You're the boss - what would you do right now if you ran a ski area?

[raytseng]

You just hit on something that lit a bulb in my cobwebbed brain. With all the work-from-home people now, weekdays may not be as empty as they can be, at least at our home mountain. Another variable to consider when deciding whether to ski or put your pass off until 20-21.

Very good point, but even with everyone having a flex schedule the effect may not be too large.
Especially if school, even virtual school, keeps families on a schedule (and good parents will want their kids on a working schedule).

I'm using Costco as my own indicator on this.
I'm observing weekdays at Costco still are far less busy than weekends.
I am seeing some of the effect is there, but maybe not overly large.

 

[Average Joe]

Don't know about other states, but if you are the boss of a VT ski area:
-You cannot hire any seasonal help from outside the US, and even if you could, they probably wouldn't come.
-If COVID rates in the major metropolitan and suburban areas of the Northeast remain near current levels, about 95% of your customers and a high percentage of your seasonal on snow help (i.e. instructors) cannot legally weekend work at your ski area.

The restrictions preventing cross state travel without 7 and 14 day quarantine will be devastating to ski areas in states that rely so heavily on out of state visitors. Ski shops, restaurants, and hotels in these areas are on life support this summer and it's going to get worse.

 

[James]

The restrictions preventing cross state travel without 7 and 14 day quarantine will be devastating to ski areas in states that rely so heavily on out of state visitors. Ski shops, restaurants, and hotels in these areas are on life support this summer and it's going to get worse.

I see quite a few people at restaurants. There’s been a fair amount of activity.
But ski areas would be different. Killington is playing by those rules now. So I guess areas wouldn’t sell you a ticket based on address. That would be unsustainable.

 

[MarkP]

Announce that there will be no grooming this season - moguls only.

My knees, hip and L4/L5/S1 are all cringing at the thought. This would impact my number of hours on the slope more than the number of days.

 

[Andy Mink]

Announce that there will be no grooming this season - moguls only.

@KingGrump would never go home!

 

[Dave Petersen]

For some small ski areas — don’t make me stand in line to get a ticket every time when I have a season pass.

 

[David Chaus]

Maybe this also belongs in the "how will skiing be different next season" thread, but I would really want to know how season pass sales are this season compared to past seasons. If season pass sales are significantly lower than past years, perhaps there isn't as much that needs to be done to ensure Coronavirus Capacity (I just invented the term) isn't exceeded.

 

[tball]

I'd immediately increase the price of season passes by $100 and announce they will only be sold for the next 30 days then no more for the season. Season pass holders will get priority access if capacity is limited.

 

[Wendy]

For areas with gondolas, bubble chairs, or trams, occupancy must be limited and strictly monitored. Windows open on gondolas and trams. Maybe remove or open the bubble cover on bubble lifts?

Recent studies show that fleece neck gaiters don’t really protect against Covid. The wool ones probably aren’t much better either. So regular mask wearing should be required on the types of lifts above. Or maybe the resort gets creative and has somebody design a neck gaiter with the proper fabric layers and fit to provide protection against the virus. They could put the resort’s logo on it. Great useful souvenir. (Hey @Philpug and @Tricia , maybe you guys can get on this and make some with the Pugski logo! Great fundraiser!)

For resorts that don’t normally have uphill travel designated areas, create some. Especially the smaller eastern resorts. That would get some traffic out of the lift lines/chairlifts. It also doesn’t hurt that it would bring aerobic activity into alpine skiing which is a healthy thing. Ski shops could market it: Easy to put on boots that one can walk from the car to the ski area in, no lift lines needed. (I’d be all over this). Offer discounted passes for uphill travel only.

Put some picnic tables up on top of the mountain to encourage bagging your lunch - or heck, the ski areas could sell bagged lunches for this purpose - and eating outside up there. Maybe provide propane heaters near those tables. I could see those places as prime lunch spots. (I’m thinking of smaller eastern areas that don’t have mid mountain or mountain top lodges).

Ski schools would need to make some modifications to allow for distancing in meeting/gathering areas and locker rooms. Stagger lunch breaks and perhaps stagger lesson times so there’s no big lineup of instructors and therefore once the shift is over a large group that is coming indoors at the same time. I don’t think there needs to be much modification to lessons in general. Maybe restrict group size.

Just as in schools trying to reopen, ski areas need to think outside the box a little bit to reimagine what a ski area looks like in the era of Covid. It can be done.

 

[Tricia]

Great useful souvenir. (Hey @Philpug and @Tricia , maybe you guys can get on this and make some with the Pugski logo! Great fundraiser!)

Trust me, we've thought about it.
I'm sure we can make logo neck gaiters like we did a few years ago, but I'm not sure we could promise that they are COVID compliant.

Even the mask studies are a moving target. I don't want to turn this into a mask thread so I won't go deeper, but....its just a giant moving target.

 

[DanoT]

I would require lift tickets and passes to be attached to the skier's wrist or one of those automatic spring recoil devices so a ticket checker can scan at a increased distance. Of course, I would sell wrist bands and recoil gadgets. .
Ok, I would probably give out the device with a pass purchase as well as add the cost to a day lift ticket, deductible if you already had one from a previous day ticket purchase.

 

[Bad Bob]

A little of topic, but that is kind of normal here.
Ski Schools are apt to see a significant decrease in students. Do a video lesson/MA. Have a set location prepay to be videoed skiing on that area (a drone would make it even cooler). Have a kiosk set up with an instructor manning it to interpret footage for the skier and make suggestions. Perhaps offer the sending the video to the customer for a slight additional fee? Social distancing and cash flow, how nice.
You would be creating a 10 minute mini lesson. Just a thought.

 

[DanoT]

A little of topic, but that is kind of normal here.
Ski Schools are apt to see a significant decrease in students. Do a video lesson/MA. Have a set location prepay to be videoed skiing on that area (a drone would make it even cooler). Have a kiosk set up with an instructor manning it to interpret footage for the skier and make suggestions. Perhaps offer the sending the video to the customer for a slight additional fee? Social distancing and cash flow, how nice.
You would be creating a 10 minute mini lesson. Just a thought.

When I skied Snowmass in the early 70s they had video ski lessons. This before the days of VCRs or video cameras.
You gave $2 to a guy at the top of the slope, and then skied down while a cameraman with the equivalent of a TV camera videoed you. The camera had a built in small replay screen and a ski instructor positioned beside the cameraman, gave you a critique of your skiing while you watched yourself.

 

[Itinerant skier]

First of all, make it clear to customers that there WILL be a ski season of one sort or another. Do all of the things mentioned: Masks in lift lines and on chairs, especially Gondolas. Hand sanitizer should be ubiquitous. Outdoor dining and drinking should be greatly expanded, but realistically many winter days will not allow it.

Above all, be honest. The snowsports code discusses the inherent risks of skiing. This is now one of them. Tell people: if you are in regular contact with an at risk person, maybe you shouldn't ski today, or have a plan to get tested before you interact with other people.

 

[KingGrump]

A little of topic, but that is kind of normal here.
Ski Schools are apt to see a significant decrease in students. Do a video lesson/MA. Have a set location prepay to be videoed skiing on that area (a drone would make it even cooler). Have a kiosk set up with an instructor manning it to interpret footage for the skier and make suggestions. Perhaps offer the sending the video to the customer for a slight additional fee? Social distancing and cash flow, how nice.
You would be creating a 10 minute mini lesson. Just a thought.

Taos has something like that set up for the ski week program.
It is set up on Tote. The camera women is stationed halfway down the run. She video the entire class skiing one at a time. The video catches everyone from both the front and skiing away. The instructor then pick up the tape from the camera women. There is a video shack few hundred feet downhill with seating inside for immediate analysis. The shack can accommodate couple classes at a time.
I am sure they can rig it up for wireless file transfer from the camera. Mounting screens outside with the instructors doing the MA over a speaker from inside should provide the preferred separation.

 

[Moose32]

Well, Wilmot Mountain has to cancel The Blizzard Program (Bus Critters) on Saturdays due to the crowding it causes - on Bus, on hill, and in particular in lunch line at noon (where every kid has a $20).

I'm also anxious to see how Vail Resorts promotes diversity (see CEO letter) with their policies and pricing. 2021 will be a very interesting season.

 

[Average Joe]

I see quite a few people at restaurants. There’s been a fair amount of activity.
But ski areas would be different. Killington is playing by those rules now. So I guess areas wouldn’t sell you a ticket based on address. That would be unsustainable.

Destination ski areas are either going to:
a- choose not to open, or
b- open, and lose money.
Economic reality.
If you are Vail or Alterra, you can pick and choose the locations where you'll lose the least amount of money, and open those areas up to satisfy your pass obligations.

I have a strong feeling that many of the independent businesses that serve the ski areas that won't or can't reopen will close up. Unless you have the capital to last two years without much income, which most small businesses don't have.

 

[AngryAnalyst]

Skiing is an outdoor activity with folks routinely wearing gloves and even masks. I work in a hospital and have operated on mutiple COVID patients--especially after the spike of cases and trauma following the recent protests/riots.

Lifts run normally.
Mandatory mask use.
No indoor dining or drinking facilities--outside only.
Maintain social distancing in commercial venues, stores, locker rooms, etc...

The following, as noted in a post above, makes sense:

"I would sell season passes as usual. I would limit day passes. Guests that buy season passes and book their stays well in advance have the priority. I would prep the lodge areas for outdoor seating ONLY, for all lunch / dining. ALL indoor eating and drinking will be CLOSED. I would look into STRONG ventilation systems for all bathroom facilities. I would operate lodging at about 50% capacity for safety and longer turnaround times to allow cleaning and disinfecting of rooms and facilities between guests. I would increase fresh and clean air circulation in ALL lodging facilities. I would also implement pretty strict protocols and testing for all my staff and employees. I dont want them or their families to get sick. (Free sanitizing gel and PPE is a given). All this should keep the wheels turning."

This is what I'd do. I don't mean to turn this into a politics thread, but I see very little evidence that COVID is easily transmissible in the conditions typical of even a moderately busy ski resort on hill with the caveat I'm not sure about lifts. Perhaps I'd limit a chair to one group at a time or 50% capacity, whichever is less restrictive by chair i.e. a a quad can have as many as 4 people in the same group or as many as 2 unrelated people. As sad as this makes me, I think you should dramatically cut capacity of trams.

I do think that the interior spaces (restaurants etc.) need to be carefully managed and I'm not sure what I'd do with them. Some form of peak usage limitation seems smart to me, but given that you can get frostbite I'm not sure what a safe limitation would be and whether such limitation necessarily limits lift ticket sales.

All of that said, I strongly suspect the question of how "open' ski resorts are is going to be a state by state one made by politicians. I think that unfortunate at some level, because I think it could give some people false confidence that whatever state mandated plan they implement solves the problem fully.

 

[martyg]

I would require lift tickets and passes to be attached to the skier's wrist or one of those automatic spring recoil devices so a ticket checker can scan at a increased distance. Of course, I would sell wrist bands and recoil gadgets. .
Ok, I would probably give out the device with a pass purchase as well as add the cost to a day lift ticket, deductible if you already had one from a previous day ticket purchase.

Why not RFID?

 

[DanoT]

Why not RFID?

RFID gates are preferred but AFAIK are quite expensive to install, otherwise more resorts would have them.