The big Corona Virus Shutdown

[EMSC]

Tons of resorts shutting including all Vail inc resorts, All Alterra resorts; Rumor has it Powd'r corp will be next, etc.. as well as many independent resorts (Taos for example).

Height of political emotional stupidity if you asked me, but whatever.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Liftopia has a list that they're updating:
https://blog.liftopia.com/in-progress-s ... now-closed

Tony will need to find independent mountains on his way back to California that are still open; one suspects that group will get very small soon. EMSC, I suppose that a nightmare scenario would be a ski area staying open and hosting a Typhoid-Mary situation as happened at the Alps premier party resort, Ischgl, where one bartender at an après-ski joint infected a large number of people:
https://www.snow-online.com/skimag/coro ... resort.htm

 

[Marc_C]

Height of political emotional stupidity if you asked me, but whatever.

It's this kind of attitude that will hasten the spread of the virus. And ski area closures are just the tip of what's coming.

From CNN:

Asked by CNN's Brianna Keilar on "State of the Union" if he'd like a "national lockdown" where people are being told they need to stay home and out of restaurants and bars, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, said he'd "like to see a dramatic diminution of the personal interaction that we see" in those places.

"Whatever it takes to do that, that's what I'd like to see," Fauci added.

Fauci, a key member of the Trump administration's coronavirus task force, told Keilar that Americans will need to come to terms with the fact that life will begin to look much different as the country tries to slow the spread of the disease.

"We need to be very serious about -- for a while, life is not going to be the way it used to be in the United States," he said. "We have to just accept that if we want to do what's best for the American public."

From the Salt Lake Trib:

9:30 a.m.: Summit County to order all restaurants to make food curbside pickup only

Summit County is expected to issue an order Sunday that stops all dining inside restaurants within the county.

On Saturday, Summit County Health Director Rich Bullough told KCPW radio that guests still will be able to call ahead and place orders for take-out and curbside delivery. But payment must be taken over the phone. No cash or credit card exchange will be allowed.

Third party delivery services — such as UberEats and Door Dash — also will not be allowed.

“We are not going to allow indoor dining where people gather,” he said. "This enforcement will apply to restaurants in general, but also restaurants and hotels, and obviously it’s going to apply to bars as well.”

He said the order would be in effect by 5 p.m. on Sunday.

 

[EMSC]

It's this kind of attitude that will hasten the spread of the virus. And ski area closures are just the tip of what's coming.

You and CNN can have your own opinion and I can have mine. I never indicated that the resorts should be 100% business as usual, but full shut down is definitely the height of emotional stupidity. No gondi's & trams, limited outdoor only food options, there are many way, way better ways to handle it yet remain open, but go ahead and think that the gov't should literally declare martial law. You know, lets shut everything literally in the entire country down for .0005% of the population currently impacted.

Still waiting for rational adults to show up in the national conversation.

 

[Marc_C]

You and CNN can have your own opinion and I can have mine. I never indicated that the resorts should be 100% business as usual, but full shut down is definitely the height of emotional stupidity. No gondi's & trams, limited outdoor only food options, there are many way, way better ways to handle it yet remain open, but go ahead and think that the gov't should literally declare martial law. You know, lets shut everything literally in the entire country down for .0005% of the population currently impacted.

It's not about keeping you from the virus - it's about not overwhelming the healthcare system.

Still waiting for rational adults to show up in the national conversation.

His name is Dr. Anthony Fauci, you know, an expert in epidemiology:

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday that Americans "should be prepared that they're going to have to hunker down significantly more than we as a country are doing" to fight the growing COVID-19 outbreak.

Asked if the U.S. should consider a 14-day national shutdown similar to those in Europe, he said, "I would prefer as much as we possibly could. I think we should really be overly aggressive and get criticized for overreacting."

Fauci said that the goal now is to "blunt" the curve of confirmed cases, keeping the number of those infected low enough so as to not overwhelm the U.S. hospital system.

"If you let the curve get up there, then the entire society is going to be hit," he said.

 

[EMSC]

I'm waiting for James to chime in with:

 

[jamesdeluxe]

If you insist,

I have to side with Marc C on this one. I worked almost five years at an AIDS vaccine organization, where Tony Fauci was treated with Elvis-like adoration. Unfortunately, I don't see any other option than what he recommends.

 

[Tony Crocker]

We just got home. Liz flew to Vegas yesterday and we spent the night with George and Buffy Tang there.

Here is the most sensible blog I've read on the subject of how to handle COVID-19:
https://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2020/03/ ... aling.html

The social isolation is a stopgap measure that can be enforced for a very limited time. What's needed is massive testing. People who test positive will understand being required to isolate. I believe South Korea has implemented testing on a large scale. The US has been very slow in testing so far.

I'm sure it does not surprise anyone that I'm unwilling to throw in the towel on this ski season unless there is no other option, particularly since Liz is returning to Florida Wednesday for likely a few weeks. Lonnie drove from LA to Snowbird for Iron Blosam Week (I guess we got lucky there like James did in Switzerland) and planned to continue north to Montana and Canada and return via the Northwest. So I bought a ticket to Bozeman for next Wednesday. Liz and I are both leaving from Burbank, not LAX.

As of now Whistler and Silver Star are the only significant western Canada areas closed. I suspect I'm at greater risk of Canada closing the US border than I am of the Canadian ski areas closing. As an aside, I really think Patrick should stick with his plan to go to Banff this coming week.

In Montana Big Sky and Bridger are closed and Sun Valley in Idaho is closed, but all the q/jamesdeluxe places in those states are still open. I'm good with skiing a few of those if the Canadian border is closed. q should be in Philipsburg right now and it would be great to ski with him next week. I'd be more concerned about COVID19 in urban SoCal than in rural Montana/Idaho/Alberta/BC.

Here's an anecdotal but quite interesting blog post:
https://braveskimom.com/our-familys-exp ... h-covid-19
Kristen Lummis beat me out for a NASJA Harold Hirsch Award in 2013 and both admin and I skied with her and family at Solitude a few years ago.

 

[Marc_C]

So I bought a ticket to Bozeman for next Wednesday. Liz and I are both leaving from Burbank, not LAX.

Dr. Fauci has said if you're over 60, you should REALLY consider not flying. He also said that if his job didn't require that he fly, he wouldn't.

I agree about the testing, but the critical thing right now is to not overwhelm the healthcare system beyond capacity.

I'd be more concerned about COVID19 in urban SoCal than in rural Montana/Idaho/Alberta/BC.

There are now 6 cases in Montana. There were none on Friday. There are 5 in Idaho. There was one on Friday.

You do you, but personally I consider flying for a pleasure trip right now selfish and irresponsible.

BTW, in an FB group I follow, a woman reported that her husband was in Vegas a week ago. He now has a 102 fever and dry cough.

 

[Tony Crocker]

As it's the middle of the month I've been collecting snow data, so at the same time have been noting which areas are closed.

Between this morning and this afternoon, the following areas that were open today have announced they are closing: Mt. Rose, Sierra-at-Tahoe, Hood Meadows, Sun Valley, Whitefish, Grand Targhee, Snowbasin, Taos, Whiteface.

Who's still open (maybe)? Bear Valley, Homewood, Alyeska, Schweitzer, Silver Mt., Brundage, Bogus Basin, Tamarack, Discovery, Lost Trail, Montana Snowbowl, Great Divide, Smuggler's Notch, Cannon. Red Lodge is closing after today, so it's no foregone conclusion that these other Idaho/Montana places will stay open. Many of those Montana places are closed 2-3 days per week anyway and could be holding off a formal announcement until Wednesday/Thursday.

In western Canada the high profile places (aside from Whistler) are staying open as well as the mom-and-pops. That won't be relevant if they close the border though.

 

[tseeb]

Homewood is now closed through next Sunday. Bear Valley closed through Monday-Thursday and will re-evaluate.

Diamond Peak in Incline Village, NV was open today and going to be free on Friday for people whose birthday is outside ski season is now closed through Friday.

Dodge Ridge was closed due to lack of snow(-making?). Their Facebook page says re-opening on March 17. Their website was not responding earlier and is still slow. It says they will re-open "with up to 3 feet of total snowfall expected by Monday morning and nearly a foot of additional snowfall for the colder Monday storm." Lift tickets are available at supermarket on the way for $72 adult/$59 senior which is $7/$5 off walk-up price. They are 157 miles and under 3 hours from my house according to Google maps.

 

[flyover]

Kicking Horse, Fernie and Whitewater have suspended operations.

On the subject of continued travel, I’m just going to leave this here:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics ... simulator/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[vanhanbr]

What a difference a day makes! Months ago I booked a trip to Big Sky starting this Wednesday, but I canceled the flight to Bozeman after Big Sky closed Sunday morning. I would head to Canada if I were you, you probably have a week before the fear/mob mentality forces those areas to close as well. The worst you would face is a voluntary 2 week quarantine. I would do that myself, but (last I checked) I still have a job I need to get back to.

 

[lono]

I would not count on Fernie or Castle staying open.

 

[Tony Crocker]

tseeb/California:
Dodge Ridge page updated today says reopening tomorrow. China Peak is closed through Wednesday but will reopen Thursday. That might end up being my next ski day.

flyover/Canada:
I'm not that surprised by the RCR areas Fernie and Kicking Horse. Their eastern areas were closed yesterday. From this morning's report Silver Star and Whitewater are the only Canadian indies closed. Web pages for Big White, Sun Peaks, Apex, Revelstoke, Red Mt., Marmot, Lake Louise, Sunshine and Castle are updated as of today's date and say they are open.

Idaho:
Pebble Creek, Schweitzer, Silver Mt., Brundage, Tamarack and Bogus Basin are open. Bogus Basin hours are 10:00-4:30 and indoor facilities are generally closed.

Montana:
Discovery, Montana Snowbowl (closed Tuesdays), Great Divide (closed Mon/Tue) and Lookout Pass are open. Red Lodge is closed along with Bridger and Big Sky.

 

[vanhanbr]

Canada is closing border, there goes that idea.

 

[Tony Crocker]

Brian Head and Powder Mt. are still open.

Regarding Canada:

Canada will make some exceptions to the closure of its borders, including for U.S. citizens.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/16/coronav ... izens.html
That of course, leaves the question, "Which US citizens?" and restrictions are still increasing by the day, so I'm certainly not assuming I could get in by the end of this week.

Patrick should be more reassured about going to Banff since we nasty Americans won't be bringing the virus across the border. Given the situation in Washington State, I can't say I disagree with the Canadian decision even though it's not what I wanted personally.

 

[flyover]

Canada to bar entry to non-citizens and permanent residents:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/cbsa-b ... -1.5498866

 

[flyover]

Canada to bar entry to non-citizens and permanent residents:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/cbsa-b ... -1.5498866

Frankly, this is a relief to me, as it will allow us to recover 100% of the money we paid to Airbnb for lodging in Whistler over our planned spring break the first week of April.

According to Vail's corona virus F.A.Q.s, we are almost certainly screwed on getting back any of the money we paid for Epic "local" passes primarily to cover 7 days of skiing at Whistler. If that's how it plays out, its not too likely we will ever spend another dime at a Vail resort.

 

[Tony Crocker]

If you bought an Epic 7-day pass and were only planning to use it at Whistler I think you have a good case.

If you bought some form of Epic local pass and already used it in Minnesota or elsewhere I think you are SOL.