Long days, hot sun, shrinking snow ribbons clinging to north facing aspects of the high Rockies — I’m tempted to say we’re officially in the typical dog days of summer. There’s nothing typical, however, about this summer. Between Covid-fueled uncertainties and restrictions, the civil rights and social justice movement, and the general bizarre state of unrest in the U.S. and the world, we’ve found ourselves a little breathless and at a loss for words. We’re getting them back, though, and other parts of the ski industry are too. So here’s the latest in the backcountry ski world.
Ski resorts planning to open… so far
The ski industry soldiers on, despite that no one has the faintest idea of how next winter will realistically look. Vail Resorts and Alterra claim that sales are up for Epic and Ikon passes, but no one knows whether they will be able to actually use them. Both Ikon and Epic are adapting — they each have Covid clauses and insurance for pass holders in the event of major shutdowns during the upcoming season. By and large, though, resorts plan to open as detailed in this NY Magazine article.
Aspen Snowmass CEO Mike Kaplan sent an email in late July that said simply in regards to how the 20-21 season will look: “We don’t have all the answers yet, but we are doing everything possible to anticipate how to open on time and stay open all winter.”
One thing is for certain: Barring counties shutting down, USFS closing areas or other modes of unusual restrictions that were enforced last spring, the backcountry inherently will be open this winter. Backcountry skiers have long had the advantage of not needing resorts in order to ski. But if resorts do close, that could mean a lot more people want a slice of the ski touring pie.
More backcountry skiers = increased need for avalanche education
If the influx of new ski tourers that cleaned out touring ski shops and flocked to popular backcountry spots when resorts closed last spring is any indication, the backcountry could get more crowded this winter. Several ski shops in Colorado reported record sales of touring setups in the weeks following Governor Polis’s decision to halt ski lifts. Not only was there a marked increase in backcountry skiers, but many of those newbs couldn’t enroll in avalanche classes because course providers were shut down also.
In response, some providers are working to increase course accessibility in order to meet the growing need for education this winter. According to American Avalanche Institute co-owner and WildSnow contributor Sarah Carpenter, the AAI is making several curriculum tweaks including moving some course content online — including free Instagram seminars they started last spring — in an effort to offer foundational knowledge more easily and at less cost.
“I think a big hurdle when you are new to backcountry travel is understanding what you don’t know,” Sarah said in an email recently. “Using social media platforms to reach that new audience can be helpful, and offering fun, accessible online content is a start. I don’t, however, think that online learning is a substitute for an in person, field based course.”
In order to maintain the field elements of avalanche education while managing Covid-19 related risks, AAI is moving classroom portions of avalanche courses online trimming group sizes for field portions. Social distancing and masks will be standard protocol during in-person sessions.
“We’ve spent all spring and summer taking our curriculum and moving it to a different platform. It is an exciting project…and one that has taken a considerable amount of effort and creativity by our staff and a group of advisors. We’re really excited to showcase the next steps in avalanche education.”
Editor’s Note: Other avalanche course providers — have you adjusted your avalanche education to accommodate new users in a Covid world? Leave a note in the comments or contact us.
Some Colorado peaks might get new, less racially charged names
In light of the current civil rights and social justice movement, racially tuned monuments and memorials aren’t the only named landmarks under review in the U.S. Some of Colorado’s famous Rocky Mountains are too.
According to this Colorado Public Radio article, on the top of the list is Mount Evans. The popular Colorado Fourteener is named after John Evans, who was a key figure in the Sand Creek Massacre during which members of the U.S. Army massacred Arapaho and Cheyenne peoples, including many women and children, in Southeast Colorado. Other landmarks under petition include Mount Squaw, Chinaman Gulch and Negro Creek.
In early July, Governor Polis instituted a new board of bipartisan Coloradans (including Indigenous Tribal members) to process the petitions and propose replacement names. Once processed, petitions will go on to the national U.S. Board on Geographic Names, where name changes are officially approved or denied.
Urban exodus prompts mountain town real estate boom
Infection rates are not the only way COVID-19 is impacting mountain towns of the West. A real estate boom of unprecedented proportions is underway as urban dwellers with cash and jobs they’ve proven can be worked remotely flock to greener, less populated pastures. This surge in out-of-towners is popping up across the western states in already price-inflated towns like Jackson Hole, Aspen, Crested Butte, and more. According to the Colorado Sun, many new buyers are scooping up house in the $700,000 to $1 million range, which in some ski towns is unfortunately the low end of the market. Of course, the new buyers can’t access affordable housing lotteries, but the plight of the ski bum turned hopeful homebuyer just keeps getting harder, and that doesn’t look to change any time soon.
While much of the rhetoric around Covid has been oriented around getting ‘back to normal’, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that there actually won’t be a normal to return to. At least, if nothing else, we can go skiing. Hopefully.
12 comments
The Know Before You Go program (video and slide presentation, https://kbyg.org/) is a great place to start for those new to the backcountry, setting the stage for what to expect and what you need to learn. Following that, the Utah Avalanche Center has a created a series of free interactive online avalanche courses at https://learn.kbyg.org/ that provide a good starting point for an avalanche education or refresher for experienced backcountry users. There is no substitute for spending time on the snow with a qualified instructor and an experienced mentor, but this is a great way to get started. Some classes were using this program as recommended pre-learning for on-snow classes before the pandemic and creative instructors could use completion of the online courses as an alternative to the indoor portion of a Level 1 class, making an on-snow class more feasible.
The UAC is considering future additions and improvements to the course collection and is always open to suggestions on how to improve the existing courses and potentially partnering with other class providers to create new content. Ping us to chat more.
I used the KBYG online course before doing a private on snow course, two years ago. I really liked it. Thanks to the UAC (and all others) for the great work you do.
Let’s all support these organizations with donations, now more than ever!
As most skiers venturing into the bc have been skiing for a considerable amount of time they are usually familiar with snow, weather and their local mountains. It is not rocket science to evaluate a slope and conditions of the snow as well as the weather. With all of the information available on the internet as well as a few informative books I don’t see the need for worry. The best advice I could offer is the old boy scout motto of “be prepared” and forget the crowd or posse mentality when heading out for fresh turns, tour with a buddy or two and not much more, thus reducing the aspect of the back country getting too crowded, because seeing groups of four and more people in the bc together usually makes me venture just a bit further to escape the safety in numbers and lets all get out there together mentality which will track out a slope in no time.
I agree! We should be prepared! Not only should we be prepared to mitigate the inherent risks of backcountry skiing but also be prepared for the increased number of folks in the backcountry. Assume there will be some amount of reckless behavior – give yourself some flexibility to deal with it. Assume parking can be a problem – you may need to adjust your schedule. For those of us lucky enough to live in the Front Range, traffic! Accept it! And god forbid, you may have to cross someone else’s tracks every once in a while! If you plan for this, the crowds will not bother you because you will be having fun!
I wouldn’t rely on Vail Resorts if their performance in Australia is anything to go by. They closed two of their three resorts stating health & safety reasons. Yet kept one open. If it was genuine health and safety all three should have closed. It was clearly a financial move.
The GM of one of the closed resorts had about half an hours notice prior to Vail announcing the closures. Many businesses in the region who rely on the resorts opening will go under as a result. Vail still haven’t, in many cases, refunded Epic pass holders. There may be a class action bought against Vail as a result of both the Epic pass issues and the unnecessary resort closures.
Here’s Vail’s pass refund policy in the US:
If you purchased an EPIC Pass, EPIC Local Pass, EPIC Military Pass or EPIC Day Pass, you will be eligible for a refund if all of the following resorts are simultaneously closed for seven (7) or more consecutive days during the Core Season because of a Resort Closure Event: Vail, Whistler Blackcomb, Breckenridge, Beaver Creek, Crested Butte, Keystone, Park City, Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood.
I live in CA. This says if all the resorts near me are closed but one place in Colorado keeps spinning chairs every Tuesday, I wouldn’t get a refund.
I know people who work at these resorts. I understand how badly they have been hit. Still though, things are looking grim in the US right now. I don’t plan to give Vail $1000 for a pass this year given that refund policy and the seems-unlikely prospect of a normal ski season.
On the bright side, more days this season to dial in my technical skinning/climbing skills.
Vail’s Victorian resorts closed due to the COVID-19 situation in that state, as has just about everything else; they would not have been legally able to remain open, and nobody would have been allowed to travel to them if they had been. Vail Resorts do have to comply with legislation…
Here in NSW things have been considerably less grim so Perisher has been able to keep operating, although closed state borders may have made things more difficult. I’d heard that lift tickets sold out soon after they went on sale, so there’s obviously still enough demand from NSW residents to fill the socially-distanced places that are available.
Vail has offered a total refund for the Australian resorts. You just have to look for it.
For next winter we are excited to be offering small class sizes with the maximum being either 6 or 12 students. Face coverings and social distancing will be required. As always we will offer private courses which can accommodate even smaller groups for those who prefer that experience.
Jay Peak, not affiliated with Ikon or Epic, in Vermont posted this recently,
“We want to put your mind at ease when planning for the 2020+21 season: if any border/travel restrictions are in place when we open for the 2020+21 Season that prohibits you from traveling to and from the mountain, we’ll work with you to either refund your season pass or defer the value to the 2021+22 season. If border or travel restrictions pop up after the season has started, we’ll work with you on pro-rated compensation or deferments as well.”
I believe they are worried about Canadian Season Pass holders being reluctant to buy a Pass, if the Can/US border remains closed. A large portion of Jay Peak skiers come down from Canada.
Previously they had a remark on their Season Pass page, that said if the Mountain remains closed for any reason this season, Season Pass purchasers would be entitled to a full refund. That post seems to be gone. But they do make the following statement, for Season Pass holders,
“our no-questions-asked refund policy is available through October 1st, 2020. ”
So I imagine that by Oct 1st the mountain would have to decide whether they can open or not.
Anyway, I have bought my Season Pass, for 2021, and will keep my fingers crossed. Jay Peak is a big driver of the local economy.
Canadian here, so our situation is a bit different. I see our resorts opening (at least lifts) as per usual, maybe limits for Gondola riders and mandatory facemasks (buffs). Even if borders are closed, I think numbers at resorts will be massive if the summer crowds in the mountains are any indicator.
I also think there will be a massive influx in the backcountry (in the US and Canada). As there are a ton of experienced backcountry skiers here, I think it important that we take on more mentorship and leadership of newbies. Backcountry skiers are cliquey, and localism can be a huge issue. The major risk is people are more likely to kill other people in the backcountry (set off a slide specifically). Newbies who are inexperienced might either set of a slide onto you, or they may be in a place where if you accidentally set of a slide they get killed. As a backcountry community, it will be really important for everyone to step up and offer mentorship and guidance, something that is becoming rare.
If everyone goes into this season in a protectionist mindset, more people are going to die than usual. If we join local groups and offer up an experienced ski partner for the day, or allow a couple of newbies to join our group and learn; we are going to greatly reduce the risks in the backcountry for experienced skiers and newbies alike. We won’t be able to stop newbies from heading into the backcountry, and it’s in everyone’s best interest to build community vs. animosity.
Also, ease up on social media about great trips and locations. If it’s snow analysis, great. If it’s pictures of rad lines and deep pow with no observations, don’t post it.
Just a thought.
If COVID remains similar to the current situation, our guide service is likely going to offer only private avalanche classes (e.g. everyone in the class will need to be from the same household or friends already within one another’s “pod”), so as to avoid bringing 6 to 12 “random” people together. The avalanche education industry is working on hybrid model classes, which I think could be an excellent solution for making avalanche classes more accessible in the long run as well. If this summer is any indication, the mountains will remain busier than ever before, which will have some negative impacts in terms of COVID transmission and accidents, but some very positive impacts in terms of mental health and connecting people to the natural world.
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