Provided / Heavenly
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, California – Vail Resorts announced its business plan for the upcoming ski and snowboard season that includes reservations, physical distance on chairlifts and face covering under COVID-19.
Vail operates 34 resorts in North America and said it is committed to safety and the business plan for the winter is a “forward-looking approach aimed at ensuring a safe, comfortable and successful season.”
“We are pleased that our core experience of skiing and hiking abroad takes place, over large mountains, with fresh air and wide open spaces for our guests,” Vail CEO / President Rob Katz said in a press release. “However, to help protect our guests, our employees and our communities in the midst of this pandemic, some changes will be needed this season. It has been our goal to design an approach that can last for the entire 2020/21 season. We do not want to be distracted or find that we have to make reactionary changes. Striving for consistency will provide our guests, staff and communities with as much predictability as possible this season, which we believe is worth the extra effort. “
Important changes outlined in the plan include:
- Guests will be required to wear face masks to get to the mountain and in all parts of resort operations, including in lift lines and riding in elevators and gondolas.
- To maintain physical distance on our chairlifts and gondolas, Vail will only be seat related parties (guests splitting or riding together) or: two singles on opposite sides of a four-person lift; two singles or two doubles on opposite sides of an elevator of six persons; or two singles on opposite sides of our larger gondola factories.
- Ski and travel school will be offered and food on the mountain will be open, but with changes to keep guests safe.
- Mountain access is managed to ensure guests have the space they need. As such, the company announced a mountain access reservation system and restricted lift tickets to give priority to its holders.
“For the vast majority of the days in the season, we believe that anyone who wants to come to our mountains will be able to be,” Katz said. “However, we are not planning for the majority of days, we are planning for each day of the season. We want to assure our guests that we will do our best to minimize congestion at all times – whether it is a holiday weekend or not. “unpredictable powder day. We believe this approach will help ensure a safe experience for everyone, while giving priority to access for our pastors.”
Full details on the passport holder’s reservation system can be found here. Supervisors receive:
- Excluding early season access (lift tickets only go on sale on December 8)
- Passholders will need to make a reservation before arriving at the mountain.
- Access all season with weeks of booking
- Priority reservation days to close days before the turnaround season before lift tickets go on sale
- Easy to use reservation system
To give guests more time to consider the changes, the company’s Labor Day deadline has been extended to Sept. 17, including the deadline for using patient credits from last season.
Vail plans to open its North American ski and snowboard season with Keystone in Colorado on November 6, weather permitting.
Heavenly Mountain Resort and Northstar California plan to open on November 20 with Kirkwood Mountain Resort opening December 4, weather permitting.
The company said it plans to open all sites and elevators as soon as possible.
“There is no doubt that this season will be different, but we are committed to what is most important: working to protect our guests, staff and communities and do everything possible to offer great skiing and riding all season long. , “said Katz.
