Vail/Epic Resorts has announced their new Covid protocols for the 21/22 ski season and the biggest takeaway is that there will be no reservation system woo! Get all the details here
COVID Ski Season 2020/2021
#winteriscoming and that means ski season! Ski season is going to be different this year, just like everything else in 2020. In this post, I breakdown how each ski resort across colorado will be handling ski season from the reservation systems to social distancing & price increases.
There are a number of resorts across colorado with 3 major passes. Epic, IKON, and Mountain Collective. All Epic (Vail owned) resorts have the same uniform measures in place, the rest very by the resort. Some IKON pass mountains do require reservations others TBD, see details.
If you are not sure which pass or mountain is best for your needs outside of the COVID restrictions check out my overview of each mountain and town here.
What You Can Expect at Every Colorado Resort
Required Face Coverings, from the lift to restaurants to the mountain village
Modified lift loading to keep social distancing
Most lifts will be singles on opposite sides or groups only with related/came together parties – so basically no riding shoulder to shoulder with strangers
Limited social distancing at a restaurant + more outdoor seating options
Vail Resorts was the first to announced their COVID rules back in August. Basically, there is a reservation system, and based on your pass level you get priority to reserve days for the season. Vail wants to set a baseline for all resorts – across the world – with this reservation system and then adjust per resort if need be. Details here.
Pass holders can reserve a set amount of “priority days” in advance based on the level of pass they have
If you don’t have a pass, you can buy a single-day ticket/reservation in advanced
Any day you ski you must reserve in advance and you can still reserve the week of as long as there are open slots for that day
Masks are required all over the resort
As of now no reservations needed for eating on the mountain
Winter Park will not be implementing a reservation system but will be giving priority to pass holders. Currently, only a Winter Park or Ikon passes will get you access to the mountain. Four Packs/Flex 4 and other types of pass sales have been suspended. At this time single day tickets are not for sale at this time. Read more about Winter Parks 20/21 Season here.
Currently, Arapahoe Basin pass holders will not have a reservation system. However, IKON pass holders will need to reserve their days in advance. Abay is implementing this to manage visitors on high traffic days aka weekends. Read more here.
Mountain Collective pass holders will not require a reservation
Single-day tickets will only be available online and the number to tickets available per day will be variable.
The Beach will be closed for the 20/21 season.
Abay will be discouraging gatherings of more than 10 people.
Steamboat is not requiring any reservations for any level pass holders at this time. However, all tickets and passes must be purchased in advance. During peak times like holidays, single ticket days will not be available.
Aspen/Snowmass is taking a different tack by raising the cost of their full pass and introducing a number of other local-only passes that encourage residents to visit on weekdays. Certain pass will not be sold after November 20 in an effort to control crowds so buy your pass ASAP – details here.
Should COVID infection rates rise in Aspen, they are reserving the right to implement a reservation system. Get More information here.
IKON Pass – If you buy an IKON pass and plan to ski Aspen/Snowmass then you must use the IKON website or app to reserve your days in advance
Mountain Collective – Aspen asks that you utilize the online fulfillment system to get your pass so not do it in person. at this time there is no reservation system for mountain collective
Again, no reservation system, pass holders will be given priority over single-day tickets. Single-day tickets will be limited and only sold online in advance. Details here.
Telluride has not yet announced a reservation system, however, same-day tickets will not be available. All ticket and pass purchases will be contactless – so done in advance. Get more details here.
Copper Mountain & Eldora is taking a different approach by implementing parking reservations. If they can control the cars they can limit the people on the mountain. Details here.
Like other mountains pass holders will be given priority access to the mountain with limited single-day tickets available for sale. If Powderhorn needs to control crowds or there are limited terrain open Powderhorn reserves the right to implement a reservation system. Details here.
If you ski you have a neck gator, but guys that thing is built to be breathable. While this is great for skiing its not great for protecting yourself from COVID okay? Read the Duke Study here – ranked worst.
My family ski’s green and blue at Breckinridge. We are wanting to go and check out Keystone. Looking for longer runs, etc. we have been told that Keystone is pretty hard. Are there enough runs to enjoy the day at our level? Any thoughts you have would be appreciated. We are all adults, no children. We have all only skied about 8-12 times. Not beginners, but not ready for black either. Thank you so much for any info. You. An offer.
YES!!! I just spend the weekend at Keystone and love it. The runs are so much longer so I feel like you get more timing skiing. We also took a friend who had not skied in 8 years and it was perfect for her. Lots of green and blue terrain. I think it has a better learning area than Breck!
Otherwise, the big difference is that Breck is a cute town and Keystone is a resort. So more resort feel like Beaver Creek or Vail.
After 10 Years in Colorado I know exactly what you need to pack for the best ski trip. Follow this packing list to get everything you need for your ski vacation
Thanks for doing this research and breaking it down!
Of course!!! Let me know if you have any other questions I can add to this!
My family ski’s green and blue at Breckinridge. We are wanting to go and check out Keystone. Looking for longer runs, etc. we have been told that Keystone is pretty hard. Are there enough runs to enjoy the day at our level? Any thoughts you have would be appreciated. We are all adults, no children. We have all only skied about 8-12 times. Not beginners, but not ready for black either.
Thank you so much for any info. You. An offer.
YES!!! I just spend the weekend at Keystone and love it. The runs are so much longer so I feel like you get more timing skiing. We also took a friend who had not skied in 8 years and it was perfect for her. Lots of green and blue terrain. I think it has a better learning area than Breck!
Otherwise, the big difference is that Breck is a cute town and Keystone is a resort. So more resort feel like Beaver Creek or Vail.