UT / CO parents...how are the slopes with Covid this season?

[jerseygirl07067]

I never thought about catering. That sounds like an awesome idea, and would still be cheaper and safer than eating out. How did you find that?

[GaPeach_in_Ca]

Went skiing in North Lake Tahoe over MLK and we just ate at the ski resorts for lunch.

Ski in/ski out does sound lovely but wasn't really an option for us. If more organized, I do think people are tailgating at their cars, but it was easier for us to just buy food. In CA, you have to eat outside. Turns out it wasn't a big deal.

[hannah]

Our family is contemplating a ski trip out west. Sounds crazy, right? Well a few months ago we would have NEVER considered such a thing, but all 5 of us recently had Covid. I'm happy we made it through okay, but now that we supposedly have more natural immunity for 3 months, we were thinking of going over our spring break in March.

I am curious to know what it's like on the slopes as far as crowds, lift line wait times, and social distancing etc. I'm assuming that the food is pre-ordered and served outside? For that reason alone I would love to find a place with ski in ski out so we can just pop in our room for lunch and then go back out. I always like the nice break of being in warmth for an hour.

I also noticed lift tickets at the more popular resorts like Park City, Vail, Breck, etc to be a fortune. I'm not sure if it has been like that in the past few years but we had been out west about 5 years ago and I don't remember them being so ridiculously expensive. A lot of running $180 a day, is this the norm? Or have they raised prices because they are not letting as many people on the slopes?

Flights are super cheap, lift tix are super expensive. We might even consider skiing at some of the more local resorts or places like Solitude, Brighton, etc.

Any info appreciated!!

We ski in Colorado (Winter Park). Lines are definitely longer this season as most people are trying to spread out and stay apart from other groups - and chairs/gondola are not loaded to capacity. Masking is required. I don't know about on mountain dining since we drive to the base and leave our lunch in the car. We have been driving to the base from condo instead of taking a town bus since buses are running at reduced capacity. We have been skiing mostly half days since once you get cold there is no where to go to warm up and once we get cold we just go home. You need a reservation at WP to ski. Other resorts you need a parking reservation. Getting reservations, especially on weekends, can be difficult. I haven't paid much attention to lift ticket prices since we have season passes. At WP you need to pre-buy your tickets - you can't walk up to ticket window day of to purchase tickets. The mountain has been busy for sure - I think because least season was cut short due to covid. Everyone is looking to get outside this year.

[marinkitty]

I never thought about catering. That sounds like an awesome idea, and would still be cheaper and safer than eating out. How did you find that?

If you end up in Big Sky, I used Gourmet Gals and they were great. Definitely a cost savings over eating out and we liked 99% of what we ordered (one entree was so-so and I wouldn't get it again but everything else I'd reorder). If you go elsewhere, just google catering - I found three places in Big Sky and it's tiny so I'm sure most ski towns will have options.