What will skiing in the USA look like this year?
How will the American ski resorts operate for the 2020 / 2021 ski season?Here's the plan!
For Breckenridge, Vail, Beaver Creek, Keystone & Park City
Skiers & snowboarders have been champing at the bit to find out how ski resorts in the USA will operate this coming ski season.
They're so ready to get back on the snow, experience the great outdoors & the beauty of the mountains.
Of course covid 19 has changed so many aspects of our lives in 2020, but the skiing & snowboarding community are lucky that our sport takes place outdoors, in the fresh air with wide open, huge mountains to ski & ride.
Some changes are necessary though to keep employees, communities, skiers & riders safe whilst the pandemic continues.
Vail resorts have now announced how they plan to operate their ski resorts this 2020 / 2021 ski season, which gives some certainty in this ever changing situation. These include Vail, Breckenridge, Park City, Keystone & Beaver Creek.
Take a look at the plan for 20/21, what will be different & what you need to do next to make the most of your ski season!
RESERVATIONS
1. Capacity caps
The ski resorts will be capping the number of people on the mountain each day to comply with social distancing guidelines. This also means fewer people on the slopes, which is great for enhancing your ski experience!
2. New reservations system
in 2020 / 2021 there will be a new reservations system requiring all skiers & boarders to reserve the days they want to ski online. They believe that on the vast majority of days, everyone who wants to ski or ride will be able to.
3. Pass holder reservations
Epic pass holders need to reserve their ski days & ski resort online at epicpass.com, after they've purchased a pass. Families can book reservations together through the same pass holder account. Epic pass holders include anyone with an epic pass, epic local pass, summit value pass, keystone plus pass, tahoe value or local pass or epic day pass, which all have to be bought ahead of time & typically stop being sold early Dec. Most of our clients order these passes, as it's the cheapest way to ski multiple days.
4. Priority for pass holders
Early season from Nov 6 - Dec 8 2020 is exclusively reserved for pass holders. Pass holders can reserve as many "week of" days as their pass allows. Plus they can reserve up to 7 "priority reservation days". When any of these priority days are used, more can be added, so passholders have a rolling 7 priority days. Passholders can book priority days from Nov 6 & no regular lift tickets will be sold until Dec 8. So you have a chance to reserve your priority days before anyone else can, which is particularly helpful for busy days such as over Christmas / New Year.
5. Epic Coverage
Epic Coverage is new this year & is included for all epic pass holders. It provides refunds if you are unable to book your preferred Priority Reservation days (by Dec 7), so if you are coming on a week long holiday & can't get a reservation on those dates, your pass will be refunded. It also gives you a refund if the ski resort is closed due to covid or if you have a personal event like job loss, illness, pregnancy or travel restrictions.
6. Regular lift tickets
Lift tickets will be sold from Dec 8 onwards. All will be sold for a specific date & ski resort and need to be pre-purchased. The number of lift tickets sold will be subject to the space available on any given day, at a given ski resort. You can order on the day you wish to ski, but please be aware that the day could be sold out by then. There won't be any ticket window sales in resort, although you may pick up a pre-purchased ticket at the ticket window.
SOCIAL DISTANCING
7. Chairlifts & gondolas
Guests from the same household skiing or riding together will be seated on the same lift. Otherwise two singles will be seated on opposite ends of a 4 person chairlift or two singles or two doubles on opposite ends of a 6 person chairlift. In the larger gondola cabins two people will be allowed on opposite sides of the gondola car. Of course, many lifts are in the open air, move quickly & you ride for a relatively short duration. However, this will enable physical distancing & protects guests, even if the lifts happen to stop, guests are speaking to each other and / or eating & during the loading & unloading of ski lifts.
8. Ski & snowboard rental
Physical distancing will be employed within Vail Resorts' owned & operated ski shops. Local regulations will determine the number of people allowed in each shop at a time and guest flow will look a little different. All guests & employees will be required to wear face masks whilst in the ski shops. Employees will be wearing gloves & eye protection, when in close contact with guests, such as boot fitting. Delivery services will be expanded, so that guests can get their ski gear delivered to their accommodation and fitted there, to avoid having to enter the shops at all. Inbetween rentals all equipment will be fully sanitized.
9. Restaurants & bars
The number of people in on-mountain restaurants at any one time will be determined by public health requirements. Full-service sit down dining establishments will be operated with fewer available tables, spaced for physical distancing. Cafeterias will operate on a one way system, with guests passing by the food options & then the cashier (cashless, card only). Quick service restaurants will have limited "grab 'n go" hot & cold options instead of custom orders. There will be as much outdoor seating as possible. It's recommended that guests time their lunchtime stop to be earlier or later than the traditional 12-2pm peak rush. Also guests should bring snacks, water & any other food they might need during the ski day. Traditional full-service bars will not be open, although pre-packaged beer & wine will be on sale at most locations.
10. Ski & ride school / lessons
Extra precautions will be taken, as physical distancing is not always possible during lessons, with the group riding lifts, eating lunch together or being picked up off the slopes! Both employees & ski & ride school participants will undergo online self-health screenings, before they arrive at the mountain for their lesson. 6 people will be the maximum allowed in any lesson - group or private. Some speciality programmes will be suspended this year. Specific procedures for children's lessons are currently being worked on & further announcements are expected soon. All lessons must be pre-ordered, so you can't just show up at the ski school & book a lesson. All guests must have an eligible lift pass, but a mountain access reservation will be included with your lesson. All guests & employees must wear a face covering whilst in a lesson.
FACE COVERINGS
11. Face coverings will be mandatory
No-one will be allowed on the mountain without a face mask covering your nose & mouth. This includes anytime you're inside a building, queueing for a lift, loading a lift, riding a lift and during all ski and snowboard lessons. It's also recommended that throughout the resort towns, guests wear face masks whenever you're in a public space, indoor or outdoors to help keep all our communities & guests safe.
We're excited to hear that all the USA ski resorts we offer are planning to open for the 2020 / 2021 ski season and are planning similar opening & closing dates as other years. Of course this is a fluid situation and with local regulations being frequently updated, things may change. Rest assured though that these plans comply with or exceed current laws and recommendations to ensure the safety of guests, employees & communities in the ski resorts we have mentioned. Here's to a great season of skiing & riding in America!
Ask Chalets USA about your USA skiing holiday today!
We live in the USA, know the ski resorts & accommodation and visit them regularly.
We can give you expert advice and save you time & effort finding the right USA ski holiday for you.
Happy Skiing!
Helen & Rob Brown
Chalets USA
UK Tel 01223 655642
US Tel 303 482 1961
