John LaConte photo.
On March 14, 2020, when Vail Resorts announced it would be closing its North American ski resorts for a week, some started to wonder if the ski areas would reopen at all.
A few days later, when Vail Resorts announced its mountains would remain closed, some started to wonder if the ski areas could even pull off this season. The fight to open for 2020-21 began right then and there, and it was an uphill battle the whole way.
Kyle Miner was working for Vail Resorts as a shop supervisor at the time, it was his first season in Vail. The 23-year-old came to the area hoping for an opportunity to start a new life out West. He picked the wrong year.
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Vail Pass was better positioned than many other public land recreation areas to meet the surge in use that accompanied the coronavirus pandemic.
Nevertheless, National Forest rangers are having to make advancements to the backcountry – a seemingly contradictory concept – to meet the new demand.
Before last year, there were 4 to 6 snow rangers working Vail Pass during the winter season. This year, there are 11. Those rangers have a new warming tent to use as a base camp, from which they can be dispatched more quickly to assist backcountry users who lost a ski, are stranded on a snowmobile, or, in the worst case scenario, triggered an avalanche.