Dover, Vermont (CNN) — Chilly ft: This was my largest concern.

“So you may put on toe heaters. Or we’ll purchase you heated boots. Otherwise you’ll go to the automobile to heat up once you want a break.”

Chris Linsmayer with Colorado Ski says some resorts in Colorado “are encouraging utilizing the automobile as a house base.” He says it is probably a great place to eat lunch.

This idea of auto as dwelling base added to my reservations round snowboarding throughout coronavirus.

Motivated by a nor’easter

The primary large snow of the season discovered us tucked away in southern Vermont with a plethora of ski areas inside mere miles of our new winter abode.

Okemo Mountain is without doubt one of the Vail-owned Vermont resorts on the Epic move.

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However no cube. The most suitable choice for anybody who awakened on that current blizzardy Thursday morning in December to over two ft of snow and an itch to scratch through board or skis was a spot opening up within the on-line ready room.

“We’re managing entry to our mountains with a reservations system that was designed to prioritize our move holders,” mentioned Margo Van Ness, director of communications of Vail Resorts for the East.

“Our plan is constant throughout all of our resorts so our move holders will not have to trace down totally different entry per resort,” Van Ness added.

The net reservation system that Epic arrange is just not precisely intuitive, and move holders could also be penalized for canceling reservations. However it’s good to have all the Epic’s resorts displayed in a single place.

On the mountain

A purpose to attempt to get to the mountain as early as attainable is to beat the crowds. This was true pre-Covid and much more true now.

Since one of many large modifications at resorts across the nation and on this planet is how chairlifts are operated, the scramble to reach when lifts open has maybe by no means been better.

Lengthy traces on the mountain’s base and elsewhere didn’t go unnoticed, a change ensuing from social distancing necessities.

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However do not forget that snowstorm? That set us again a few hours, and by the point we arrived at Mount Snow, the Bluebird Specific, the primary chairlift, already had a frightening line. We lined up with the remainder of the pack although, our respective skis and snowboard making social distancing simple.

Sometimes, it is customary to fill the chairs to capability to assist transfer the road, however that wasn’t taking place now. As an alternative, solo skiers and riders hopped on a raise and rode all of it the way in which up by themselves.

This new loading course of slowed issues down considerably.

A couple of days later at Okemo, one other Vail-owned resort in Vermont, we opted to experience up a four-person chair raise with a single skier, all of us masked and never fairly six-feet from one another however at the very least outdoors.

At Mount Snow, the snow saved falling and windy situations made mask-wearing particularly interesting. A number of days later at Okemo, temperatures had been hotter, and at instances, I discovered myself wishing I might yank my masks down off my nostril and mouth. Respect for the foundations and concern for my fellow snow lovers left my masks intact always.

On each days, I seen just a few individuals right here or there not carrying masks, however then I additionally overheard employees challenge directions to those rule breakers. And in spite of some dangerous gamers, spirits amongst employees and visitors appeared excessive — everybody merely completely happy to be outdoors having fun with the weather.

Downhill from right here

On the mountain, social distancing wasn’t an issue. Out West and in Canada and far of Europe, I think about it is even much less of a priority, given the vastness of these mountainous areas as in contrast with the Inexperienced Mountain State.

The Bluebird Specific is a six-person chair raise at Mount Snow.

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“There are a number of things that we’re utilizing to find out capability throughout our 34 resorts and they’ll proceed to evolve over time based mostly on out there terrain and steerage from native and state well being authorities,” mentioned Van Ness.

Adhering to social distancing could also be simple outside, however it’s much less so indoors, which is why so many resorts are encouraging different preparations, akin to bringing your personal snacks and water.

“We’re managing capability in any respect of our eating services in accordance to native and state laws,” Van Ness defined, including that the resorts are asking visitors to plan forward.

Plan B

Steve and I did not plan forward on our current go to to Okemo, greater than an hour’s drive from our dwelling base. Though I would packed a bag of path combine, after practically a dozen or so runs, we had been famished.

We stopped in at reception on the restaurant the Sitting Bull, however had been politely knowledgeable that and not using a reservation, we couldn’t be seated. The area was empty, unrecognizable on every other pre-Covid ski day, the place you may anticipate 4 deep on the bar and visitors milling about ready to put a drink order.

Borderline hangry, we tried a second possibility at Okemo, the grab-and-go cafeteria-format Pete & Earl’s. The menu appeared nice, however it was simply an phantasm because it turned out they had been bought out of all salads and sandwiches at 11:52 a.m. on a Monday, no much less.

Not within the temper for something from the fryer (fries, rooster tenders) or grill (burger, scorching canine), we left the resort to search out meals elsewhere.

Within the grand scheme of issues, this actually wasn’t an enormous deal, only a minor annoyance. Nonetheless, if I used to be capable of overlook about Covid’s relentless grasp briefly up on the mountain, I used to be rapidly introduced again right down to Earth upon attempting to gas for the second half of the day.

We’d’ve had higher luck at Stratton, the place I plan to go to subsequent.

Kimiecik says they’ve added one other outside eating meals truck, Base Plate, for warm seize and go meals that is simple to eat outside. “We’re additionally excited to announce a brand new snowcat grill, a cellular eating possibility serving scorching meals at totally different places across the resort with a various location relying on the day,” Kimiecik added.

Takeaway

The author and her husband in Zermatt, Switzerland, final yr earlier than they rushed again to the US amid the raging pandemic.

Stacey Lastoe/CNN

Followers of aprés ski, nonetheless, will wish to handle their expectations or danger being sorely upset. The rowdy, post-drinking get together half and parcel of many a ski journey earlier than coronavirus simply does not exist this yr. It may well’t.

With good planning, nonetheless, you possibly can eat nicely on the mountain if you happen to like — or at your automobile. At Mount Snow, just a few tailgaters had a setup so spectacular, I used to be impressed for a future journey. I by no means did recognize the sticker shock accompanying any on-mountain meals and beverage purchases.

In fact, this outside winter exercise is just not concerning the meals. (Not in Vermont, anyway — for that, I imagine one should enterprise overseas the place snowboarding and eating appear to be of equal significance.)

I am delighted to report that attaining the zen feeling as your skis glide throughout inches of recent, virgin powder is just not solely attainable, it is inevitable, chilly ft and all.