Courchevel’s plans to reopen in the summer season.
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Most of European ski resorts are planning to reopen with social-distancing measures this summer. Courchevel is one of them.
Right now, you can only visit if you live within 100 km away from Courchevel. Starting today, May 11th, people can visit and enjoy three sports in the great outdoors:
🎿 Ski touring: there is a lot of snow in the Saulire massif (Alt. 2710m) and the surroundings.
Rando trace and ski poles. Copyright: Courchevel Tourisme. Courchevel’s plans to reopen in the summer season.
🚴♂ Cycling: The Col de la Loze (Alt. 2304m) has been cleared of snow.
Copyright: Courchevel Tourisme. Cycling with views of the Montre Loze. Courchevel’s plans to reopen in the summer season.
🏃♂ Rando / Trail: the summit of the Dent du Villard (Alt: 2284m) is accessible.
Copyright: Courchevel Tourisme. Crete de Mont Charvet. Courchevel’s plans to reopen in the summer season.
The Silva MOONtain Races are coming back to Courchevel this summer.
This famous race will return after five years of being absent. It entails an original trail, at night on full moon Wednesdays – dates are August 5, September 2 and 30).
How can we envision ski resorts opening with social distancing for the 2020-21 ski season?
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OK, the ski season 19-20 has been cut short, at least we have to count ourselves lucky, as we could ski in December and February as a family, and I even had a cheeky escape in January with some mum friends. We were going to go back in April, but oh well. I feel sorry for those families going only in Easter and having to miss their holiday. But with the crisis and all the people losing loved ones, having to stay at home is not so bad really.
Now, if I start thinking about next season, I don’t have to book lodging, as we have our home in the Valdigne region of the Aosta Valley. But usually by now, I would have booked my Eurotunnel ticket and my hotels on the way up in Chaumont (the Ibis Styles Chaumont Centre Gare), and the Novotel or Holiday Inn in Reims for when we come back….
Visiting the mountains is a good option if you are afraid of too many people on the lifts, there are still lots of activities to do while social distancing. How can we envision ski resorts opening with social distancing for the 2020-21 ski season? Photo by The-Ski-Guru. Monte Grivola seen from Morgex, AO.
So far, I am in no hurry to do anything, we’ll have time. I do have a Eurotunnel reservation for late July and the Ibis Styles in Chaumont also for July, I’ve figured out that the way back could be in a different place needed be; and I don’t know if we in the UK are going to be allowed to be crossing the Channel by then… so it will be wait and see.
How social-distancing would work in ski resorts?
So how would ski resorts open in the winter (and summer, as they are getting ready for that now?) They are talking of a whole lot of new measures to keep their guests and employees safe.
There would be much less overcrowding for sure. And that for me would be a silver lining.
Winter walks are always lovely, and you can have the space to relax in the mountains. How can we envision ski resorts opening with social distancing for the 2020-21 ski season?
I am the kind of person that likes skiing with no people around, I think I’ve written this before, and as I have kids in school age, we are stuck to go on holidays when everyone is going on holidays…. I remember growing up in Argentina, we could take some time off for going skiing during August, avoiding the Winter Holidays in July and not being penalised. There you get (at least when I was growing up, many moons ago), 25 days of absenteeism per year. That means, if coming late by one minute in the morning, you got half an absenteeism. If coming late by more than 5 minutes, you missed your day- you could count that everyone was in time – not sure why they don’t set this up in the UK, as I keep on seeing people coming late (including me, even I live across from the school!). Also, if then you take some holidays, that is fine, you count the days off, but, if you get ill and have to be absent and you pass the 25 days, you repeat the year …. No ifs and buts… (a well-known phrase in the UK- that I actually don’t like.)
Mt Baldy in Southern California just reopened the ski season, and they are asking guests to come at different times, and only four people can go up every 10 minutes. They only have chairlifts, so that is easier. The people are asked to go alone, unless they are in a family group.
UK ski industry operators and agencies have felt a huge impact by Covid-19 but are optimistic than resorts will open next winter.
A study of UK snowsports industry professionals conducted by Ski Press and Skipedia have revealed the damage that Covid-19 has had on their business and what they believe the future might hold for next year.
Some of the key findings concluded that:
82% of companies suffered reduced sales due to the premature end to the 2019-20 season, with two-thirds experiencing lower than usual sales for winter 2020-21 so far.
Almost 1 in 5 have made staff redundant and a quarter are concerned they could go out of business.
Although almost all expect ski resorts to open next winter, over 70% expect this to be with social distancing restrictions in place.
Crans-Montana in winter – Photo: @CMTC_luciano_miglionico. UK ski industry operators and agencies have felt a huge impact by Covid-19 but are optimistic than resorts will open next winter.
With the 2019-20 season cut short, the pressures on UK ski professionals started during March when all Alpine countries started closing ski resorts following the lockdown in Italy. By the middle of March, Austria, France and Switzerland had closed all of its ski resorts and holidays for the rest of the season were cancelled.
60% of winter sports businesses including tour operators and equipment retailers have now furloughed staff members. 17% of respondents have had to make redundancies too.
Whilst 64% are saying they are experiencing reduced sales for next winter, two-thirds expect that it should be ‘business as usual’ this winter, anticipating that they will be able to offer their normal services.
Mt Baldy, first American Ski Resort to open after COVID19, a social experiment?
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I do hope that it works! Mt Baldy has just reopened operations, only for experienced skiers and boarders that have their own equipment. This is not the time to learn how to ski or board, not use the tubing park!
Maximum of four people will be able to check in every 10 minutes and they have to pre-arrange their time to arrival. Only season passes and one day lift tickets will be able to come. Cars need to be parked with three parking slots between them in the parking lot, if not they will be towed. There will not be so many customer relations personnel on ground, but some will be directing the parking. If people arrive prior to their time slot, they’ll need to stay put in their car until their time is due.
A chair lift ride at Mt Baldy. Mt Baldy, first American Ski Resort to open after COVID19, a social experiment?
The cafeteria will not be open on the top of the mountain, but some refreshments will be available at the bottom of Lift 3, Thunder Mountain.
The lifts in Mt Baldy are doubles, so they are asking people to ride the chairlifts on their own, and only ride with someone else if is living with you. Toilets will only be available at the base area and on the top of the mountain and being cleaned more than regularly. The resort is asking people to try to do their necessities prior to coming to the mountain. For me not having a toilet would be a problem, but if there are forests around, that would suffice! (at least for number 1!)
The COVID-19 and the domino effect closing ski resorts
I have been a bit away from my blog due to increase work with the mess of having had the COVID-19 affecting all and everyone all over the world.
What seemed to be something distant affecting only China and Asia, now has its epicentre in Europe, and this has caused all ski resorts to close, first in Italy, then the rest of Europe, and now in North America. The resorts that seem to be still working are in Japan and in Scotland, and Hokkaido has just lifted up their state of emergency at the moment of writing.
This is by way non an exhaustive report or list on who closed, as there are tons of information around with more detail.
The party bar at the bottom of Pleney cablecar, great if you like loud music. The COVID-19 and the domino effect closing ski resorts
But how did this start so quickly? We were coming back from Morgex in the Aosta Valley on the 23rd February, when we heard while driving through France, that some cases of COVID-19 where in some towns in the south of Milano (Codogno, and some others) and in the Veneto region, but that the epidemic was pretty localised….then it was extended quickly to lock all the region of Lombardia. This led lots of people to escape towards the mountains before the closing of the region, as everyone felt it was going to be safer there. But then the virus was already spreading exponentially within the community when many of those that came to the mountain resorts, continue in holiday mode, piling in queues by the lifts. When at first I’ve thought of COVID19, I was thinking, people are well wrapped out, they have ski gloves or mittens, goggles, they are pretty safe…maybe ride a cabin only with your family group or whoever you are skiing with, and ride more chairlifts, and you would be fine… maybe lunches in a small cabin would not be a great idea, even though I love having lunch during my ski days….
But then, when it became clearer that everyone was still not respecting the social distancing that the Italian government was asking for, the Aosta Valley had very busy weekends with people from Milano, Torino and Genova still coming, and they decided, in conjunction with the hoteliers, to close the resorts… if not the spread was going to come to their area. All mountain resorts have hospital facilities that are small, as they cater to a much smaller population.
This created people going to another resorts, and even to France through the Mont Blanc Tunnel. Sudtirol, Dolomiti Superski and Trentino followed the closures. The Tyrol in Austria followed through, as there have been some cases in Ischgl, then it was a succession like a domino. France took its time to close, and many tour operators where hit twice, as they scrambled to change trips to ski resorts in Italy and Austria towards France, to be then forced to send back home skiers that arrived on the Saturday, when resorts closed on Saturday night.
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