Ski Down and Mask Up — Resorts Try To Stay Safe In Pandemic Skiing Boom

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There’s plenty of social distance out on the slopes, but resorts are requiring masks in lift lines and lodges and limiting lodge use. Most skiers and boarders are happy to comply but Schweitzer Mountain in Idaho had to suspend season passes for some who refused to wear masks and were verbally abusive to lift line attendants.

Schweitzer Mountain Resort

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Schweitzer Mountain Resort

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Cannon Mountain General Manager John DeVivo skis and rides the chairlifts each day to make sure the safety rules are being followed. He wants to make sure the ski area can stay open and keep upwards of 500 workers employed.

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In the lift lines waiting to get on a chair to head up the mountain, skiers and boarders are reminded to wear masks by signs and attendants with little bullhorns. The lines are also more spread out with every other row empty. These are called ‘ghost lines’ to create more social distancing.

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Lift line attendants at Schweitzer Mountain remind skiers and boarders to wear their masks. The ski area’s president Tom Chasse says, «95% of the people here, they get it. they’re totally on board. They want us to stay open through the whole season.

Schweitzer Mountain Resort

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Chairlifts designed to hold 4 people have a lot more single or double riders this year since you are only supposed to ride the chair with your family members or the people you came to the mountain with.

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Chairlifts designed to hold 4 people have a lot more single or double riders this year since you are only supposed to ride the chair with your family members or the people you came to the mountain with.

Chris Arnold/NPR

Sherburn says she ate inside the lodge — the first time she’d eaten indoors at a restaurant since the pandemic began. But she says she felt okay about that because there was almost nobody in the lodge.

«They took my name and they took the time of the day so that there could be contact tracing if anything happened, she says. «It felt very safe.

Still, at Cannon, most people are not eating inside. There’s a lot of tailgating in the parking lot. People bring camping chairs and their own lunch or have an ‘après-ski’ beer outside their car or truck.

«We really would like to see revenue increase, DeVivo says about restaurant and ski school sales being way down this year. But he says, «we’ve got to play things safe.