On April 27, CCSAA convened the first meeting of the COVID19 Task Force made up of ski area representatives from around North America. This is a critical time for our country, as well as the snow sports industry. Understanding that our situation is fluid, CCSAA believes it is prudent to begin defining the post COVID19 cross country ski area and identify best practices for the industry going forward.
The Task Force members include the following:
- Reese Brown – CCSAA
- Nick Mahood – Woodstock Nordic, VT
- Mike Hussey – Rikert Nordic, VT
- Richard Hodge – White Pine Nordic, UT
- Sally Jones – Tahoe Donner, CA
- Christie Hicks – Crested Butte Nordic, CO
- Josee Gagnon – Ski du Fond Mont Tremblant, Quebec
At the initial meeting, the group heard from Crested Butte Nordic and White Pine Nordic, both who were open after their locations had become hot spots. They shared practices they had employed to remain open trying to offer an outdoor alternative to social distancing exercise.
The group also identified potential zones within a normal cross country operation where maintaining 6’ of social distancing will be challenging. This included the indoor areas of rentals, ticket sales, F&B and retail. Outdoor area includes lessons and congestion on the ski trails.
The group avoided looking at solutions during this meeting hoping to key in on assumed problem areas. The group will meet several more times in the coming weeks and months hoping to prepare a best practices document for operating in the new COVID-19 reality. Feel free to contact Reese or any other Task Force member with questions or ideas.
