Mid-Season Check-in: Here’s How Colorado’s Ski Resorts Have Been Managing COVID-19
For the most part, skiing has been a safe haven for recreationists seeking a sense of normalcy. Here s why. Courtney Holden •
February 22, 2021
Nearly every Monday morning for the past few months, Boulder resident Leah Cousin and her 5-year-old son Levi wake up at 6 a.m., pile their boots, skis, and snow gear into their gray Subaru, and drive up Boulder Canyon to Eldora Ski Resort. Since Boulder Valley School District has asynchronous online classes each Monday, they’re able to arrive early (they’re usually one of the first cars in the lot), get in some runs, and then head home to complete Levi’s schoolwork that afternoon. Cousin whose family has been taking the pandemic very seriously, visiting stores just for essential items and only seeing close friends occasionally, always in outdoor settings has generally felt comfortable during her time on the slopes. “Since it’s cold outs
In a given year, roughly 20 to 25 percent of people who ski in the United States do so in Colorado. Keeping them all safe in the midst of a global pandemic is no small task, even though much of the skiing experience takes place outdoors in wide-open, ostensibly less-virus-saturated spaces. Resorts have had to make changes, both minor and major, to tamp down the spread of infection. But while new requirements like lift ticket reservations and face mask mandates may feel cumbersome, plenty of other shifts actually could help streamline (read: improve!) our days on the slopes. “As weird as it sounds,” says Loryn Duke, director of communications for Steamboat Ski & Resort Corporation, “one of the silver linings to COVID is that it has made us take a step back and see opportunities for the future for changing the way we do business.” The following pandemic-inspired protocols may well live on for powder runs in the years to come.