The Good
- The people on the mountain are mostly good about social distancing in on the lift rides (two people for a four-chair lift), but not so much in line. You get a stark reminder of this when it is 10 degrees and you can see everyone’s breath.
- While not much of the terrain is open, the runs that are available are in good shape so the conditions are good.
- At the bottom of the mountain there is more care about distancing with extra ski racks, someone to help guide people, and cordoned off areas near the ticket windows.
The Bad
- At the lifts, the operators are doing nothing to enforce distancing. They are also ignoring people not following the mask mandate. People wearing a gaiter over the mouth only for example, go unchallenged. The lift crews are also largely ignoring people in line and talking to each other. Rare to get a friendly greeting.
- With only three runs open on upper Peak 9, they are more crowded than prior years. There has been little to no enforcement of slow zones or the no jumping section of Cashier run.
- It isn’t just the limited runs, it is a lot more crowded this week than compared to prior years. With the new reservation system it sounds like a good idea to limit the people on the mountain. But apparently Vail Resorts isn’t publishing just what that limit is. So instead of being on a run with a couple other people during the first week of December, I find myself on the run with 25 or more. This does not bode well for the rest of the season. As it stands, it seems like the reservation system is purely for show. Picture above shows eight people on the last leg of Cashier, with another 20 behind me. But, at least one bluebird day this week!
- The revamped web site is riddled with bugs, so many and so severe as to hinder functionality. Want to get a buddy ticket? Good luck since you have to sign in to view prices, despite being signed in. EpicMix statistics? Gone completely. EpicMix app? While there appear to be some good new features, they come at the cost of removing some statistics too. Want to chat with someone about it? Enjoy the 463 minute wait.
