Alpine Skiing Under Travel Restrictions - How?

[ChrisB]

I just got a come on from Sunday River offering ticket and lodging discounts to Maine and NH residents only.

This got me thinking about how ski areas in states with travel and quarantine restrictions can conduct business in the coming months.

Are they limited to in-state patrons only?

Can out of state skiers spend a weekend in a hotel and hit the slopes despite a 14 day requirement?

Will scoff laws be tolerated or accommodated?

How do you folks see the ski scene situation evolving?

 

[peakbagger]

VT has put up a high bar, basically a 14 day quarantine or a reduced quarantine with testing unless folks are from Hawaii. Last thing I knew NH has no restriction on out of state visitors. I could see this changing soon with Mass residents, since Mass took NH off the waiver list. Folks with slopeside accommodations are in good shape but day skiers had better bring a van or a camper as the base lodges will be takeout only with minimal access.

Of course I have seen articles in both Maine, NH and VT, that enforcement of the rules is minimal at best. Although Sunday River Brewing making the news frequently for ignoring the rules.

 

[Mac]

And then there's the whole international border thing

 

[TEO]

I just got a come on from Sunday River offering ticket and lodging discounts to Maine and NH residents only.

This got me thinking about how ski areas in states with travel and quarantine restrictions can conduct business in the coming months.

Are they limited to in-state patrons only?

Can out of state skiers spend a weekend in a hotel and hit the slopes despite a 14 day requirement?

Will scoff laws be tolerated or accommodated?

How do you folks see the ski scene situation evolving?

In Vermont out-of-state visitors must either quarantine in there home state for 7 days and then have a negative test or quarantine for 14 days, regardless of the length of their visit. They must avoid stopping en route. Providers of public lodging are required to have guests sign a disclaimer saying that they've followed on of these two options. I suspect that scofflaws with be tolerated and accommodated, provided they sign the declaration.

 

[hikerbrian]

I regard the situation as fluid. My guess is there won't be additional travel restrictions for traveling to NH - currently there is quarantine for people visiting NH from states outside New England, but not for people visiting from New England states. I'm not sure how that makes sense considering current transmission rates in southern New England states, but I don't make the rules, I only play the game. Anyway, from New England states, including MA, I suspect there won't be a quarantine. So probably AirBnB, condos, etc are fine. I'd also guess there will be limited base lodge facilities. I sure as hell wouldn't be caught in such a place unless absolutely necessary. If we ski, we'll use the car as the lodge. I'm not fond of the idea of a lift line or sharing a chair with someone, so I'm not sure we'll ski this year, but I expect we could if we wanted to. I haven't heard if there will be restrictions on the number of lift tickets sold, but we'll buy online in advance if we ski.

 

[TEO]

And then there's the whole international border thing

It is a drag. It is a slight comfort that, to my knowledge, it has not prevented people from hiking on the boundary swath.

Funny boarder-crossing story: My brother and I paddled the Vanceboro > Kellyland stretch of the St. Croix this summer. Despite it being dam-controlled, the water was lower than average, so we portaged the second Class III rapid. We were tempted to run the left/Canadian side, but that would have meant portaging our gear and scouting from Canadian soil. (After September 11, 2001, you are no longer allowed to cross from one shore to the other. You must camp and portage on the same side for the duration of your trip, though prior to the pandemic that could be either side.) Since we were in the middle of nowhere, my brother was in favor of running it, and thus setting foot on Canadian soil. I cautioned that it would be best to follow the law, even if no one was around to see us. So, we portaged on the American side. I was just about to throw the canoe on my shoulders when I heard a "How are you today?" and out from the woods stepped an ICE agent. We had a pleasant chat before continuing on. It would surely have been less pleasant if we had not stayed on U.S. soil.

 

[Mike P.]

My ski trip isn't until February so I imagine it will change a few times. The troop historically slept in the lodge, that's not happening, we'll probably opt for a day trip. Will we be allowed out of CT? We'll see....

 

[Puma concolor]

So my 11-year-old daughter and I love to ski at Catamount, which is literally on the NY-Mass border. Some trails are in NY and some trails are in Massachusetts. It is part of the “I love to ski NY” program but the little tavern where we grab lunch for wings and “no more than one beer at a time in front of you” is physically in Massachusetts.

Can’t even imagine how this is even going to work.

 

[jfb]

So my 11-year-old daughter and I love to ski at Catamount, which is literally on the NY-Mass border. Some trails are in NY and some trails are in Massachusetts. It is part of the “I love to ski NY” program but the little tavern where we grab lunch for wings and “no more than one beer at a time in front of you” is physically in Massachusetts.

Can’t even imagine how this is even going to work.

I believe that the NY rules allow travel to and from contiguous states without quarantine.

https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2020/11/interm_guidance_travel_advisory.pdf

 

[JoshandBaron]

I believe that the NY rules allow travel to and from contiguous states without quarantine.

https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2020/11/interm_guidance_travel_advisory.pdf

Right, but MA doesn't. So, technically anyone skiing at Catamount would be required to quarantine or have a recent negative test to ski there. Most of the base area is in MA, including nearly all the parking and lifts.

 

[jfb]

Right, but MA doesn't. So, technically anyone skiing at Catamount would be required to quarantine or have a recent negative test to ski there. Most of the base area is in MA, including nearly all the parking and lifts.

I didn't realize that. I guess the snowmobile trails in VT will be pretty safe for cross-country skiing this winter.

 

[jfb]

I just got a come on from Sunday River offering ticket and lodging discounts to Maine and NH residents only.

This got me thinking about how ski areas in states with travel and quarantine restrictions can conduct business in the coming months.

Are they limited to in-state patrons only?

Can out of state skiers spend a weekend in a hotel and hit the slopes despite a 14 day requirement?

Will scoff laws be tolerated or accommodated?

How do you folks see the ski scene situation evolving?

I took a drive up to Mount Snow this afternoon and could not believe how many cars there were parked in the lots. It looked like a normal weekend.

 

[rocket21]

Catamount illustrates case in point how ridiculous the interstate quarantine rules (note, these are NOT laws) are. Basically a skier is in violation of rules every time they ride the main lift (if I'm not mistaken, the base terminal is located in Massachusetts, but the towers and top terminal are in New York). Perhaps they should stop the lift after people load and make them quarantine in place for 14 days before unloading in New York, then make them quarantine in the lift line for 14 days before getting back on the lift in Massachusetts.

At last check, New Hampshire does not require quarantine when coming from anywhere else in New England. Apparently New York has a different strain of COVID than Connecticut/Massachusetts/Vermont, so folks visiting New Hampshire from New York need to quarantine for 10 days or get a highly accurate negative test.

 

[maineguy]

Catamount illustrates case in point how ridiculous the interstate quarantine rules (note, these are NOT laws) are. Basically a skier is in violation of rules every time they ride the main lift (if I'm not mistaken, the base terminal is located in Massachusetts, but the towers and top terminal are in New York). Perhaps they should stop the lift after people load and make them quarantine in place for 14 days before unloading in New York, then make them quarantine in the lift line for 14 days before getting back on the lift in Massachusetts.

At last check, New Hampshire does not require quarantine when coming from anywhere else in New England. Apparently New York has a different strain of COVID than Connecticut/Massachusetts/Vermont, so folks visiting New Hampshire from New York need to quarantine for 10 days or get a highly accurate negative test.

rocket21, thanks for making me laugh out loud...

 

[Mac]

Maine exempts visitors from NH and VT. https://www.maine.gov/covid19/restartingmaine/keepmainehealthy/faqs
Exemptions for 4 other states has ended. Doesn't do me any good, though.

 

[Mike P.]

Our Troop plan this year is to skip Pat's Peak and stay in CT at a resort that appears to have a good snow tubing park. We'll lose some vertical and snow condition in CT will depend on if it's cold enough to make snow. The shorter ride should allow less bathroom breaks at the resort and allows us to dress at home mostly and limit boys in cars.

Will likely have to book sooner and picking a weekend away from typical ski weekends, if there is such a thing.

In past years, I've hiked up the small mountain that Pat's Peak calls home, these past few years, just one year did I use snowshoes, the others only had a couple of inches of snow in the woods or less. Expecting to leave the snowshoes in the car this year in central CT.

 

[ChrisB]

Maine exempts visitors from NH and VT. https://www.maine.gov/covid19/restartingmaine/keepmainehealthy/faqs
Exemptions for 4 other states has ended. Doesn't do me any good, though.

Mac, I read about an interesting loophole in the border closure restrictions.

Canadian RV owners intent on getting to warmer climes to sit out the winter have been short-hop flying over the border and having their empty RVs towed across the border by US towing services. They then reunite with the RV and drive it to FL, AZ, etc.

Think Spring.

 

[maineguy]

Mac, I read about an interesting loophole in the border closure restrictions.

Canadian RV owners intent on getting to warmer climes to sit out the winter have been short-hop flying over the border and having their empty RVs towed across the border by US towing services. They then reunite with the RV and drive it to FL, AZ, etc.

Think Spring.

Here's a link to that story. https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2020/12/15/canada-us-border-rv-snowbird/

 

[CaptCaper]

I went by Attitash New Years Eve day and it was horrible. Horrible conditions and lift lines a mile long. They can have it. No 6 ft distance there. I don't care about that but the long lines and lack of snow trails etc. I feel for them. I'll stick to my winter hikes. Which we have now for 3 days of shear fun.

 

[Mike P.]

Mac, I read about an interesting loophole in the border closure restrictions.

Canadian RV owners intent on getting to warmer climes to sit out the winter have been short-hop flying over the border and having their empty RVs towed across the border by US towing services. They then reunite with the RV and drive it to FL, AZ, etc.

Think Spring.

Snow birds gotta fly south!