{"id":50113,"date":"2020-12-02T17:05:04","date_gmt":"2020-12-03T00:05:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/poll-coronavirus-wary-colorado-skiers-are-willing-to-sit-out-a-season\/"},"modified":"2020-12-03T00:05:04","modified_gmt":"2020-12-03T00:05:04","slug":"poll-coronavirus-wary-colorado-skiers-are-willing-to-sit-out-a-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/poll-coronavirus-wary-colorado-skiers-are-willing-to-sit-out-a-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Poll: Coronavirus-wary Colorado skiers are willing to sit out a season"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Crowds
Crowds at the base of Arapahoe Basin ski area on Nov. 25.<\/span>Jesse Paul\/The Colorado Sun<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Since 2006, Magellan Strategies has polled voters, helping to measure Colorado\u2019s political winds. Last month they turned their analysis to skiers, asking a mountain of questions about the pandemic-muddled season.<\/p>\n

The political strategy firm\u2019s survey of 788 skiers \u2014 about 480 of them living near ski areas and the rest hailing from the Front Range \u2014 showed a surprisingly large number pondering a season on the sidelines. About 31% of the respondents said they were not planning to ski this season because of the pandemic. And 39% said they had not purchased a pass this season, which means they likely will not be riding chairlifts since most resorts are using day-ticket supplies to control crowds.<\/p>\n

The poll, conducted between Nov. 10 and Nov. 16, had a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.<\/p>\n

The skiers who said they were ready to sit out the season cited fears that others might not follow safety guidelines outlined by resorts \u2014 like social distancing and mandatory masks \u2014 as well as a frustration over reservation systems and concerns over costs in a declining economy.<\/p>\n

A very large number of skiers thought that skiing would be shut down due to the pandemic at some point this season, with 36% of respondents giving a shutdown a 50-50 chance; 29% guessing there was a 75% chance resorts would close; and 18% saying resorts would most certainly close.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat really does show you there are not a lot of optimistic people out there, with a majority of the community looking ready or assuming it will be shut down at some point,\u201d said David Flaherty, the co-founder and chief executive of Magellan Strategies.<\/p>\n

But a majority of respondents \u2014 particularly skiers under 25 \u2014 expressed trust that resorts would provide quality turns even with new rules to limit the spread of COVID-19. And 69% said they were confident the rules installed to limit COVID-19 would protect visitors and employees.<\/p>\n

When asked what kind of rules would help them feel most protected from COVID-19, most skiers suggested protocols that resorts already have planned for the season: limiting capacities, requiring masks, distancing skiers in lines, cleaning and restricting indoor activities and access.<\/p>\n

\"Crowds
Crowds at the base of Arapahoe Basin ski area on Nov. 25.<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cI can go a year without skiing downhill,\u201d said a Park County woman who is \u201cstrongly\u201d considering not skiing this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause travel now is stupid and frivolous,\u201d said a Pitkin County man.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will ski no matter what, but it may just be alpine touring in the backcountry,\u201d said a Routt County woman.<\/p>\n

Flaherty\u2019s survey also explored if and how skiers planned to explore the snowy backcountry. About 62% said they had skied in the backcountry before. And 81% of the roughly 300 skiers who said they had never ventured into ski terrain beyond a resort boundary said they did plan to do it this season. That mirrors a growing recognition that backcountry use will spike this season as resorts work to control crowds and access during the pandemic.<\/p>\n

When skiers who intended to explore the backcountry were asked about their plans, 42% said they intended to buy avalanche safety equipment and take an avalanche awareness course. About 26% said they planned to take a course, where, by the way, the need for safety equipment like a beacon, shovel and probe pole will be emphasized loudly and frequently.<\/p>\n

Of the nearly 500 skiers who had experience in the backcountry, 37% had both safety gear and education; 20% had equipment but no formal avalanche education; and 29% said they had neither gear nor education.<\/p>\n

That last number \u2014 more than 140 people \u2014 saying they had ventured into the backcountry but had no avalanche education or safety equipment, has Colorado\u2019s search-and-rescue teams on edge. Volunteer rescuers and avalanche educators are worried that an influx of new backcountry travelers in Colorado\u2019s notoriously dangerous avalanche terrain could lead to more incidents and calls for help.<\/p>\n

\u201cAvalanche danger is going to be insane, not because of snow but too many people not knowing what they are doing in the backcountry!\u201d an Eagle County man said.<\/p>\n

Finally, the survey asked for general thoughts about the upcoming season, and that\u2019s where the long-held animosity between locals and visitors became most apparent. And beyond worries about the virus, locals are concerned the reservation system at some resorts might limit their access.<\/p>\n

\u201cLocals lay the framework year-round. Keep their voice heard in decision-making meetings,\u201d said a Boulder County man.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we should be encouraging less tourists if anything, they\u2019re the ones that are bringing the pandemic here and don\u2019t follow our guidelines,\u201d said a Pitkin County woman.<\/p>\n

Flaherty said it was interesting to see the varying viewpoints between skiers near resorts and those who travel to ski.<\/p>\n

\u201cLocals really wanted their voice heard,\u201d Flaherty said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Colorado skiers reveals apprehension over pandemic protocols<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50114,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[233,685,28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-50113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-coloradosun-com","tag-coronavirus-covid-19","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50113"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50113\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50113"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=50113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}