The Cross Country Ski Areas Association (CCSAA) believes in the health and safety of our member ski areas employees, guests and local communities. We are committed to helping our members maintain operations responsibly and have developed additional safety guidance in response to COVID-19.
The guidelines are provided based on evolving guidance and knowledge from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and local, Province or State Health Departments.  As our ski areas cover all snow states and provinces, we remind you to check with the CDC and your State Health department for the latest updates and recommendations.Â
As safety policies in response to COVID-19 is a dynamic situation, these guidelines will be frequently updated and adjusted based on new information.
As an employer, please consider:
¡      Screening employees daily for COVID-19 symptoms before starting their shift and ask them to stay home if they are feeling ill or have been exposed to someone with the illness.
¡      Requiring all employees to wear a face mask at all times while on the property, regardless of position, and gloves where appropriate.
¡      Allowing employees to work from home if appropriate.
¡      Installing plexiglass barriers between guests and employees where possible, such as at front desks, restaurants and shops.
¡      Cleaning and disinfecting high-touch surfaces frequently.
¡      Implementing physical distancing measures in waiting lines, shops, counters and other similar areas.
¡      Providing hand sanitizing stations.
¡      Reserving the right to limit the number of guests/participants in any area of the resort or Nordic Center as needed.
¡      Relaxing cancellation policies to encourage guests who donât feel well to stay home.
Protecting the Employee:
¡      If possible, limit employees to 1 per 500 square feet or 1 per room (bathrooms, storage and changing rooms excluded), whichever is greater.
¡      Maintain 10-foot distancing for employees.
¡      Avoid having employees work directly across from each other.
¡      All contact surfaces should be sanitized before and after service.
¡      All demos should be cleaned and sanitized after use.
¡      Screen and identify employees with symptoms of illness consistent with COVID-19 and send them home.
¡      If tested, donât allow employees to work until test results have been received and employee verified as negative.
¡      Discourage handshaking â encourage the use of other non-contact methods of greeting.
¡      Reinforce key messages about coughing and sneezing etiquette and proper, regular handwashing.
¡      Disinfect and clean regularly common surfaces, such as counters, work areas, door handles, doorknobs, railings. (Depending on the shop being open and type of shopping this may need to be hourly, whereas if by appointment you know areas that have been contacted).
¡      Use signs, markings, tape or other means to ensure employees and customers maintain appropriate social distancing, including in lines.
¡      Have hand sanitizer or other sanitizing readily available for customers and employees.
¡      Encourage and make available masks and gloves for employees, even if they donât deal with customers.
¡      Consider the impact of workplace sick leave policies that may contribute to an employee decision to delay reporting medical symptoms. Sick employees should not return to the workplace until they meet the criteria to stop home isolation.
¡      Conduct frequent cleaning of employee break rooms, rest areas, and other common areas.
¡      Implement a system in which workers rotate into the cashier station to allow cashiers to leave the station to wash their hands regularly.
¡      Remove or rearrange chairs and tables or add visual cue marks in employee break rooms to support social distancing practices between employees. Identify alternative areas such as closed customer seating spaces to accommodate overflow volume.
¡      Be aware that some employees may be at higher risk for serious illness, such as older adults and those with chronic medical conditions. Consider minimizing face-to-face contact between these employees or assign work tasks that allow them to maintain a distance of ten feet from other workers, customers and visitors, or to telework if possible.
¡      Inform employees who are well but who have a sick family member at home with coronavirus should notify their supervisor and refer to CDC guidance for how to conduct a risk assessment of their potential exposure. If an employee is confirmed to have coronavirus, employers should inform fellow employees of their possible exposure in the workplace but maintain confidentiality as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Protecting the Customer
¡      As much as possible, interact with customers outside.
¡      Staff dealing with customers should maintain a 10-foot distance.
¡      Staff dealing with customers indoors should wear masks
¡      Customers should be limited to 1 per 500 square feet of retail showroom space.
¡      In order to minimize the number of customers in the store you might consider:
o  Pick-up and delivery service
o  Locked door policy (staffed or phone and we will answer door)
o  Appointment only showroom
o  Use outdoor repair check-in and pick-up, sales and service as much as possible
o  Closing fitting rooms
¡      Conduct daily sanitizing of retail space including phones, countertops, door handles, tools, bathrooms and other surfaces that customers may come in contact with.
¡      Encourage card payment methods with machine sanitization after each use.
¡      Have hand sanitizer or other sanitizing readily available for customers and employees.
¡      Post a sign requesting that customers with Covid symptoms not enter the store.
¡      When exchanging paper and coin money:
o  Do not touch your face afterward.
o  Ask customers to place cash on the counter rather than directly into your hand.
o  Place money directly on the counter when providing change back to customers.
o  Wipe counter between each customer at checkout.
¡      Move the electronic payment terminal/credit card reader farther away from the cashier in order to increase the distance between the customer and the cashier, if possible.
¡      Consider the use of screens in checkout and cashier locations.
¡      Review return policies and quarantining returned items
¡      Minimize physical contact points with customers as much as possible.
Request for guests:
¡      Stay home if you are displaying signs of respiratory illness or have a fever.
¡      Comply with physical distance guidelines and remain at least 6 feet apart from others unless you are from the same household.
¡      Follow request to wear a face mask at all times. Masks should be available for guests upon request.
¡      Book all activities in advance online or by phone (if possible) to prevent unnecessary in-person transactions.
¡      Wash hands or use sanitizer frequently.
¡      Pay with credit card or mobile payment rather than cash.
¡      Donât congregate in common areas.
For those with food service:
¡      Consider grab & go offerings
¡      Reduce indoor and outdoor seating capacity by 50%.
¡      Provide guests with single-use menus that are then recycled.
¡      Sanitize payment systems and pens after every guest.
¡      Wait until after guests have been seated to place utensils and napkins on the table.
¡      Leave all used utensils, plates and glassware on tables until guests depart.
¡      Provide new glassware for drink refills.
¡      Plastic utensils and condiments will be available upon request, please allow us to assist you with those.
¡      Encourage reservations or avoiding prime time for to-go orders.
¡      Dine with a maximum of 10 people in your party.
For Retail Operations:
¡      Use floor markers to help guests practice appropriate social distancing.
¡      Restrict public access to some areas of the operations. Please allow us to assist you instead.
¡      Change rooms will be available upon request and sanitized between use.
¡      Sanitize payment systems, pens and shopping baskets after every guest.
¡      Change gloves after each contact with an un-sanitized surface while assisting guests, such as after handling cash or assisting with a fountain soda purchase.
¡      Clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces frequently including counters, point-of-sale terminals, door handles.
- https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/guidance-business-response.html
- https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/Version_3.0_CISA_Guidance_on_Essential_Critical_Infrastructure_Workers_3.pdf
See for disinfectant methods:
Canadian Resources
