Will we be able to go skiing this winter?
Early snowfall in the Alps and Rockies has created a buzz but the outlook remains uncertain
Snow has been falling in the Alps and Rockies, prompting a flurry of excitement and social-media activity among skiers. In Tignes, France, where the lifts on the glacier have been open since October 17, 30cm of fresh snow fell on Tuesday, offering powder skiing and conditions, according to a spokesman, “more like the middle of winter than autumn”. In the US, Wolf Creek in Colorado became the first resort to open, turning on its lifts on Wednesday after 56cm of snow fell in a storm the previous weekend. Mount Norquay in Alberta opened last Saturday, the first resort in Canada to do so, and the earliest opening in its 95-year history.
But while the snow may be good, numerous questions remain over whether skiers will be able to access it. Resorts worldwide have made efforts to reassure clients that they plan to open as usual, with various coronavirus-safety measures in place. However, regional or national lockdowns could of course interfere, while border closures and quarantine rules threaten to severely restrict international visitors.
The opening of Cervinia last weekend, one of Italy’s biggest resorts, has proved a worrying example of what could go wrong. The resort’s lifts began running on Saturday for a season that should have continued until May. In fact it lasted just two days — on Sunday the Italian government issued an emergency decree closing ski resorts to everyone except professional racers until November 24. Images showing long queues outside the ticket office in Cervinia, as well as a crowded cable car, went viral on the Saturday, though it is not known if the pictures influenced the government’s decision. Adding to the confusion is the fact that some Italian resorts have remained open: Val Senales and Sulden am Ortler continue to operate thanks to being in the semi-autonomous South Tyrol region.
Resorts worldwide are insisting on similar protective measures: mask-wearing on lifts and in lift queues, abundant hand-sanitiser stations and severe restrictions on après-ski. Numerous season-opening concerts
and parties have been cancelled and drinks will typically only be served to seated customers.
The big difference is on the question of limiting numbers. In general, Alpine resorts seem to be relying on a predicted fall in international visitors to avoid the need for a formal system of restricting lift pass sales, or for stipulating reduced capacity on cable cars and chairlifts. The French resort of Val d’Isère, for example, would ordinarily expect more than 40 per cent of skiers to be from the UK, a number that is likely to be significantly cut by current quarantine regulations.
In the US, by contrast, the majority of skiers are typically day-trippers from local cities, so capacity restrictions could be more necessary. Vail Resorts, for example, has announced it will operate a pre-booking system across all its 34 North American resorts, with pass sales halted once limits have been reached.
Vail, in line with many North American resorts, will also impose social distancing on its lifts: groups of friends or family can ride together but strangers will be separated by at least two unoccupied seats on a chairlift, or sat on opposite sides of a gondola. Jackson Hole in Wyoming is cutting the capacity of its celebrated “tram” cable car from 100 to 51, as well as capping the overall number of skiers per day.