J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by J2SkiNews

Pictures of long queues snaking away up a hillside – which look orderly but not very socially distanced – as skiers queued for tickets and access to the lifts up to Cervinia's ski area in Italy, which opened for the winter season today, have been posted on social media.

However a statement from the ski centre said that the crowds were managed safely. They published different pictures showing skiers adhering to spacing marked on floors within the ticket office.

"On a wonderful sunny autumn day with excellent snowfall conditions we immediately had to face some situations to be managed with a view to preventing the spread of Covid. The protocols were respected by all skiers, who have shown that they know the rules which have been published for many days," a statement from the resort said, continuing,
"There was a queue at the ticket offices, but it was managed safely outside thanks also to the collaboration of the police."

The resort said that all 11 ticket offices, the automatic ticket machines and ticket sales within accommodation facilities in the town were open as well as the option to buy online.



The resort reported 2,000 skiers and boarders arrived to hit the slopes of the cross-border Matterhorn Ski Paradise area which had 50km (31 miles) of runs open from this weekend as the Italian side joined the already open terrain on the Swiss side.

It is one of four major resorts opening its ski slopes this weekend with Kitzbuhel in Austria, Davos in Switzerland and Banff in Canada all opening too.

"We recommend buying a daily ski pass online, remembering that it's always possible to do it the day before," the resort concluded.

North America's 20-21 ski season has got underway with Wild Mountain ski area in the US state of Minnesota claiming the kudos of first on the continent to open for the season.

The Midwest had reported record low-October temperatures which allowed snowmaking systems to fire up, and there was also some natural snowfall.

Internationally better known Banff in Canada will see its Mt Norquay local ski slopes open today, the first in Canada and its earliest opening date in its 95 year history. Western Canada has seen mostly cold weather and lots of early snowfall through October.

The two areas have managed to open ahead of high altitude areas in Colorado that are often the first to open. It did look more promising there a few weeks ago as snow-making systems were fired up but temperatures then warmed up and there's the added complication of forest fires which have closed access to one of the centres concerned, Loveland. However heavy snow is expected in the region again over the next few days.

North American ski areas appear to be putting in stricter operating restrictions than their European counterparts this winter with strict limits on numbers on the mountains and on lifts to allow social-distancing which are not being enforced in Europe at present. The lower skier numbers mean fewer people can ski though and Mt Norquay reported opening day's lift ticket allocation had sold out several days in advance.

Around 30 ski areas in 10 countries are now open for their 20-21 seasons with Cervinia, Davos and Kitzbuhel opening in the Alps today.

North American resorts are preparing for similar operations to European ones this winter, but one key difference is capacity limits. In Canada and the US most areas will be restricting the maximum number of people on the mountain, and in enclosed lifts like gondolas or cable cars (known as trams in the US), in Europe it looks like they won't.

Jackson Hole (pictured this week following pre-season snowfall) is still working out the details of its operations but says it expects its famous tram, which serves the greatest continual vertical rise in the US, will see its capacity limited to about a third of the normal 100 people per cabin. To off set the danger of that transferring the problem to queues building at the base the resort says it will extend operating hours, opening up at 8.30am.

They're also getting creative, they say, in looking at more routes up the mountain. Fitter skiers will have an option to take a chairlift, then a traverse, before hiking up around 400 vertical feet ion a bootpacked route to the summit of the area, an option not previously available.

The resort is selling tickets online in advance as part of the plan to limit numbers and reduce the need for physical ticket sales. One day – December 30th – has already sold out.

A spokesperson for Jackson Hole told J2Ski that the resort had already gained experience operating safely during the pandemic as it had set record numbers for domestic business over the summer and autumn, describing traffic as "off the charts."

The spokesperson said that despite having to close early due to the pandemic lockdown last season the resort still posted one of its best winter's for visitor numbers before early closures and was poised and ready to welcome international guests again as soon as travel restrictions are lifted – which they hope will be before the end of the season in April.

It may be a moot point for many skiers around the world that would like to be heading to ski in North America this winter, with travel to the Canada or US "difficult" at best at present, but nonetheless the start of the 20-21 North American season is now, probably, less than a fortnight away.

Ski areas in Colorado are often the first to open, in October, and there was fresh snowfall here earlier this week and two of the usual contenders, Arapahoe Basin and Loveland, have begun snowmaking. However the forecast for the rest of the month is for warmer, drier weather with may be less conducive to snowmaking.

The only ski area to actually name a 'tentative target opening date' in October is Nakiska, the closest ski area to Calgary in Alberta. Ski area in the province have posted up to 28cm of snowfall in the past few days and again snowmaking has started. Fresh snow at Sunshine near Banff is pictured above. So it currently looks promising for that opening date a week on Friday.

Other contenders could include Timberline ski area in Oregon, open almost year round with a permanent snowfield and only finishing its 19-20 season on the last day of August. It too has had fresh snowfall this week.

Occasionally ski areas in New England and Midwest manage to open first on the continent if there's an early cold spell and snow can be made. It is indeed now cold in the Midwest and East but whether any area will manage to open there remains to be seen.

Almost all North American areas have confirmed they do intend to open, most on schedule, but most with limits of typically 50% on capacity and social distancing planned for lifts and elsewhere around the mountain base among many anti-COVID measures being put in place.

Les 2 Alpes and Tignes are both reporting excellent conditions awaiting on their glaciers after several September and October snowfalls in the Alps over the past few weeks.

It is believed to be the first time this century that two French areas will start the season together.

Tignes, once open 365 days a year, then for at least one day every month of the year, used to open in late September and Les 2 Alpes a month later, just for nine days over the October school holidays. However climate change has meant Tignes has missed its September opening for some years now so set the date back to mid-October. This year Les 2 Alpes is opening a week earlier than usual, and is staying open for a fortnight to November 1st, so the two opening dates have met.

Les 2 Alpes (pictured top earlier this month), which has seen record business since re-opening after the spring lockdown, say their decision is to make their October opening less busy and allow more space. It will be closed again for the first four weeks of November though whilst Tignes should stay open.

The two areas will join more than a dozen glaciers already open in Austria, Italy and Switzerland.

The openings come as virus cases surge and restrictions increase again in parts of France, which remains on the 'must self isolate for 14 days on return to UK' list for British skiers.

Up in Scandinavia the first Swedish centre to open for 20-21 will also open a run on Saturday – Idre Fjall (pictured below), in its case using snow farming – recycled snow saved from last season – to open. It joins other snow-farmed-open areas and a glacier resort still open from last summer in Norway and Finland.

The first World Cup Alpine ski races of the 20-21 season is also due to take place - a week earlier than usual and without spectators - at Solden in Austria this weekend.

daved wrote:Admin...you are taunting us ....

Sorry! It is hard to decide whether to keep writing about the ongoing efforts of mother nature to deliver snow as usual despite the virus, and the travel problems it creates, or just pretend the snow's not falling until we can all get back out there normally again :)

Ski resorts in the Alps, Dolomites and Pyrenees are all reporting their third significant snowfall in about a fortnight.

Resorts including Baqueira Beret and Grandvalira in the Pyrenees, Cortina d'Ampezzo in the Dolomites and numerous centres in the Alps have been posting fresh snowy images on their social media feeds today.

For many its the third significant snowfall of the autumn after a late September dump which led to the Glacier 3000 ski area near Gstaad opening nearly six-weeks earlier than planned after it received a 70cm snowfall. More snow fell about a week ago.

Obertauern in Salzburgerland which has reported 27cm of snowfall in the last 24 hours is pictured top today.

The biggest 24 hour accumulation reported so far is 30cm (a foot) of snow at the Hintertux glacier, one of 14 centres currently open for snowsports in Austria, Italy and Switzerland.

Glaciers have been reporting excellent early-Autumn conditions and this additional snowfall should improve things further.

The French 20-21 ski season is due to kick off at Les 2 Alpes and Tignes at the weekend when the 2020-21 Alpine Skiing World Cup tour is also due to start in Solden.

Italy's Dolomiti Superski area, which is also one of the world's largest lift pass systems, kicks off its 20-21 season as usual at the end of November, this year on Saturday, 28th.

This will be, however, the first day of skiing since Italy's lockdown began on March 9th, 2020, a week before most of the rest of Europe, and with infection rates currently increasing again, Dolomiti Superski's has launched a wide range of measures on hygiene and social distancing, but also automatic refunds on lift passes of another lock down occurs. It's all bundled up under the campaign name: "We Care About You."

"Our aim is to underline that the world's largest ski carousel takes meticulous care of its guests, fully committing to the needs of those who spend their winter holidays in the Dolomites. Therefore, many of the introduced measures go above and beyond the general ones envisaged by the authorities in charge," said Dolomiti Superski's Diego Clara.

Many of the measures announced in terms of social-distancing, online-purchasing, mask-wearing and cleaning are similar to what is becoming the ski-industry standard across Europe, but there are some interesting additional ideas.

For example, based on historical data from the last five years, Dolomiti Superski can provide a table with forecasts of inflow to the ski slopes on each individual day of the season. The idea is that skiers who are flexible on travel dates can plan a holiday in such a way as to avoid the busiest periods.

In addition, in common with a few other large ski regions and companies including Paradiski in France and centres owned by Vail Resorts in North America, an innovative Skiers Map, which displays how busy the main lifts are at any specific moment, will be available within the new Dolomiti Superski app. The map will also be integrated into the 3D ski map on the company's website.

"By measuring the percentage of lift capacity used within a unit of time, the map allows the skier to decide when to use which lifts, and therefore avoid possible crowds," added Diego Clara.

Like other ski areas Dolomiti Superski note that none of the planned measures will be effective if skiers themselves do not make their own contribution and strictly follow the rules provided.

Dolomiti Superski will provide information material at the points of greatest contact with guests (tickets sales points, ski lifts access, parking lots). To raise awareness among skiers, explanatory motion graphics will also be transmitted on big screens at the main valley and mountain stations.

Travellers to Italy from the UK and other countries seed to either provide a very recent test result that they are COVID-19 free on arrival in the country or take a test on arrival and self-isolate until they knows the result. Some Italian airports offer rapid testing.