With blue skies and sunny, warm weather, it was a picture-perfect opening day at SilverStar Mountain Resort.
The mountain was open Friday, Dec. 4 for season pass holders to make their first turns of the season, with day passes for the general public to become available starting Monday.
Things are a little different this year with COVID-19 measures in place to ensure safety on the slopes and when visiting resort amenities.
“It was a great kick-off to the 20/21 winter season,” said Chantelle Deacon, media relation’s manager for SilverStar. “After a lot of hard work and preparation going into this season, everything went smoothly and we thank our guests for following our new procedures.”
The lifts started up at 8:30 a.m. Friday, with many excited riders hoping to be the first in line.
“Because of our amazing snow conditions and a 100 cm base, we were able to open all chairs on the front side. The backside opens up for the season this Sunday,” Deacon said.
Pandemic-related changes to operations include managing the number of people at SilverStar on any given day to enable physical distancing.
Parking reservations are required for visitors heading to the mountain before 11 a.m., and can be booked on the resort’s website.
“So many people mentioned to me how excited they were to get back on snow again,” says Ian Jenkins, director of sales, marketing and accommodations. “They appreciated knowing that their reservations guaranteed them parking spots, they embraced our rigorous safety measures, and they really did a fabulous job of staying masked up and physically distant everywhere.”
Other safety measures include:
- The requirement for staff and guests to wear facial coverings in all indoor and outdoor public spaces at SilverStar, except when dining or actively engaged in skiing/riding.
- New protocols for lift queuing and riding to ensure appropriate physical distancing.
- Encouraging guests to be prepared to change at their vehicles
- More socially-distanced indoor open areas for guests to eat lunch.
- Socially distanced dining.
- A continued commitment to uphold the highest standards of sanitizing to keep guests and staff safe.
- Sanitizing stations throughout the village.
For more information, visit skisilverstar.com.
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