{"id":163108,"date":"2020-10-08T15:38:03","date_gmt":"2020-10-08T22:38:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=163108"},"modified":"2020-10-13T11:37:30","modified_gmt":"2020-10-13T18:37:30","slug":"what-you-need-to-know-before-buying-this-years-ski-pass","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/snowsports\/what-you-need-to-know-before-buying-this-years-ski-pass","title":{"rendered":"What You Need to Know Before Buying a Ski Pass This Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s note: Please consult the <\/em>CDC<\/em><\/a>\u00a0or your state health department for information related to the COVID-19 pandemic. When spending time outdoors, please <\/em>recreate responsibly<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

The upcoming ski season has been far from Dr. Emily Spivak\u2019s radar this fall. As an infectious disease specialist at the University of Utah, she has been understandably preoccupied. She\u2019s still not sure if she\u2019s going to buy a season pass, like she usually does, to her home mountain: Alta. \u201cThis year\u2019s ski season is kind of an unknown for us,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to have to see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spivak isn\u2019t alone in that thinking. While ski resorts roll out operational plans for how they will reopen this winter during a global pandemic, skiers and snowboarders are trying to decide if they will ski and ride this winter, and if so, how will that look?<\/p>\n

\"Skiers<\/p>\n

Specific resort policies may include reservation systems and limited capacities, as well as reduced on-mountain services, increased outdoor dining and touch-free transactions. Most resorts will require face coverings, promote social distancing in lines and lodges through revamped traffic flows and enforce spacing on chairlifts and gondolas so groups only ride with their designated parties.<\/p>\n

Vail Resorts, operator of 34 ski areas and the Epic Pass, announced a reservation system to limit mountain capacity. Under the plan, all of Vail\u2019s resorts will do away with walk-up ticket sales, requiring online reservations made in advance. Season pass holders can make limited bookings ahead of time and can snag unlimited reservations the week of. Regular lift tickets will go on sale at a later date in limited numbers. Quotas, which limit both pass-holder reservations and individual lift tickets, will be determined on a mountain by mountain basis and could fluctuate throughout the year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe think for the vast majority of days, we\u2019ll be able to accommodate everyone,\u201d said Johnna Muscente, Vail Resorts\u2019 director of communications.<\/p>\n

In Colorado, Copper Mountain will be tracking visitation numbers by requiring reservations for parking at the resort, which is included in the Ikon Pass. Alterra Mountain Company, operator of the Ikon Pass and 15 ski areas and heli-skiing operations, has announced that the company doesn\u2019t plan to implement a full-scale reservation system at this time and intends to incorporate some level of flexibility for each mountain to determine its own plans.<\/p>\n

\"Skier

Photo Courtesy: Arapahoe Basin<\/p><\/div>\n

Arapahoe Basin, Colorado, which reopened briefly at the end of last ski season with an online reservation system, announced that the mountain will only require reservations for day-ticket sales and Icon Pass holders who wish to come to the mountain. Season pass holders will not be restricted, but the number of season passes sold will be limited. Arapahoe Basin is also adding radio frequency identification (RFID) gates\u2014which you slide through to scan your ticket to ride the lift\u2014to limit physical contact.<\/p>\n

At resorts like Brundage Mountain in Idaho, ski and ride school and dining will look different. \u201cOur plan at this point is to offer private lessons, but no all-day kids club options, which would require extensive group time indoors,\u201d said April Whitney, communications director at Brundage Mountain Resort, which is included in the Indy Pass. \u201cWe are not planning any large-scale events for this winter and there won\u2019t be an apr\u00e8s bar scene. We are completely reenvisioning the food and beverage experience based on state and local guidelines.\u201d That will include more grab-and-go options and additional outdoor seating.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Photo Courtesy: Brundage<\/p><\/div>\n

For Spivak, the Utah doctor, activities like ski school and dining give her the greatest concern; she\u2019s less worried about the actual skiing and riding, citing the reduced risk of the virus spreading while being spaced apart outdoors. \u201cSkiing itself is inherently socially distanced,\u201d she says. \u201cBut dropping your kids off and having them meet inside in packed rooms with lots of other kids is obviously going to need some changing.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the CDC<\/a>, outdoor spaces present less risk than indoor spaces, \u201cwhere it might be harder to keep people apart and there\u2019s less ventilation.\u201d In Colorado, the state\u2019s Safer at Home guidance<\/a> specifies that outdoor recreation participants wear masks during \u201ccheck-in, staging, transportation to and from activity,\u201d and maintain physical distance of at least 6 feet, among other measures. For operators of guided programs\u2014like ski lessons\u2014guidance includes greater mask wearing, conducting more staging and sign-in activities outdoors, encouraging reservations and limiting group sizes.<\/p>\n

At Vail Resorts, ski and ride school instructors and participants will be asked to take an online health screening before classes. Class sizes will also be limited, and lessons will need to be purchased in advance. Brundage plans to offer only private lessons and will meet all participants on the snow, rather than indoors.<\/p>\n

Some peace of mind for those like Spivak, who are weighing their options on whether or not to buy a pass for this winter? Many resorts have upgraded their insurance policies for pass buyers. Both the Epic and Ikon passes have increased refund policies in the event of another widespread shutdown, like we saw last March. Pass holders will also have options to tailor their insurance to a specific mountain or to set dates, customizing it whether they are a local skiing mostly at one specific mountain, out-of-towners only using their pass during a short window, or seasoned travelers exploring numerous mountains all season long\u2014different plan types will impact the amount of a pass that can be refunded based on the time and location of closures.<\/p>\n

The Indy Pass, which includes two days at more than 50 small, independent resorts around North America, is offering an automatic credit toward next year if skiers and riders use this year\u2019s pass fewer than four days. Not all resorts have been able to add these reassurances, so make sure to check your local resort\u2019s policies before purchasing a pass.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is definitely the season to do your research before heading to the hill,\u201d says Adrienne Saia Isaac, director of communications for the National Ski Areas Association. She recommends checking a mountain\u2019s website and social media updates before buying your pass and heading to the hill each day. \u201cFor years, we\u2019ve said, \u2018Know Before You Go\u2019 when talking about the backcountry, and that rule of thumb will be applicable for resort skiing this year, too.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s note: Please consult the CDC\u00a0or your state health department for information related to the COVID-19 pandemic. When spending time outdoors, please recreate responsibly. The upcoming ski season has been far from Dr. Emily Spivak\u2019s radar this fall. As an infectious disease specialist at the University of Utah, she has been understandably preoccupied. She\u2019s still […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":163114,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[1999,727,364],"internal-tag":[],"class_list":["post-163108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-snowsports","tag-covid-19","tag-latest-posts","tag-snowsports"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/snowsports\/what-you-need-to-know-before-buying-this-years-ski-pass","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"What You Need to Know Before Buying a Ski Pass This Year","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/snowsports\/what-you-need-to-know-before-buying-this-years-ski-pass","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/snowsports\/what-you-need-to-know-before-buying-this-years-ski-pass"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/09\/ArapahoeBasin_CREDIT-Dave-Camara_Hero.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/09\/ArapahoeBasin_CREDIT-Dave-Camara_Hero.jpg?fit=2000%2C1000"},"articleSection":"Snowsports","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Michelle Flandreau"}],"creator":["Michelle Flandreau"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["covid-19","latest posts","snowsports"],"dateCreated":"2020-10-08T22:38:03Z","datePublished":"2020-10-08T22:38:03Z","dateModified":"2020-10-13T18:37:30Z"},"rendered":"