Vail Resorts & Alterra Mountain Company Shut Down North America Due To COVID-19 Outbreak
What started as a few mountains shutting down across the U.S. has now turned into what could be an almost 100% closure across North America. It was decided today, March 14th, that Vail Resorts and Alterra Mountain Company would shut down all mountain operations starting March 15th. These closures are in response to the COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreak.
Vail Resorts
"With each of those stakeholders in mind and with the most updated information from local health officials, we have made the difficult decision to suspend the operations of all our North American mountain resorts and retail stores beginning Sunday, March 15, 2020, through Sunday, March 22, 2020, and will use that time to reassess our approach for the rest of the season. Our lodging and property management operations will remain open to service the guests we have on location or those with existing reservations, but we will not be taking new reservations for this upcoming week. Epic Mountain Express, our Colorado shuttle service, will also continue operations to support the travel needs of our guests. We will be closing our corporate offices and apart from essential personnel, we will be asking other employees to work from home, where possible." - Vail Resorts New Release
That's 34 out of 37 total Vail Resorts mountains that will be shut down for the coming week, covering regions all across the continent.
The closure will also include Vail Resorts corporate offices. It has also be stated that apart from essential personnel, the corporation will be asking employees to work from home where possible. However, all scheduled employees, both seasonal and year-round, will be paid during the week-long closure, without needing to use any paid time off.
An update regarding the rest of the season is expected this coming Friday, March 20, 2020.
"After careful thought and deliberation of our duty in the face of the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak, and in what I believe is in the best interest of our guests, employees and local communities, Alterra Mountain Company will suspend operations at our 15 North American ski resorts, starting the morning of Sunday, March 15, until further notice. All lift operations, food and beverage, retail and rental services will be closed until further notice." - Alterra Mountain Company News ReleaseAlterra Mountain Company
Of those 15 properties in the Alterra Mountain Company lineup, CMH Heli-Skiing & Summer Adventures is the only one that will be open through Tuesday, March 17th. All other properties will be closed tomorrow morning, March 15th.
There has been no date given by Alterra Mountain Company as to when an update can be expected.
There has been no date given by Alterra Mountain Company as to when an update can be expected.
What Next?
For those who were looking to get in some skiing or snowboarding action at any of the Vail Resorts or Alterra Mountain Company destinations, please contact those destinations for details on refunds or any other information you made need. Both companies are going to do their best to satisfy their guests' needs during this closure period.
With the two largest mountain conglomerates in the country closing down due to the outbreak, following several other mountains not part of either company, plus the European mountains that have had to shut down, it would seem that the 2019/2020 season is just about officially over. Will the other mountain corporations and independents follow suit? It is likely we will know even before the weekend is over.
Photo Credit: DReifGalaxyM31 at English Wikipedia / CC BY
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