows for it.

Locals do seemed screwed...no more before or after work laps on a whim. Or storm chasing. It’ll all be luck. Low hanging fruit backcountry will be a shitshow.

There is no guidance for larger groups and competition programs in any of this which while not surprising leaves me and my peer coaches and programs in the lerch.

Furthermore, the reservation system will create a big system of haves and have-nots for things like competition programs. The onus will be on each family to reserve as many dates as possible and hope for the best. My guess is that most weekends we won't be able to have full attendance as families miss out on reservations for their athletes.

I'm hoping that coaches are given an exemption to the system as we need to be able to maintain proper coach-to-athlete ratios for safety purposes. Again, no guidance from VR on this just yet.

this will be the hottest point of contention. And, you're right! Locals who cant always predict when they can ski will have to either sign up for everyday and just ski when they can or go SOL. This will cause the opposite effect, where many of the reservations won't be fulfilled or be fulfilled later in the day or just 1.5 hours in the AM. I will sign up everyday I can, however, like most of us, we ski from 8:30 to 11:00 at most.

Storm Chasing is dead.

 

[Seldomski]

A huge question for me is how do they keep people from reserving every single day of a week, each time the system allows for it.

I suspect there will be nothing to prevent this, though I do hope Vail has a way to track/suspend people who repeatedly reserve but don't actually show up.

 

[Slim]

Does that mean if you want to take 2 week long trips to a Vail Resort, you can (need to) book one week now (locking you in) and then make a reservation for the other trip, on Sunday morning, hoping there will be space?

That sounds like a pretty tough nut for skiers

 

[princo]

I think the system will be overrun VERY quickly.

Locals who cant always predict when they can ski will have to either sign up for everyday and just ski when they can or go SOL. I will sign up everyday I can, however, like most of us, we ski from 8:30 to 11:00 at most.

I suspect there will be nothing to prevent this, though I do hope Vail has a way to track/suspend people who repeatedly reserve but don't actually show up.

I agree, it will be a "every man for himself" situation. There a no friends in powder days this season. Unless there's some form of no show penalty, while the mountain could be sold out, there could be few people actually skiing even on week days (like the A-basin reopening). Heck, if that's what it comes down to, while I can ski only one midweek-day per week, I'll book as many as I can every week, since I don't know which one will work out for me. The ironic thing is that the daily skiers are not what makes the resorts money, but they will also be blocking the mountain from generating income too. Everyone will be preparing their gaming strategy.

 

[Ron]

Unless there's some form of no show penalty, while the mountain could be sold out,

this is exactly what my wife said immediately after reading that section. They might need to implement some kind of cancellation methodology if you can't make the reservation you have 24 hours prior to cancel it. then, you could have a separate sign-up section for free slots within 24 hours. However, if you dont show for more than 2 days per month (random thought) you are locked out for a week or 2. my prediction is that unless its a powder day, the mountains will get pretty empty by 11:00 on week days.

 

[princo]

Does that mean if you want to take 2 week long trips to a Vail Resort, you can (need to) book one week now (locking you in) and then make a reservation for the other trip, on Sunday morning, hoping there will be space?

That sounds like a pretty tough nut for skiers

I can imagine a promotion from Vail "If you want to be assured to ski more than 7 days with a single reservation, your only option is to book lodging though us. We will guarantee a ski day for every lodging night you book at one of our properties. Bookings need to be reserved by Dec-8".

 

[princo]

my prediction is that unless its a powder day, the mountains will get pretty empty by 11:00 on week days.

The system (as is) will also penalize (or not promote) the "second shift" skiers, those that ski afternoons after work during the week, or those that ski after 12pm on weekends to avoid traffic and finding parking.

 

[Rich McP]

Does hiring a "guide" or a private lesson bypass the reservation system?

Or a group lesson. Your still need your normal pass product just as before, but your lesson IS you reservation.

 

[Jersey Skier]

As someone who hasn't pulled the trigger on any pass yet I'm not sure this gives me any incentive to buy one. I tend to ski every Wednesday locally. So, if I couldn't get reservations at Hunter every week, why bother. I tend to wait to see what area of the country has the best conditions before I'll book a week.

 

[cantunamunch]

I've tried a variety of neck gaiters, etc. that are being touted by some as evidence that "skiers wear masks anyway". I have yet to find one that doesn't become a useless block of ice after you've been breathing through it for a few minutes. I doubt that the cheap cloth or paper face masks are somehow immune to ice buildup.

I'm going to bring my moto style full face helmet out of storage; my mask sits behind the jaw piece.

 

[Rich McP]

We have a condo in Breck and there is a pool. This summer we implemented a reservation system for pool/tub access. You could reserve one slot per day. You could reserve day of and next day only. Hot tub slots were filled up by about 7:30 each morning. It was many of the same names showing up every day. 30 slots per day with 346 units in our association. It is...challenging.

 

[BC.]

Just confirming because you guys are all smarter than me.....I can get a refund for my 20-21 Epic Local/College passes that I already purchased?/put 49.00 down on? Did I read that right?

If so, I’d be interested in getting a refund for wife/kids...cuz they don’t go as often as me....and probably too much hassle to plan for them.

 

[Posaune]

Exclusive early season access (lift tickets will not go on sale until Dec. 8)

This is great for those places actually opening early, but they've set some of us on a December 4 opening date, so if we're busy that weekend, tough for us. It's especially a pain here since it's predicted to be a La Nina year, and that means lots of snow, and usually early. I don't know Vail corp. well, but if they really mean 12/4 is the first day they'll open no matter what, then they're butting up against years of practice in these parts, which is to open when there's enough snow regardless of the date.

 

[cantunamunch]

butting up against years of practice in these parts,

Corporate wins, as they showed in March.


We're effed either way: Dec. 8 might well be the first decent snow cover in VT let alone in the Mid-A.

 

[Rich McP]

Just confirming because you guys are all smarter than me.....I can get a refund for my 20-21 Epic Local/College passes that I already purchased?/put 49.00 down on? Did I read that right?

If so, I’d be interested in getting a refund for wife/kids...cuz they don’t go as often as me....and probably too much hassle to plan for them.

I won't answer specifically since so much has changed this year. IN THE PAST, the $49.00 was a non-negotiable commitment to purchase your pass. Once you paid your $49 you were locked in and the only way out was by having purchased pass insurance, AND having a qualifying event to enable payout by the insurance. The cancellation/refund rules are different now. You need to go look at the fine print applicable to your specific purchase.