Ski resorts adopt new COVID-19 protocols
With bluebird days and decent snowfall at local mountains coinciding with the start of students’ winter break, ski resorts near Vancouver saw a lot of visitors this week.
But for some who loaded up their gear and headed to their local hill, it was an exercise in frustration. Long lines of cars, packed parking lots and slammed ski lifts left some questioning whether it was worth the bother, and whether some resorts could be doing more to make things easier on its guests.
All local mountains appear to have made changes to the way they’re operating this year, with mask requirements in place, handwashing stations more plentiful and plans on how to keep people distanced in lineups.
Mount Seymour, for example, has posted changes intended to reduce transmission of COVID-19, such as allowing bubbled guests to ride together in lifts, but leaving space between single riders.
To limit the number of people on the mountain at a given time, guests must prepurchase their passes, tickets and rentals, and, crucially, season pass-holders need to reserve their visits during weekends and holidays. That latter step is similar to steps taken by Grouse Mountain and Whistler Blackcomb.
Cypress Mountain has also instituted changes, but, unlike other local mountains, it’s not requiring its pass-holders to pre-book their visits. That suggests it may not be able to limit its numbers to the same degree that other mountains can.
Some visitors to Cypress this week posted photos on social media of dramatically long lift lines, and posts reporting the amount of time — in some cases in the number of hours — that they had spent in traffic waiting to get to the hill. One video posted on Reddit showed hundreds of cars waiting in line to reach the parking area.
Cypress Mountain released a statement by Russell Chamberlain, head of the resort, late Wednesday that spoke to some of those concerns. Chamberlain said visitation at Cypress on Tuesday was just 80 per cent of what it would normally be at this time of year, and its lift lines were within 10 per cent of normal peak times.
“Cypress Mountain Resort has spent significant time and capital over the last eight months creating and refining a comprehensive COVID-19 operational plan in order to operate our facilities as safely as possible during this pandemic,” he said.
Chamberlain pointed to B.C. Parks as being responsible for managing visitors outside the ski area. He said that in past months the resort had urged B.C. Parks to limit visitation at Cypress Provincial Park this winter, but action wasn’t taken. Chamberlain said the resort will now be introducing a parking fee in all but one lot, 3B, “to assist in managing demand within the resort boundaries.”
In a statement, B.C. Parks staff said this was an unprecedented year for visitor numbers at Mount Seymour and Cypress parks, both of which are experiencing a busy holiday season. Visitors should expect delays of up two hours, they said, and watch for highway signs indicating that parking lots are full.
Both parks will be monitored closely, B.C. Parks said, and adjustments will be made, if necessary.
Traffic to Cypress was again bad Wednesday, but this time drivers were being turned away early, according to a Twitter account run by B.C. Parks. Visitors without reservations were also turned away on Seymour.
Grouse Mountain has reduced access to its slopes through its timed reservation system and also by limiting ridership on its Skyride aerial tramway to 50 per cent of its usual numbers.
Whistler Blackcomb is also managing the number of people on-mountain this year and requiring pass-holders to make reservations. It has also built some flexibility into this year’s season to allow, in some cases, cancellations of things like rentals and lessons for medical considerations.