Sierra-at-Tahoe, CA, Agrees to Compensate Guests for Missed Ski Days During COVID Pandemic Sierra-at-Tahoe, California, has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit stemming from its handling of single-day lift ticket sales during the 2020-21 ski season. The settlement follows claims that the resort sold tickets for specific dates without disclosing parking restrictions that ultimately prevented some guests from accessing the mountain, according to Top Class Actions. Related: Reflecting on 5 Years Since […] Industry News SnowBrains | May 13, 2025 0 Comments
Reflecting on 5 Years Since COVID-19 Shut Down Ski Resorts and How it Has Shaped the Industry Today Five years ago, the ski industry came to a screeching halt as the COVID-19 pandemic led to unprecedented shutdowns across North America. In mid-March 2020, just as ski resorts were gearing up for the busy spring break season, operations were abruptly halted due to government mandates and growing concerns over virus transmission. For some, this is a sensitive subject, as […] Industry News Brent Thomas | March 10, 2025 1 Comment
Inside the Ski Industry’s Post-Pandemic Boom In March 2020, the future of the ski industry seemed uncertain. With resorts shut down across the country and questions about how extreme and prolonged the response to the coronavirus would have to be, a winter of skiing no longer seemed like a sure thing. In the years since, skiing has appeared to bounce back even stronger than […] Industry News Zach Armstrong | July 22, 2024 0 Comments
Epic Pass Holders Denied Refunds After Pandemic Shutdown in March 2020 Epic Pass holders may be able to revive legal action against Vail Resorts following the closure of its resorts during the early stages of the covid-19 pandemic following a judgment by The US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. However, the court determined that refunds are not a viable remedy. While acknowledging the possibility that Vail may have acted unfairly or […] Industry News SnowBrains | June 8, 2023 0 Comments
Court Rules Austria Not Liable for COVID-19 Pandemic Mismanagement at Ski Resort Yesterday, the Supreme Court of Justice of Austria delivered its verdict on a prolonged legal dispute involving a German individual who alleged contracting COVID-19 during a visit to Ischgl, Austria, on March 7, 2020. The court ruled that Austria cannot be held responsible for its handling of the pandemic, which resulted in the ski resort becoming a focal point of […] Industry News SnowBrains | June 2, 2023 0 Comments
Face Masks Now Required Indoors in Grand Teton National Park, WY Due to the current, HIGH COVID-19 community level in Teton County, WY, Department of Interior policy requires that masks are required for everyone in all park buildings in Grand Teton National Park, regardless of vaccination status. Park buildings include, but are not limited to visitor centers, administrative offices, lodges, gift shops, and restaurants in the Grand Teton. Related: National Park […] SnowBrains | June 14, 2022 3 Comments
New Zealand to Lift Travel Restrictions — Just in Time for Ski Season Two years ago when the coronavirus pandemic hit, New Zealand closed its borders to any foreign travel. Now the country has announced plans on lifting current restrictions on international travel. Just in time for the 2022 ski season. Related: Mt. Ruapehu Ski Resort, NZ, Threatened By Potential Volcanic Activity New Zealand was among the countries with the strictest policies when […] Industry News Aunika Skogen | April 19, 2022 1 Comment
Vail Resorts Facing the Effects of Staff Shortages Winter is finally here across the country, and skiers and snowboarders are beginning to head up and enjoy the mountains. However, at areas managed by Vail Resorts, the season may look different as many areas are short on staff. Many of Vail’s resorts across the US have cut back on operating hours this year. Ski areas like Brandywine and Alpine […] Industry News Aunika Skogen | January 10, 2022 15 Comments
Backcountry Popularity Increases Avalanche Danger Interest in backcountry skiing and riding has grown exponentially since March 2020, when ski resorts across the country stopped turning their lifts, despite massive storms, due to the pandemic. It has continued into the 21/22 ski season after last year, when many resorts implemented reservations. With ever-changing Covid-19 restrictions across the country, many skiers and boarders have been searching for […] Avalanche Aunika Skogen | December 1, 2021 2 Comments
Chipmunks Test Positive for Bubonic Plague in California Chipmunks located in South Lake Tahoe, California have tested positive for the bubonic plague recently, according to the Tahoe Daily Tribune. Luckily, a spokesperson for El Dorado County reported that “the mammals hadn’t had any contact with humans,” as stated by Travel Leisure. Regardless, to ensure the safety of tourists, Taylor Creek Visitor Center and Kiva Beach will be closed […] Industry News Breya Bergom | August 6, 2021 0 Comments
Vail Resorts Creates Deep Pockets With $1.3 Billion Cash On Hand—What’s Next? Vail Resorts as a company is one of the most polarizing topics in the ski community since skiers vs. snowboarders in the mid-’80s. The ski community is torn on whether to hate them for their mass acquisitions or to love them for the variety and coverage that their season pass offers. Regardless, there is one thing for certain: People are […] Industry News Artur | July 1, 2021 5 Comments
Canadian Government Begins Talks on Reopening US Border Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has begun preliminary internal discussions with his government about reopening the US border, even as Canada lags well behind its neighbor to the south in vaccinations. Related: Canada’s COVID-19 Border Closure is Being Violated By Americans Formal talks about how to proceed with the reopening have already begun, and include whether to employ a two-track […] SnowBrains | May 20, 2021 0 Comments
Despite Pandemic Shutdowns, Carbon Dioxide and Methane Surged in 2020 This post first appeared on the NOAA research news site Carbon dioxide levels are now higher than at any time in the past 3.6 million years Levels of the two most important anthropogenic greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide, and methane, continued their unrelenting rise in 2020 despite the economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic response, NOAA has announced. Related: Mount […] WeatherBrains | May 20, 2021 1 Comment
Repurposed Gondola Cars Provide a New Pandemic Dining Experience The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the restaurant industry, with mandatory closures and restricted dining hurting restaurants’ business. Owners managed to get creative by expanding outdoor dining spaces and building parklets to seat customers. During the summer the issue was easier to manage. Restaurants created an enjoyable dining experience by rolling up garage doors to increase airflow and seating customers outside. The need […] Industry News Alex Mangels | March 4, 2021 1 Comment
“Coronaphobia:” The Psychology of Skiing During COVID The people want to ski this winter. Just like any winter. But this winter is different and so are people’s emotions toward it. COVID-19 is affecting the way people think, act, and feel about everything (skiing). And we as skiers and truth-seekers should seek to understand this publicly-shared mentality concerning skiing during a pandemic this season… Here’s what we know […] Brains Martin Kuprianowicz | December 15, 2020 1 Comment
Standard Ski Mask is Not an Effective Face Covering, Research Says | Wear 2 and Ensure They’re Dry Have you been skiing at a resort since the pandemic started? To operate ski areas this season, there are obviously a ton of regulations put in place to keep people safe. As we all know, one of these regulations is to wear a facial covering. Research is showing that your standard ski mask you wear anyways is not quite enough. […] Industry News Dominic Gawel | December 4, 2020 0 Comments
30-Year Old Ski Operator Ceases Trading, Unable to Survive Covid-19 and Travel Restrictions A British ski company that has been providing ski holidays to France and Austria for 30-years announced they had ceased trading with immediate effect, unable to survive the global pandemic affecting their business. “Despite the wonderful support of our guests, colleagues, and partners, we have been unable to navigate the extraordinary challenges of managing a winter ski operator through the […] Industry News SnowBrains | November 18, 2020 0 Comments
25 of Colorado’s 64 Counties Move to ‘Level Orange’ Coronavirus Restriction—One Away from ‘Stay at Home’ Order Rising hospitalizations, repetitive news media headlines, seemingly mild state restrictions that bring forth more, stricter state restrictions that soon leave you with nothing open but the grocery stores and the (ski area-less) mountains themselves—sound familiar? It’s not Déjà vu, it’s COVID—again, eight months later. Just as we all have collectively feared from the time when ski lifts stopped spinning last […] Martin Kuprianowicz | November 16, 2020 0 Comments
The Future of the American Ski Shop: How Local Shop ‘FOTM’ Survives and Thrives During a Pandemic Privately owned ski shops must already compete with mega online retailers, corporately owned stores, and big-box retailers, so the idea of trying to survive a worldwide pandemic may seem daunting if not downright impossible. And as world leaders beg us to keep our social distance and avoid gatherings of almost any size, our local ski shops are begging us to […] Industry News Alex K | November 13, 2020 0 Comments
Please Be Kind in the Mountains This Winter Two things kill more than anything—kindness, and avalanches. But only one is healthy towards our collective ski season this winter. Ski season is going to be weird this season. Life is going to be weird this season. There’s going to be more people in the backcountry than ever before and ski resorts (the ones that will still be open) are going […] Backcountry Martin Kuprianowicz | November 5, 2020 1 Comment
Industry News
Avalanche
Brains
Backcountry