BC's Premier wants to shut down provincial borders. What does that mean for Ski Hills

[SnowCreekChad]

BC's Premier John Horgan said yesterday that he wants to shut down provincial borders. I wonder how ski hills that rely heavily on Alberta skiers will survive?

Fernie's local population is about 5k
Invermere's population is under 4k
Golden's population is also under 4k
Kimberly 7500

Hardly enough local population to support the local hills. On top of that, the local restaurants and retail will certainly not survive. I'm not sure what his end game is...But killing these ski towns will be a result, if he gets his way.

[OffStandish]

Well, the way cases are continuing to trend in BC and Alberta, I'll be amazed if lift-served skiing is still an option by Christmas. Alberta's already started shutting down recreational activities and increasing restrictions while cases continue to rise and at this point I'm expecting a serious lockdown to happen this winter. I picked up a Big 3 pass this year, and I'm sort of regretting it, right now.

I'm not sure on the economics for ski hills but I can't see them being forced to shut down for a month or three and then reopening in February or March again, if they're even permitted to. It's going to be a very tough winter for all those towns that rely on tourism. If Horgan can't close the borders, he can certainly shut down the ski hills and that kills a huge percentage of the tourist draw.

It's been a tough year for a lot of businesses - there's a ton of restaurants and stores in calgary that have shut down already and I'm sure there's going to be a lot more gone after this winter. Hopefully the federal aid programs will be able to keep a lot of those small businesses in ski towns and the cities alive 'til next summer.

[skisurfmirth]

Golden + rural is 6.7k. Revy is at least 7k maybe as high as 14.5k in the winter. If they can just groom the road, avi control and keep the gondi spinning at half speed, I'd be a happy man. Still hard to imagine the border shutting completely.

[gearhunter]

He is trying to save lives. Pretty simple. As far as ski towns surviving? Of course they will, until there is no snow, that is. Although there are far, far, far less international skiers/boarders in Fernie this winter the town is very busy, as it was this summer with mountain bikers. Never seen so many in all my years here. I doubt the vacancy rate has ever been this low, there are hundreds of people looking for housing. In the event of an eventual outbreak at a ski hill I'd hazard a guess they will remain open...

As far as closing the borders like the Maritime bubble? I doubt they could do it in this part of the province with all the coal miners coming in and out of the valley daily from Alberta...

But do stay in Alberta and the rest of Canada as per our Premiers request, at least for the next few weeks.

[SnowCreekChad]

Here's an interesting story from Global News.

https://globalnews.ca/news/7473709/ski-industry-economy-tourism-bc-travel-restrictions-covid-19/

[goldengarbageman]

He is trying to save lives. Pretty simple. As far as ski towns surviving? Of course they will, until there is no snow, that is. Although there are far, far, far less international skiers/boarders in Fernie this winter the town is very busy, as it was this summer with mountain bikers. Never seen so many in all my years here. I doubt the vacancy rate has ever been this low, there are hundreds of people looking for housing. In the event of an eventual outbreak at a ski hill I'd hazard a guess they will remain open...

As far as closing the borders like the Maritime bubble? I doubt they could do it in this part of the province with all the coal miners coming in and out of the valley daily from Alberta...

But do stay in Alberta and the rest of Canada as per our Premiers request, at least for the next few weeks.

Golden is similar to Fernie currently. Homes are selling like crazy since people are leaving the cities and working from home. I was on "The Strip" (fast food joints on the Trans Canada) and there were dozens of sled trailers getting breakfast before going out, and most were Alberta plates. If the resorts shut down there will be sladders and people touring. The backcountry is going to be a gong show. The town will certainly see a dip without the resort traffic, but it won't be the death of our community.

I for one am happy to see the restrictions in place for the next couple weeks. There are some weird aspects to the restrictions that make no sense, there is no questions bout that. If people follow the guidelines for the next couple weeks in the down season then we may see the restrictions lifted and can have the resorts open for the year.

It is important to note that Revy is way better than Golden, so go there. The skiing is better, the latte's are better, the mani-pedi's are better and most importantly the people are cooler. #visiteastrevy

[powdork]

Revy has by far the best Hortons in Canada. What else is there?

[Snow Dog]

I for one am happy to see the restrictions in place for the next couple weeks. There are some weird aspects to the restrictions that make no sense, there is no questions bout that. If people follow the guidelines for the next couple weeks in the down season then we may see the restrictions lifted and can have the resorts open for the year.

Will you be as happy when the restrictions are still in place next March?Past pandemics have a little bump in March-April and then a lull over the summer and then the big one the following winter. So we can expect rising cases and deaths every time social contacts increase.

This is really about Metro Vancouver. I don't know why travel restrictions became province-wide when most of the province is covid free and travel is a normal part of life away from Vancouver.

[SnowCreekChad]

Will you be as happy when the restrictions are still in place next March?Past pandemics have a little bump in March-April and then a lull over the summer and then the big one the following winter. So we can expect rising cases and deaths every time social contacts increase.

This is really about Metro Vancouver. I don't know why travel restrictions became province-wide when most of the province is covid free and travel is a normal part of life away from Vancouver.

I agree. The cases in BC are largely in the Metro Vancouver Health Region and the Fraser Valley Health Region. It seems unfair to restrict the entire province based on 2 health regions in the far western part of the province. A targeted approach would make way more sense in my opinion. https://www.ovulation-calculators.co...irus/ca/fernie

It'll be interesting to see what opening day at Fernie will look like. The current 2 week restriction are set to expire on December 7th and Fernie opens on December 5th. I have a feeling that Fernie will still be busy. It is a big ask to have people cancel their hotel, Airbnb, VRBO and FLC reservations... Especially when cancellation policies for most of these booking are 30 days.

[powdork]

I haven't clicked the link yet (I'm a little scared), but ovulation-calculators.com?

[m2711c]

[gearhunter]

The rest of the province is Covid free? Right sure it is...

[SnowCreekChad]

I haven't clicked the link yet (I'm a little scared), but ovulation-calculators.com?

It shows current Covid cases in towns. I added it to my post, as it shows no active cases in Fernie. I checked and the same goes for Golden and Invermere.

[gearhunter]

Active cases in Fernie that are known about. Don't forget how many people travel from Covid hotspots in Alberta to Fernie. Don't be fooled into thinking that we are 'safe' here from Covid. All it would take would be a party of Albertans here in Fernie to change that really quick. Look what happened in Salmo.

I do agree that targeted is best but let the professionals do their jobs...Otherwise maybe there will not be a ski season.

Fernie Alpine Resort is going to stay open until the province tells them to close. Wear your mask, stay out of retail shops/restaurants right now and practice social distancing.

I'm not going to be a mask nazi but I'll make people aware that they are jeopardizing my ski season with a subtle glance by not following provincial protocols.

As far as your ovulation calculator goes. The government does not really let anyone know the real numbers. That calculator is bunk. I work in health care in Fernie. Are there cases? The EVRH would never discuss it and Interior Health just gives regional numbers but yes, I would say, there are active cases in Fernie.

[SnowCreekChad]

Active cases in Fernie that are known about. Don't forget how many people travel from Covid hotspots in Alberta to Fernie. Don't be fooled into thinking that we are 'safe' here from Covid. All it would take would be a party of Albertans here in Fernie to change that really quick. Look what happened in Salmo.

I do agree that targeted is best but let the professionals do their jobs...Otherwise maybe there would not be a ski season.

Fair enough. I just hope that the ski season isn't cancelled by the professionals out of an over abundance of caution. Not just for selfish reasons... But my real fear is for the livelihoods of all of the Fernie business owners and employees. Horgan's ambition to shut down provincial borders would be devastating...