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Colorado resort officials acknowledge that brainstorming for the 2020-2021 season has stretched their minds more than ever. With Epic and Ikon pass protocols in place, the more independent mountains are rolling out their plans.

Vermont's ski resorts employ about 13,000 people, a quarter of them year-round, and the $1.6 billion industry typically brings in $925 million in direct spending, plus the $675 million resorts spend on vendors according to Ski Vermont. The current pandemic, however, has been anything but typical, and across Vermont, ski resorts are taking different approaches for how to open for the upcoming season.

Her father’s death, pandemic-caused cancellations and a wildfire evacuation gave the World Cup champion a new view on competing: “I want to enjoy it, the way I have enjoyed it in the past.”

After a "brisk" preseason for season pass sales at Sugar Bowl, the northern California resort has hit the pause button to assure safe distancing this season.

The half-dozen ski and snowboard resorts that sit east of the Cascade divide and on the western edge of the Rockies have begun to announce ticket policies for the upcoming season to comply with local and state Covid-related capacity caps in place.

The scheduled start of the Colorado ski season is only about three months away – and with snow falling on the tops of nearby peaks just this week, it’s hard not to wonder what a winter on the slopes is going to look like during a pandemic. 

Unlike Vail Resorts, which last week announced a reservation system that requires pass holders to book high-season ski days well in advance, Wolf Creek is adjusting its pricing.

What is this winter going to look like? Based on what we’ve read and seen down south (Australia & New Zealand), it isn’t going to be candy canes and gum drops.

As the first snowflakes of the season dust the Rocky Mountains, resorts across the U.S. wholeheartedly believe there will be a 2020-2021 season and they will try to make it feel like as normal as possible despite the pandemic.

Vail Resorts will require Epic Pass holders to reserve their days at each of the company's resorts for the 2020-21 ski and snowboard season.

As summer draws to a close, Vermont ski areas are broadcasting high expectations for opening this winter. 

At a special meeting Wednesday, Aug. 19, Breckenridge Town Council discussed ideas for winter activities outside of skiing and snowboarding that guests can engage in this year.

Mandatory masks, changes to lift line etiquette and new safety precautions at the lodge are among the changes visitors can expect when the season begins at Whitewater Ski Resort.

Yeah, we get it: With the rounding down of summer and the beginning of cool nights, the first signs of changing colors of autumn—and soon even the first snowfall—here in the high country of Colorado, where I sit writing from my home at 9,000 feet, it usually heralds optimism and stoke. 

Vail Mountain will open on time, and with full terrain and lifts — conditions permitting, of course.

In a recent telephone interview, Vail Mountain Chief Operating Officer Beth Howard said operations this summer have given the company important insights in how to operate lifts, restaurants and other amenities safely as the COVID-19 pandemic persists. Winter is the focus now, she said.

“Summer’s been great,” Howard said. “It’s terrific to be up and running … we’ve been pleased with how it’s going.”

 Read the full story at VailDaily.com

Since Covid-19 hit, ski industry moguls have danced around what next season will look like. But at Aspen Snowmass, pressure from locals and media has brought some of management's ideas into the open.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic raises questions about the upcoming ski season, Gore Mountain in Johnsburg is replacing two lifts to improve access to beginner and expert terrain.

When news of Covid-19 first reached this Mount Snow resort town, every sighting of an out-of-state license plate led to unsubstantiated talk of a wave of newcomers fleeing the virus.

Vail Resorts (VR) will not reopen lift operations for skiing and snowboarding in 2020 at Falls Creek and Hotham in Australia following the Victorian government’s introduction of Stage 4 restrictions for Melbourne and Stage 3 restrictions for regional Victoria, which will be in place for six weeks.

Halfway up Vail Mountain and a few steps from Gondola One’s constant whirl, the view is stunning. Pine trees dot vibrant green meadows, with the grey crags of the Gore Range off in the distance, all under a cloudless blue sky. 

A few small groups of people could be seen along the slopes, too, most hiking in masks. 

Vail Ski Resort is one of many Colorado ski areas that have begun to emerge from hibernation after Gov. Jared Polis closed down the industry in mid-March as coronavirus barreled into the state. Now, these resorts are navigating a summer season like none before.