2021/2022 Winter Season Covid Discussion

[ejrides]

Perfect attitude Dick. I think we need to be a little realistic about people's behavior at this point and accept the conditions as they are. If a gondola with the unmasked is going to make you nervous, skip the gondola; if you don't want the bubble down, don't ride the bubble. If a store requires a mask, put on a mask or don't go in. I get that people want rules followed so they can ride the gondola, but there is no way to enforce it; you can choose to argue with people or you can just be happy and go on with your day.

So if a store requires a mask put on a mask or dont go in, but if a resort requires a mask on a gondola don't worry about it because the people who are willing to follow the rules just shouldn't ride the gondola?

I'm not saying that's how it should be, but that is the reality. I'm not comfortable being on a gondola with unmasked strangers, so I'll avoid the gondola; I'm out here for the stoke, not to argue with others to wear their masks.

Actually I was one of the first to get into the gondola - I was on the single line. I got added to a gondola containing 2 people and then the 4 who were unmasked got put inside too probably from the single line too.

I think you just made my point for me :)

[ifixu]

Unless they mandate the use of f N-95 masks it really doesn’t matter as the masks most people use are basically useless compared to N-95 masks

[snoloco]

Let's not give them any ideas ok.

[Freshies]

Having worked in a respiratory ICU, I pity the patients struggling for their last breath and the caregivers who are risking their lives to care for them. The Omicron variant can infect those who are vaccinated and then pass it on to those who may not be able to get the vaccine or are immunocompromised. If one refuses to wear a mask or get vaccinated, please don't risk our health care providers lives or take up space in an emergency department or ICU. You've made your decision not to consider others' health, so why expect health care providers to risk their lives for you?

[brownman]

Thank you and colleagues for what you continue to do !

[Captain Hafski]

Bringing this relatively new thread back. Seems like similar discussion sorta moved to the Killington Employee Covid discussion.

Since I first started this, as expected, some differing opinions out there mostly centered on a) masks and b) lift capacity [filling chairs or not].

Most of us, myself included, don't believe the masks do much good. I also agree with the relative efficiency of these that someone posted as nothing -> cloth mask -> surgical [paper] mask -> N95 [KN95]. Then, though not mentioned much yet is who benefits from mask wearing; I have always been of the opinion that someone wearing a mask is protecting others around them more than themselves. Also, improperly worn masks don't do much at all either way. Regardless, I can understand why K has put the mask law back in place for the gondolas. Doesn't matter to me as I am not riding in a gondola with strangers masks or no masks.

It's the lift capacity discussion that bothers me the most. While we will never completely agree on this, there are some of us that do not want to, nor can afford to catch this horrible disease.
- Over 1700 new cases in VT yesterday. Numbers are off the charts.
- I take exception to some of the posts calling the cautious ones of us Sally's, hypochondriacs, etc. Something for those of you to consider, and in fact my personal situation, is having an elderly loved one [my wife's 88 year old mother, who is in remarkable shape] that we regularly spend time with. In our case, we could not live with having her become ill or worse after one of us passed it on to her.
- For me, I will not get on crowded chairs, even if that means some longer lift lines. And this should be supported by K.
- Yeah, I know and have read the comments re: ride the triple. I'd be sorta OK with that, but the triple rarely runs and without the SR quad, the only way to access the upper mountain is via the SD6 or K1.
- Similar situation over at Needle's Eye when they don't run the NE quad.

How bout this: An open, advertised policy, that they allow folks to choose their own 'group' to ride the K1, SD6, and Skyeship when the other chairs [Snowdon Triple, NE quad] aren't running?

[snoloco]

That's already what happens. On days when the triple, Needles, etc aren't running, it's usually not busy enough to where they are directing the line and filling chairs/cabins. People just go where they fit in and there usually ends up being empty seats between groups. That's been my experience with the bubble. I don't think this should be advertised because it will give people the idea that they can push others out for any reason and it's going to lead to a lot of confrontations.

[easyrider16]

I think it's kinda dumb that on a day with very short lines people will jump in with strangers in gondolas and bubbles. If you wait just 20 seconds there's another empty cabin. Why not be cautious and wait? If the lines are as short as they were on Tuesday, for instance, there's really no need to jump in with strangers, and it raises the risk for very little return. I mean this is a pandemic. It's not normal times. A little kindness and consideration is advisable.

[snoloco]

If the lines are as short as they were on Tuesday, for instance, there's really no need to jump in with strangers, and it raises the risk for very little return.

If everyone does it, then the lines won't be so short anymore. I'm not saying there should be 8 in every cabin, or 6 on every bubble on days when there's little to no line. I ski as a single, and unless there's literally no one else in the queue, I'm probably going to ride with other people. Usually it'll be with a group of 2 or 3, or another single.

[easyrider16]

If everyone does it, then the lines won't be so short anymore. I'm not saying there should be 8 in every cabin, or 6 on every bubble on days when there's little to no line. I ski as a single, and unless there's literally no one else in the queue, I'm probably going to ride with other people. Usually it'll be with a group of 2 or 3, or another single.

I'm going to disagree. It's not like most people would be riding up solo. Most people ski in groups. If people didn't jump in with strangers it would have made almost no difference in the lines on Tuesday while I was there. I never waited in a line more than 4 or 5 cabin loads deep, and almost none of the cabins were filled to capacity.

All I'm saying is, during a pandemic, there are mitigating circumstances. People are so eager to get on the chair so they can wait 10 minutes to get to the top. Calm down. Smell some roses. Waiting an extra 30 seconds to a minute is not a big deal in the grand scheme of things.

[snoloco]

If the wait is only 4-5 cabins, then pretty much everyone is going to have their own cabin except singles. You're overthinking this a lot.

[easyrider16]

Nice thought but that's not how it happened on Tuesday. People are impatient and they just crammed in wherever they could fit, pandemic be damned. I'm just saying how about a little more kindness and compassion and a little less push to get to the top as fast as possible during your recreational activity.

[BoozeTan]

over xmas week I was with a few friends, one of whom is very cautious about all of this. We went to Needles only to find the quad not spinning. Had to take the skyeship. We were directed to get in a cabin with two others not in our group. Neither of them were wearing masks. We refused and said we will take the next one, alone. There were 4 of us. The liftie had no issue with it at all....this shouldnt even be a discussion.

[hillbangin]

I didnt read 1 post where anyone questioned the cautious or called people Sally's.



Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[Dickc]

From the New York Times morning newletter: By the way, its free to get).

Consider this: Before Omicron, a typical vaccinated 75-year-old who contracted Covid had a roughly similar risk of death — around 1 in 200 — as a typical 75-year-old who contracted the flu. (Here are the details behind that calculation, which is based on an academic study.)

Omicron has changed the calculation. Because it is milder than earlier versions of the virus, Covid now appears to present less threat to most vaccinated elderly people than the annual flu does.

The flu, of course, does present risk for the elderly. And the sheer size of the Omicron surge may argue for caution over the next few weeks. But the combination of vaccines and Omicron’s apparent mildness means that, for an individual, Covid increasingly resembles the kind of health risk that people accept every day.