Mt baldy, CA, is reopening
- Thread starter OCoffey
- Start date
BigPurpleSkiSuit
Active member
Yes we'll get a 2nd wave, and as much as I like skiing and want to ski more, I just can't see reopening resorts as being a good thing now. That said, bird opens, I'm going.
r00kie
Active member
Heres their social distancing guidelines from the website.
https://winter.mtbaldyresort.com/covid-19-guidlines/
Appears to be pretty strict. I'd go and just avoid the bathrooms like the plaque and make sure no one gets to close.
https://winter.mtbaldyresort.com/covid-19-guidlines/
Appears to be pretty strict. I'd go and just avoid the bathrooms like the plaque and make sure no one gets to close.
SavageBiff
Active member
Man I can’t wait to ski, my season, like 99.9% of you was cut short, I was jonesing day 1, still am , I really, really can’t wait to ski!!!! I hope nothing opens now though, and if it does I’m not going. I want things to open as much as possible next season and not be hindered or delayed.
CatdickBojangles
Active member
Greedy fucks.
shinbangclan
Active member
Honestly, Sure.
I honestly don't get why people think the entire world has to come to a standstill because of this pandemic.
How is it possible for all of humanity to simply shut down? Has there ever been a time where global quarantine has effectively stopped the spread of such a contagious pandemic?
I'm sort of playing devil's advocate here, but at the same time the concept of suspending all human activity until an undefined date is just... not realistic, at all.
Shit happens, but life has to go on, doesn't it?
I honestly don't get why people think the entire world has to come to a standstill because of this pandemic.
How is it possible for all of humanity to simply shut down? Has there ever been a time where global quarantine has effectively stopped the spread of such a contagious pandemic?
I'm sort of playing devil's advocate here, but at the same time the concept of suspending all human activity until an undefined date is just... not realistic, at all.
Shit happens, but life has to go on, doesn't it?
A bunch of people only lost a week of skiing anyway. A bunch of people don't even ski April if the resorts are open. The fact that they're bored and suddenly can't ski everyones freaking out. Im sad. I had 11 comps line up for spring and have a couple passes. Spring is my favorite.
That said I'm not freaking out, I don't think Im owed shit, and I had a killer season in spite of a challenging winter.
The weekend everyone closed we got a huge snowstorm. Tahoe was full of douchers from the bay demanding to ski. It was such an ugly scene. People absolutely will travel if ski areas open and I hope they don't.
I'd fucking love to be out there. If we could bclose the roads off maybe our ski areas could have stayed open but people are gonna travel it's absolutely gonna happen and it was the right call to shut down.
Just because people are bored and stuck at home doesn't mean they suddenly need skiing. Spring is a fuxking ghost town. People are just bored and looking for shit to be mad about.
Everyone needs to chill the fuck out, smoke a bowl, crack a beer, jerk off, and go back to watching mediocre romcoms on netflix like the rest if us.
That said I'm not freaking out, I don't think Im owed shit, and I had a killer season in spite of a challenging winter.
The weekend everyone closed we got a huge snowstorm. Tahoe was full of douchers from the bay demanding to ski. It was such an ugly scene. People absolutely will travel if ski areas open and I hope they don't.
I'd fucking love to be out there. If we could bclose the roads off maybe our ski areas could have stayed open but people are gonna travel it's absolutely gonna happen and it was the right call to shut down.
Just because people are bored and stuck at home doesn't mean they suddenly need skiing. Spring is a fuxking ghost town. People are just bored and looking for shit to be mad about.
Everyone needs to chill the fuck out, smoke a bowl, crack a beer, jerk off, and go back to watching mediocre romcoms on netflix like the rest if us.
Potamkin
New member
We need to get the country back open. Are you guys seriously going to run and hide with every outbreak? What if it becomes endemic? No skiing forever? Even if there is a vaccine it could still kill 20-50k per year....just like the flu... Are you going to hide forever? Stop letting the media scare you so much. Did you know that MRSA is highly infectious and kills 20k Americans every single year? Do you guys even know what that is? It's time to get back to normal life. Period. (P.S. I have a degree in biology...im not just some nerd that wants you all to die) The media is scaring the F out of everyone and its sick. Its time to go back to life friends. Take it slow if it makes you feel better. That's OK. But it IS time. Peace.
**This post was edited on Apr 23rd 2020 at 4:48:09am
**This post was edited on Apr 23rd 2020 at 4:48:09am
14133329:Potamkin said:
It's already at 50k and climbing but yeah the whole world is getting fucked over trying to contain this but a few people want to ski and deserve to ski. Fuck that.
If we're talking about opening anything maybe local businesses. The problem with skiing is people don't and absolutely won't stay local. The weekend the resorts shut down was such a shit show in tahoe. The vibes people brought were terrible. And douchers like that have continued to travel great distances to ski or just vacation. At least with no new snow and the ski areas closed that traffic has mellowed out. People were talking about driving 15+ hours to ski the last resorts open when they'd only been without skiing for a few days. Shit was madness, I get it but people need to chill the fuck out.
But yeah you have a degree in biology. I'm sure every expert got to where they are by reading facebook memes and you're massively more qualified than them.
Sorry you're bored and pissed off. Find a hobby.
little1337
Active member
14133335:theabortionator said:
This is my biggest problem with it. Having only one mountain open is only gonna make that worse too because every
skier within a 100 mile radius is gonna travel there. There are more important things we could be opening up than ski resorts
SavageBiff
Active member
14133314:hubbards said:
The entire world isn’t at a standstill , just a portion of it.
Life doesn’t have to go on, I highly doubt corona will even wipe out 5% , but all life could end, we as humans are not needed
14133318:theabortionator said:
How am I the only thumbs up, obviously a lot of people are to ignorant to what’s at risk, what people have lost, what’s to be lost and what can be gained by waiting to open and remaining distant.
Jpurd
Active member
14133314:hubbards said:
No it doesn't just "go on". Sure, for most of us, we get sick, we are fine, we move on. But we know nothing about COVID-19. We don't know what the lasting effects will be. We don't know if there will be a 2nd, 3rd, 4th wave.
What do you suggest we do, if we don't shut down? I would genuinly love to hear suggestions. I get that people want to move back towards normal life as soon as possible - I do too - but until we either 1) have a vaccine or 2) have widespread testing (at least in the US) we are just going to see the same issues pop up.
Also, we can social distance as much as we want (at say a ski resort), but it has been proven that this virus can sit on surfaces far longer than the average flu. All it takes is one infected person to touch a bar, a water fountain, use the bathroom, and it could easily spread to numerous people.
And yes, I would rather have a recession than mass death/illness. The economy is not greater than public health.
Jpurd
Active member
14133329:Potamkin said:
If that's the case, then why is MRSA not more widespread? Why don't millions of people around have it? If it is so highly infectious, why aren't more than 20K Americans dying per year?
Also, no one is claiming that a vaccine is going to be 100% affective. Of course, people will still die who are vaccinated - no one is arguing that. What people are arguing is that this is a highly infectious disease, it is relatively unknown what the short and long term effects are, and it also sticks on surfaces longer than our average flu.
Why is it time now more than ever? Because cases are decreasing? What happens if we have another wave in 2 months. Are we just going to push through and hope everything is fine? What happens when we run out of ventilators that people need for every other disease/virus/health issue that is non COVID related.
Because America's healthcare system is a disgusting joke, we can't handle a massive influx of patients that need intensive care. I'm not sure what people aren't understanding about this.
Granby_killdozer
Active member
14133356:ski.loon said:
We're going to have a 2nd wave of it in the fall regardless of whether shit opens now. Viruses are killed by UV light the same way your skin cells are. The officials claiming that COVID 19 is somehow not are fucking lying. It's like claiming that the virus is immune to fire. It makes no sense. So during the summer months, we'll see a sharp decline in the number of cases just like we do for every other virus, and then it's going to ramp back up again just in time for ski season. Are we going to shut down the economy again when that happens? Are we just going to stay hunkered down until we find a vaccine in a year? Life needs to go on. people over 50 and immunocompromised need to stay in quarantine while the rest of us get it and develop herd immunity. Also, the notion that asymptomatic people are just going around spreading it everywhere is also exaggerated. It is spread through saliva and mucus which isn't something that asymptomatic people usually have on their hands and can easily be negated by not touching your face, washing your hands, and wearing PPE. It makes far more sense to let younger healthy people keep the economy moving, then to let all the small businesses in this country fail which is exactly what we are doing right now.
Potamkin
New member
14133366:Craw_Daddy said:
bro...media got these guys running SCARED. Dude up there even argued with me about the infectiousness of MRSA and doesn't even know what it is. We got a bunch of MSNBC Phd's right now.....
**This post was edited on Apr 23rd 2020 at 11:03:02am
**This post was edited on Apr 23rd 2020 at 11:04:26am
Jpurd
Active member
14133366:Craw_Daddy said:
Why don't we do what SK did and do widespread testing? If you test negative - move on with your life. If you are positive, quarantine for 2-3 weeks.
No we cannot continue this until we have a vaccine, which as I understand, is not coming this year. I agree we need to build up an immunity, but we can't act recklessly and just allow folks to act like nothing is happening - like opening up a ski resort two weeks after the peak cases hit.
As far as the UV light, yes you are correct. But what about when I go into a ski lodge, touch a table, hand someone my credit card etc... These are all issues that are not ski resort specific, but why should we open up parts of the economy that are recreational.
I would rather see us open up small businesses that can more closely monitor and adapt to the issues we are seeing, than massive ski resorts that are putting in place strict measures, but at the end of the day, we can only enforce them so much.Whereas Tony's Pizza in the sticks of New Hampshire could open and regulate a bit more and still allow us to support small businesses like theirs.
Chunderface
Active member
14133189:black said:
How do you know this?
**This post was edited on Apr 23rd 2020 at 12:07:10pm
Granby_killdozer
Active member
14133370:ski.loon said:
I absolutely agree with you. And I suppose that I'm really not arguing that things just go back to the way they were but more so that we dispel this climate of fear and start reopening things in a way that acknowledges the concerns of people on both sides of this issue.
SuspiciousFish
Active member
14133329:Potamkin said:
I agree. We have a good template with social distancing with masks and grocery stores sanitizing surfaces that we can apply to other stores etc. That is the problem with the media, they cherry pick the extreme examples and shove them in everyone's face day after day like that is the normal. The harsh reality of this pandemic is cases are going to rise if we let people out tomorrow or 3 months later. All it takes is a single person to have it and spread it once we let people out. This is not going to magically go away if we just keep the country locked down for X more months. Herd immunity is really the only thing that will eventually tip the scales until a vaccine is released but we dont even know if that will work.
On a side note MRSA can actually be killed quickly with Manuka honey which is something the medical community needs to get behind. My Granpda got it in his forhead and it almost ate its way into his brain. The specialists finally gave up on him and told him he was going to die after the $200 a day antibiotics failed. We finally convinced them to put Manuka honey on his bandages whenever they changed them and I got a call 3 days later saying it was cleared up and they were sending him home.
This is the study we found when we recommended it:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/26879781_The_intracellular_effect_of_manuka_honey_on_Staphylococcus_aureus
Jpurd
Active member
14133381:Craw_Daddy said:
Yeah, I agree. I am in no way conservative - definitely consider myself a Democrat, but the fear the CNN and co. are instilling in folks is disgusting.
I think there is a difference between fear and education and much of the US left media is going the fear rout. Unfortunately, you have no real middle ground - its either the sky is falling or "nothing to see here" mentality.
ScaryDumpTruck
Member
14133362:ski.loon said:
We have one of the best healthcare systems in the world, and even if you disagree, no matter what healthcare system you have, it would be overwhelmed by the amount of patients right now. That's why temporary hospitals were built in Spain, Italy, China, France, and the U.S.
Jpurd
Active member
14133388:ScaryDumpTruck said:
Considering that we are the wealthiest country in the history of the world, that's actually incorrect. We don't have one of the best healthcare systems in the world, whether you are looking at infrastructure, access, cost, etc..
Here is one study I follow. We are ranked 59th in the world for healthcare. That's embarrassing.
https://www.prosperity.com/rankings
We also spend more on healthcare than ANY other country, yet our outcomes are significantly worse in most cases.
35th in life expectancy
55th in Infant Mortality Rate
https://www.pgpf.org/blog/2019/07/how-does-the-us-healthcare-system-compare-to-other-countries
The list goes on... Sure, there are plenty of other factors, but lets not pretend like the US is one of the best in the world. It might be a top 50.
TOAST.
Active member
14133329:Potamkin said:
Dont you need to have a cut or something for MRSA to infect you? Where covid you can just breath in?
I think we need to start opening shit back up but definitely not business as usual yet. Hospitals have had some time to prepare but still gotta keep slowing the spread. Neighbor is an ICU nurse and the ICU is much busier right now because of covid19, but it's also likely to increase more because people aren't going to the doctors for other things that they should be.
BigPurpleSkiSuit
Active member
Personally, I think that's because we're much fatter than most other countries, not because our healthcare is less advanced. Otherwise otherwise wouldn't have people coming here for surgeries.
14133393:ski.loon said:
ScaryDumpTruck
Member
14133393:ski.loon said:
We have the most expensive, but best healthcare. Also, a big factor to consider is it is much easier to manage healthcare in a smaller country with a population smaller than 100 million, compared to our 320 million. Life expectancy is a stupid figure to look at when comparing healthcare. The reason why we have a lower life expectancy than other countries is because of obesity, suicide rates and opioids. Most other countries don't have an opioid crisis, or high obesity and suicide rates like we do. For Infant Mortality Rate, that is more of a confusing statistic because different countries count deaths differently. For example, what the U.S. says is a stillbirth might not be counted as one in another country.
Did you know the U.S. has the best survival rates for colon, rectum, lung, breast, and prostate cancer? (According to various studies cited by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.) We are among the best for other cancers not listed as well. We also have by far the most advanced medical equipment per capita, as well as the most advanced medical research. Our system does not come without some drawbacks, one of the main ones being if you don't have money, you won't be treated as well. But I believe the pros outweigh the cons.
BigPurpleSkiSuit
Active member
Having lived in other countries and travelled through Europe, no other countries are really as obese as we are, and obesity is an enormous killer. Your whole body has to work harder for everything often culminating in an untimely death
14133453:ski.loon said:
Jpurd
Active member
14133465:ScaryDumpTruck said:
Congrats, we have some of the best cancer care in the world. Healthcare is much more than this. And don't try to bring in the population argument - that's such a crappy argument to use as a crutch. Yes, we are one of the largest countries in the world population-wise, but IF we have so much money, and spend so much on healthcare, why can we not scale it to work? Why are there still millions of people in our country that cannot afford basic prescriptions and check-ups? Why are there millions uninsured?
Look at the end of the day - yes, if you in the middle class or upper class and have access to hospital doctors, sure we have great healthcare. But there is a massive discrepancy in how people of color and lower incomes are treated relative to healthcare. So no, you are still wrong, we don't have the best healthcare in the world. We only have the best healthcare in the world for people who have access to it.
Just because we spend the most doesn't make it the best, and when the minorities have less access to healthcare than middle/upper class, that's a sign that not only is our healthcare system not working for our country, but is also inequitable.
Jpurd
Active member
14133468:BigPurpleSkiSuit said:
I totally agree - 36% of our population is obese, which is the 2nd highest of any country with over 1 million people. It's insane. I just don't know enough to know if this is the reason why our healthcare system sucks relative to our wealth. I'm sure its one of the leading factors though.
Holte
Active member
To be fair, Baldy is probably the best mountain possible to be reopening in terms of distancing. They have a lot of terrain, all their chairs are 2-seaters from 1960, and if they can avoid crowding at the base/restaurant, they just don't have the infrastructure to move many people up the mountain. Plus nobody is going to be traveling long distances to ski Baldy at the end of April.
OregonDead
Active member
I hope this works out for them. I admit I am envious of the golfers that just get to keep on like nothing happened. They can golf but all sno parking is closed so we can’t even tour around here. Still don’t want any second wave though
black
Member
14133379:skeirman said:
Europe sees ~roughly the same amount of tourists as all other continents combined, and a significant amount of that is skiing in the winter. They catch it skiing in Europe then bring it back with them internationally. Theres no possible way to get exact numbers on this but the evidence is pointing to it being a significant factor in the spread
http://cnn.com/2020/03/24/europe/austria-ski-resort-ischgl-coronavirus-intl/index.html
https://www.powder.com/stories/news/are-ski-areas-responsible-for-the-spread-of-covid-19/
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/austria-ski-resort-ischgl-coronavirus-intl/index.html
https://www.erienewsnow.com/story/41822158/story-of-local-skiers-in-northern-italy-before-known-covid19-outbreak-raises-questions
https://www.kcrw.com/news/shows/kcrw-features/coronavirus-patient-recovered
https://www.euractiv.com/section/coronavirus/news/ischgl-oesterreichisches-skiparadies-als-corona-hotspot/
for every story of people coming back from Europe, realizing it and successfully quarantining, theres exponentially more who had no idea, slipped through the airport and proceeded to spread it in their community. While I understand the risk is way lower at Mt Baldy in late April, its still not a smart precedent to set and I fear more resorts will re-open. Skiing, a niche luxery sport, simply shouldn't be happening rn. If you (not "you" skierman but anyone) disagree I'd like to hear your argument why opening skiing during a global pandemic is a good idea, the floor is yours we're all ears...
ParkRx
Member
14133393:ski.loon said:
This is largely because our population is less healthy and we are inefficient with spending. That said we have a very competent medical system for treatment but we need to work on preventative care. For an outbreak like covid we are relatively well equipped
**This post was edited on Apr 23rd 2020 at 3:48:54pm
Jpurd
Active member
14133518:ParkRx said:
Again, no we are not well equipped for this. We have fewer ICU beds than many of the industrialized nations we compare ourselves too. We can't get tests out to states, hell, states are fighting over purchasing ventilators because the feds botched it so much. What makes you think we are "well equipped" for this outbreak?
Chunderface
Active member
14133513:black said:
Damn that's crazy. Good info thanks for the explanation.
**This post was edited on Apr 23rd 2020 at 4:21:27pm
ParkRx
Member
14133522:ski.loon said:
I said we are relatively well equipped, as in in relationship to the rest of the world.
We have more ICU beds per capita than every other country, except maybe Germany depending on the source:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3551445/
https://www.statista.com/chart/21105/number-of-critical-care-beds-per-100000-inhabitants/
I won't argue that the US is the best country to be in during a pandemic but its up there. If you were to pick a random country to land in during a global pandemic you'd be lucky if it were the US.
Stop twisting my words and do your research before making claims.
**This post was edited on Apr 23rd 2020 at 6:48:20pm
**This post was edited on Apr 23rd 2020 at 6:52:33pm
galardogod
Active member
It’s great to see the resorts getting open again, shows a lot of heart and dedication to keeping the sport alive in these trying times. I don’t have much hope out here in the east. Sugarloaf has the base to reopen and more snow is on the way but our stay at home order ends may 13th I think and it’s late and not worth it for them. Hike seen has been phenomenal though with the late season snow. As far as safety skiing can easily Be done distanced socially .
The chairs are actually from the early 50s and the biggest pieces of shit you will ever ride on.
If I’m practicing social distancing at Target and Costco, I can easily do so ripping runs at Baldy.
I doubt I’ll ever be closer then 30 feet to someone else on a run. There are strict distancing rules for the parking lot, chair and waiting for a chair. More strict then my Target runs.
People think this place is super crowded. It’s not.
**This post was edited on Apr 23rd 2020 at 10:49:18pm
If I’m practicing social distancing at Target and Costco, I can easily do so ripping runs at Baldy.
I doubt I’ll ever be closer then 30 feet to someone else on a run. There are strict distancing rules for the parking lot, chair and waiting for a chair. More strict then my Target runs.
People think this place is super crowded. It’s not.
14133486:Holte said:
**This post was edited on Apr 23rd 2020 at 10:49:18pm
ScootSkiLyfe
Member
The people over at Mt. Baldy seem to be doing a damn good job with the social distancing restrictions.
They are eliminating large amounts of people in many ways. You have to park your car 20’ away from any other vehicle (very limited parking), you have to have a 1 day pass reserved ticket or season pass, they check you in from your vehicle, you sit alone on lifts, must be wearing a mask, no rentals, cafes are closed, bathrooms are rigorously maintained.
I hope other resorts take example and follow suit. Limiting numbers is important, I like how they compared their “traffic” with how much traffic a golf course is getting since those have started opening nationwide. I’m feeling some hope
They are eliminating large amounts of people in many ways. You have to park your car 20’ away from any other vehicle (very limited parking), you have to have a 1 day pass reserved ticket or season pass, they check you in from your vehicle, you sit alone on lifts, must be wearing a mask, no rentals, cafes are closed, bathrooms are rigorously maintained.
I hope other resorts take example and follow suit. Limiting numbers is important, I like how they compared their “traffic” with how much traffic a golf course is getting since those have started opening nationwide. I’m feeling some hope
Exactly.
Baldy knows they are on thin ice by being open. They are doing everything possible to be safe.
I think the biggest money maker there is the cafe. Almost everyone there it seems is on a Groupon deal. Only reason I was there was because of $25 daily tickets and $200 season pass. Baldy would love to sell you $5 Red Bull’s and $7 fries.
This is obviously a money grab, but they desperately need money. If they didn’t do this, they would likely go under.
**This post was edited on Apr 24th 2020 at 6:38:31am
Baldy knows they are on thin ice by being open. They are doing everything possible to be safe.
I think the biggest money maker there is the cafe. Almost everyone there it seems is on a Groupon deal. Only reason I was there was because of $25 daily tickets and $200 season pass. Baldy would love to sell you $5 Red Bull’s and $7 fries.
This is obviously a money grab, but they desperately need money. If they didn’t do this, they would likely go under.
14133717:ScootSkiLyfe said:
**This post was edited on Apr 24th 2020 at 6:38:31am
OregonDead
Active member
14133774:B.Gillis said:
It sounds way more conservative than what most golf courses are doing here. Most clubs never closed in Oregon and just carried on with operations as normal. Sure they are asking people to stay 6 feet apart but that is just an ask. I here some people complaining that people in their golf group are insisting on talking close etc yet they still meet up with their friends every day. Somehow people just didn’t want to talk about it even though some golf courses are kinda huge and remote and if someone has a heart attack out there it is the same sort of resource strain as rescuing someone skiing on mellow terrain
GrandThings
Active member
Lol I keep thinking about Ahmet Dadalis story from a few weeks ago when he busted his lip open and had to get stitches.
Said it cost him $300 in Europe to get fixed and when he had the exact same procedure in the US it cost $1700...
Said it cost him $300 in Europe to get fixed and when he had the exact same procedure in the US it cost $1700...
OregonDead
Active member
14133794:B.Gillis said:
I just checked the local course to see if they are doing anything different and I see they are now asking people to park carts at a 45 degree angle instead on one foot apart side by side. They still rent carts though and they are now offering more discounts to try to get more people out there
I love Baldy and ski there most of the weekends when I don't go to Mammoth.
Baldy is a very unique place. I would read all the social distancing guidelines they have. Baldy is one of the few places where they CAN practice social distancing effectively. I am not saying I support them opening, but it is the kind of area where as long as people where masks and stay 10+ feet apart this COULD work. For those of you that have not been there, the analogy of a gold course is pretty accurate.
They are not selling tickets at the window or anything like that. It is not a standard opening. I would urge all of you to do some research on exactly what they are doing. The approach they are taking would simply not work at most ski areas.
Here is a link explaining their social distancing guidelines:
https://mailchi.mp/mtbaldyresort.com/mtn-report-march-437936?e=6d2aa5aef9
From what I have heard from people who have been up there it has gone quite well. People are wearing masks and staying away from each other. Folks buying tickets online have to make reservations, similar to a tee time in golf.
Like I said, Baldy is one of the few places that COULD pull this off. That being said, I don't know that I support it. I would really love to go again, but I don't know that I can do this with what is going on.
For those of you that have not skied it, Baldy does not get very crowded unless it is a powder day. They have made it quite clear that they are not grooming anything and the mountain is not for anyone who is not advanced or expert. I don't know if we are going to see huge crowds, so far things have been good. And yes, you have to wear a mask while skiing.
I am more worried going to the grocery store and seeing idiots who don't have masks on. I really can't fathom why people are not always wearing them with what is going on.
The jetty at 56th street is crowded with people not practicing social distancing. I would be much more worried about surfing there than I would about skiing Baldy, with what I have heard about how the mountain has been the last couple of days.
I'm still not going to go, and I don't know that I support it, but if one fully understands the situation it is not as reckless as one might think. Baldy can do things that larger resorts simply can't.
Baldy is a very unique place. I would read all the social distancing guidelines they have. Baldy is one of the few places where they CAN practice social distancing effectively. I am not saying I support them opening, but it is the kind of area where as long as people where masks and stay 10+ feet apart this COULD work. For those of you that have not been there, the analogy of a gold course is pretty accurate.
They are not selling tickets at the window or anything like that. It is not a standard opening. I would urge all of you to do some research on exactly what they are doing. The approach they are taking would simply not work at most ski areas.
Here is a link explaining their social distancing guidelines:
https://mailchi.mp/mtbaldyresort.com/mtn-report-march-437936?e=6d2aa5aef9
From what I have heard from people who have been up there it has gone quite well. People are wearing masks and staying away from each other. Folks buying tickets online have to make reservations, similar to a tee time in golf.
Like I said, Baldy is one of the few places that COULD pull this off. That being said, I don't know that I support it. I would really love to go again, but I don't know that I can do this with what is going on.
For those of you that have not skied it, Baldy does not get very crowded unless it is a powder day. They have made it quite clear that they are not grooming anything and the mountain is not for anyone who is not advanced or expert. I don't know if we are going to see huge crowds, so far things have been good. And yes, you have to wear a mask while skiing.
I am more worried going to the grocery store and seeing idiots who don't have masks on. I really can't fathom why people are not always wearing them with what is going on.
The jetty at 56th street is crowded with people not practicing social distancing. I would be much more worried about surfing there than I would about skiing Baldy, with what I have heard about how the mountain has been the last couple of days.
I'm still not going to go, and I don't know that I support it, but if one fully understands the situation it is not as reckless as one might think. Baldy can do things that larger resorts simply can't.
14133774:B.Gillis said:
At this point the crowds are small enough that this is not an issue. From reports there are very few people on the mountain. Very few people are going to ski the full day. Given the way Baldy is I doubt they will have more than 15 people start skiing during a given hour. So far it has worked, people are not getting close to each other from all reports. The issue is probably not going to be today, it will be this weekend.
I understand your concerns, but Baldy knows it's clientele and situation much better than you do. On a given day there 95% of the people riding the lifts are doing so for scenic rides. I don't think I have ever waited in a line that is longer than 2 minutes there unless it is a powder day. The reason they want people to make reservations is to spread things out. Last time I skied there, early March, one could have very easily practiced social distancing. A grocery store is much more dangerous right now.
I get where you are coming from, but with the way Baldy is they could easily do this safely. What I am wondering is how they are going to make any money. Like I said, Baldy survives by selling scenic ride tickets and selling food at their restaurant, I really can't see this being profitable when most of the people have season passes anyway.
Even in a good season Baldy is usually pretty empty. It is a far cry from Bear and Summit. If all of socal goes this weekend they could have an issue, but that is not likely to happen.
I don't think I have ever ridden the Thunder lift (on a non-powder day) when one could not have practiced social distancing, that is just the nature of Baldy.
From what I have heard, the SB county sheriff's department has been flying over Baldy to make sure people are staying away from each other. If that changes it will get shut down.
