Who requires reservations this season?

[brigand]

Saw the other day that App Ski Mountain is going to require reservations. Been trying to find information from other resorts, but haven't been able to find a lot amidst the boilerplate covid text. Don't wanna drive 3 hours to be turned away because I didn't plan ahead.

Does anyone know of any other resorts in the area (NC, VA, WV) that will require reservations this season?

[marzski]

Definitely makes a big difference if you have a 1-location season pass, Ikon (Snowshoe), or no pass and only buy day tickets. Day ticket sales will probably be online advanced purchase only. Likely to be released a little at a time. For instance, if there is a big Jan thaw then the days right after that could have no day tickets at all until snowmaking can get going again.

Ikon Base/Full require reservations. Easy to do. Took me just a few minutes to make reservations at two resorts out west. You can do it from the Ikon app or the Ikon website from your account.

Most smaller places are trying to avoid a reservation system for passholders. In some cases at the few ski resorts already open out west, no day tickets are available at all during early season.

Massanutten only announced more details about their winter ops plans last week.

All Epic locations require reservations. Epic holders can make a limited number any time during the season right now. Day tickets will be online only and won't be made available until Dec. 8. Also a "week of" idea for locals who live near an Epic location. Makes a difference to folks in DC/NoVA who ski at the former Snowtime resorts (Liberty, Whitetail, Roundtop).

[MSDOG]

That's the problem we are having with Red River. They are not taking any more lift ticket reservations until further notice. We were going January 10th but we did not pre-buy lift tickets. Can get full refund on lodging if things don't change and we don't go.

[marzski]

That's the problem we are having with Red River. They are not taking any more lift ticket reservations until further notice. We were going January 10th but we did not pre-buy lift tickets. Can get full refund on lodging if things don't change and we don't go.

Red River in New Mexico? That's a special case in terms of skiing in the west. NM is the only state out west with travel restrictions that require a 14-day quarantine, with no option for a negative test. Also there was a 2-week "freeze" in last November. Taos was supposed to open on Nov. 26 and couldn't. NM has moved to a county-level approach as of Dec. 2. The new rules mean that "ski basins" can open lifts at 25% capacity, while keeping indoor stuff at a bare minimum even if in a Red county.

Colorado is also using a color-coded county-level approach.

I'm watching both NM and CO closely because I'm supposed to ski there in Feb.

[MSDOG]

Not sure why the 25% capacity at ski areas. The very nature of skiing on a large mountain would keep you at 6ft distancing it seems. Controlling the lift lines should be doable. I don't know of any lifts that have chairs closer than 6ft and once you are off the lift there are plenty of room to spread out. Of course you would have to remind the snowboarders several times to get up and quit gathering on the ground just off the lift.

[marzski]

Not sure why the 25% capacity at ski areas. The very nature of skiing on a large mountain would keep you at 6ft distancing it seems. Controlling the lift lines should be doable. I don't know of any lifts that have chairs closer than 6ft and once you are off the lift there are plenty of room to spread out. Of course you would have to remind the snowboarders several times to get up and quit gathering on the ground just off the lift.

Has very little to do with the size of the mountain, but everything to do with the fact that most people still are going to be on lift lines at the base and go into a building for a restroom. Even when rules for a ski area/resort say that people shouldn't gather with people not in their household, it will happen.

CO came up with county-level guidelines a while back that cover ski resorts. Right now Summit County and Eagle County are different colors, Red vs Orange. So the four Summit County ski areas/resorts are subject to different capacity limits than Vail and Beaver Creek in Eagle County. I think Winter Park and Steamboat are also Red.

Whether or not a lower capacity limit makes sense depends on the infection rate in a given area. Out west, the Percent Positive went over 10% or even 15% starting several weeks ago. In the northeast, things shut down when PP goes over 3%. NC has been 7-9% for months, and recently over 10%. What that means is that the chance that someone in a lift line is infected with COVID-19 and probably doesn't know that's the case is much higher in NM, UT, or CO compared to NC or NY. If everyone is wearing a mask that covers nose and mouth that helps, but the larger the number of people, the greater the chance that someone is contagious and could infect others.

[marzski]

Saw the other day that App Ski Mountain is going to require reservations. Been trying to find information from other resorts, but haven't been able to find a lot amidst the boilerplate covid text. Don't wanna drive 3 hours to be turned away because I didn't plan ahead.

Does anyone know of any other resorts in the area (NC, VA, WV) that will require reservations this season?

Snowshoe is not requiring reservations for passholders. At least not right now. Ikon has a reservation system that could be implemented, but it's mostly being used by Ikon Partners like Jackson Hole that aren't owned by Alterra.

Massanutten isn't requiring reservations but has a tiered approach to buying lift tickets. Property owners (houses, condos, timeshare) can buy tickets 30 days in advance, resort guests have 20 days, and others don't get access until 10 days before a date they want to ski. Mnut passholders and Indy pass folks don't need a reservation.

A few places out west are watching the parking lots much more carefully. The idea is that once parking is gone, then no one else can come in until the morning crowd starts leaving. Powdr resorts like Killington and Copper are using a parking reservation system for everyone, including passholders.

Planning at least a week in advance will make a big difference this season. Especially if not all lifts are open. Day tickets will be scarce even when a ski area is 100% open from a terrain standpoint. Midweek probably won't be an issue. Weekends will be full, or at least all Saturdays.

[MSDOG]

Does anyone know if Cat requires lift reservations this season. Family is trying to plan a short trip up there Jan. 2nd or 3rd. Tried calling but no one is answering the phone.

[ROYMERCER]

Does anyone know if Cat requires lift reservations this season. Family is trying to plan a short trip up there Jan. 2nd or 3rd. Tried calling but no one is answering the phone

we went on a Sunday and there were no restrictions. They are doing a very good job of cleaning and sanitizing from what I saw and most everyone was masking up even though it was warm and not needed for conditions. Hopefully we can get through the holidays and with the vaccines getting out our season will last until the snow melts.