There was good news and bad news from Vail Resorts last week.
Creekside will get two new lifts for the 2022/2023 winter season that will increase upload capacity by 35 per cent.
And now for the bad. Without even the pretense that decisions are made locally, Rob Katz, CEO, Vail Resorts, USA, declared that there would be no requirement for a vaccine certificate to ride Whistler Blackcomb gondolas. The unvaccinated will be permitted to upload, cheek to jowl, at full capacity, in a space as tight as an elevator, with the small windows often frozen shut.
Katz’s decision doesn’t align with an opening sentence in the press release, “Vail Resorts’ commitment to safety continues to be at the center of everything we do.”
The policy was not thoroughly analyzed. These same unvaccinated riders will not be able to access any on-mountain restaurant, large or small, no matter how cold or hungry without a vaccine certificate.
Special secure corridors to washrooms will be required so that the unvaccinated can use the facilities but are prevented from entering restaurant areas. The Roundhouse, Rendezvous, and Glacier Creek restaurants all have several points of entry.
That will mean a lot of extra staff to check IDs and vaccine credentials when staff shortages are a certainty.
At lunchtime, normally hundreds of people file in and out of the lodges. This year there will be hundreds of people waiting outside for validation.
All of these problems will negatively impact your day on the mountain and can easily be avoided by making a vaccine certificate a requirement to ski or ride. It would be simple to administer at the point of sale—season pass holders would be registered as vaccinated and their vaccine status would be visible to anyone scanning their pass. There will be no on-mountain checks or confrontations.
International visitors are required to be fully vaccinated to enter the country. They will be more likely to choose Whistler if they know that local skiers/riders and all visiting Canadians have the same vaccination status.
Canada’s prime minister says a vaccine certificate will soon be a requirement for all air travel within the country.
A proof of vaccine certificate to access the mountain is not only good for public safety, but it will also be good for business.
B.C. health minister Adrian Dix and Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry probably don’t ski or ride, otherwise they would have included skiing and riding in the activities, such as going to the gym or playing tennis, that require a vaccine certificate.
Vail Resorts owns 37 mountain resorts worldwide. Whistler Blackcomb is the only Canadian resort. Thirty-three are in the United States, and that’s where policy is determined. More than 20 states in the U.S. have banned vaccine passports. Whistler Blackcomb’s policy is made in the U.S. for the U.S. If you are concerned about Vail Resorts’ decision, please go to this link and let your voice be heard. Spread the word.
John Konig // Whistler
