Picto Diary 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 March 2020 - DV tries to come to grips with Covid-19
Above: (65) Looking east from Evergreen. Deer Valley 10 March 2020.
Glorious. Crisp. Clean.
Pre Break:
Silver Link
Stein's Way 2x
Evergreen 2x
Reward 2x
Birdseye
Bandana
Post Break:
Walker
Magnet 5x
Orion
Supreme
Hidden Treasure
Crown Point Access
Kimberly/Big Stick
Total Runs: 20
30 minute break
Start 9:00 AM
Finish 12:30 PM
Greeted on the Mountain: Indiana and The Actuary.
Above: Deer Valley Bishop's Office. Deer Valley. 10 March 2020.
Social distancing.
Above: (66) Mayflower Lift. Deer Valley. 11 March 2020.
Only me, myself, and I. Seeking social separation between handwashing sessions.
Pre Break:
Silver Link
Steins Way/Star
Edgar's Alley/Stein's Way
Keno
Nabob
Legal Tender
Birdseye
Peeler
Bandana
Post break:
Walker
Dakota
Orion 4x
Supreme
Hidden Treasure
Three Ply
Crown Point Access
Kimberly/Roamer/Big Stick
Total runs: 20
Heard on the chair:
Retired SLC doc (male): Curious about my new Stockli Laser AX '78's. He was skiing Kastle MX '84's. He had tested the Stockli's at Gstaad earlier this year but thot the spoons of his Kastle '84's were firmer. He listed about ten brands of skis he owned and used for varying snow conditions.
Retired, sixty five something, engineer from Heber (male): Transplant from Denver. Like , me, skis daily. Stays on Bald for the entire morning. He reminded me that we rode the Sultan together, yesterday. Says his asthma renders him at 50% breathing capacity. I told him that you wouldn't know it by his last speedy non stop descent of Nabob. Says, because of medication he's taking for his asthma condition, his immune system is compromised. He's worried about Covid-19. His son in Texas has told him to cancel his trip there.
AZ raised college kid (male) Freshman at Arizona State in Tempe. Studying Business Management. Staying at grandparents condo at Deer Valley. He'd never heard of Snow Bowl or Mt. Lemon. Talk about geographical/spatial awareness compromised!
Beverly Hills, CA Hotel Manager (female): Due Covid-19 our bookings are off 30%. Our full time employees are now on 4 day work weeks. We preparing for three day work weeks. Covid-19 is devastating the travel industry...airlines, Uber drivers yada.
Philadelphia, Penn grad, veterinarian, 50 something mom, riding lift with 21 year old son, senior at Bucknell. Told her TIMDT had ceased skiing following an ACL tear. She said she wasn't surprised. Women are more careful than men about risking injury to their bodies.
Above: Stein's Way. Deer Valley. 11 March 2020.
Looking ENE while practicing social separation.
Above: (67) Stockli skis. Mayflower Lift. Deer Valley, UT 12 March 2020.
Following the sun, pre-break:
Silver Link
Tycoon. (hard as a rock, irregular first grooming)
Stein's Way/Star
Stein's Way
North Star/Birds Eye
Star Gazer
Hawkeye
Dakota
Supreme
Post break:
Walker
Dakota
Orion (mushy lower face)
Hidden Treasure 2x
Sterling Access
North Star/Birdseye
Nabob
Kimberly/Roamer/Big Stick
Solid Muldoon
Total runs: 20
On the Mountain::
Empire Lift: Retired financial services executive (male) skiing alone because his wife said he was annoying her. We had a lot in common, each having had NYC and Tokyo business assignments.
Empire Lift: Stamford, CT millenial (male) skiing for the first time in the West. Said he didn't know, after this experience, whether he would ever go skiing in the East again.
Flats entering Hidden Treasure: At 10 mph Bishop's right ski hits a groove and pushes inward. Bishop goes down. Slightly sore torso, but, Bishop gets up and skis on.
Empire Lodge. In for pit stop and coffee break in my near empty "office." Young woman DV employee was conspicuously wiping door.handles and surfaces with sanitary wipes. I found this encouraging.
Ruby Lift: Bishop encounters Tom, friend of Jim and Mrs. Driggs. Tom says another Utah Jazz figure has been diagnosed with Covid-19.
Apropos Covid-19. Risk remains low to get infected, and low, if infected, to die from Covid-19. Notwithstanding, it appears that total numbers of infected will be higher than flu, given that asymptomatic individuals can carry, and disseminate, the virus. Italy is instructive. There, numbers of infected, though still a small percentage of the total population, are much larger than a typical flu outbreak, and are overwhelming health care capacity.
It seems wise to attempt to avoid an "Italy" in the US. The president's much criticized ban on China to US travel in January has saved American lives. The recently declared temporary travel ban from highly infected Europe will also save American lives.
Public health authorities, fearing an "Italy," have issued guidelines to mitigate risk of contagion.
I have cancelled this weeks LSDM speaker sessions at Wasatch Bagel.
TIMDT and Mwah (sic) have cancelled non critical medical appointments, are not eating out, are washing hands frequently, avoiding touching "germy" surfaces, and are trying to learn to avoid face touching.
I have not stopped skiing. While skiing I am mostly outdoors, wearing gloves, and avoiding full lift chairs. Never, while skiing, am I in close quarters with a large groups of people. Overall attendance at resort is consistent with non holiday ski day.
I suppose I could mitigate risk further by staying home, but I feel the benefits of staying fit, while being cautious, seem in proper balance. Knock on wood. — at Deer Valley Resort.
Above: The Market File image. Park City, UT. 13 March 2020.
Social distancing in wake of county directive re Covid 19 to socially distance. . Bishop grocery shopping...two other customers. 6:00 AM to 6:30 AM (file image). TP and wipes shelves MT. — at The Market at Park City.
Above (68). Canida at "buffet" bar. Snow Park Lodge.
Deer Valley ups disease prevention game. Impressive response to mitigate contagion.
Kanida, from Jamaica, now serves at what once was buffet breakfast bar. All employees wearing gloves. Sanitary wipes ubiquitous. All hot meals served with utensils. No longer can you pick utensils up yourself. Not a lot of people here, notwithstanding. Social distancing, for better or worse, comes easily here.
For a number of reasons, including today's Snow Park restaurant hygiene precautions, I've been very impressed about how DV management is running this resort. The interaction I have had with parking, ski storage, lift operations, ski patrol, and food service has been first class. The grooming quality is great and the grooming selections are better than ever. Keep up the great work, Deer Valley.
Pre break: (INAZONE)
Silver Link
Tycoon
Stein's Way
Wizard
Nabob
Birdseye
Star Gazer
Bandana
Orion/Solace/Supreme
Post Break:
Walker
Dakota
Orion 2x
Dakota
Supreme
Hidden Treasure
Wasatch Access
Nabob
Kimberly/Navagator/Deer Hollow
Silver Hill
Fairview/Gnat's Eye/Little Stick
Total: 20 runs. Bad news: high overcast; flat light. Good news: Snow held up well.
INAZONE !!!! 20 runs last three days running.
Above (69) Bishop's office. Empire Lodge. Deer Valley.
Number of tables in Bishop's Office cut in half to enforce social distancing re Covid-19 outbreak.
B1b sheds his parka. Spaced tables. 1/3 tables compared to yesterday. Social distancing.
No buffet food available. All food and drinks received from server. Hand sanitizer multiple locations.
Outside, no lift singles line. Lifties have stopped filling chairs other than with groups, two to four, who have self selected. A single will be sent up alone on a chair with three empty seats.
Goes without saying that new lift procedures slow the lift line. However, with today's low crowds, new lift procedures, other than Northside, weren't too inconveniencing.
Deer Valley steps to reduce contagion risk impressive.
Skied the AM with Kessler, Grrr, FeeBee, B1b. Snow falling with three or four "heavy" inches on top of grooming to push around. Low visibility, frequent fog. For me, huff, puff skiing. A good work out. A good family, outdoor experience.
— at Deer Valley Resort
Above: Park City Mountain (file image) 14 March 2020.
Today was the last day of skiing at Park City Mountain for a week. Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz says: “All of Vail Resorts’ North American mountain resorts and retail stores will suspend operations beginning Sunday, March 15, 2020 through Sunday, March 22, 2020 and will use that time to reassess our approach for the rest of the season.” https://www.kpcw.org/post/vail-announces-one-week-closure-resorts-starting-sunday-march-15
Addendum:
Sounds so good for you. I feel my 40 lb. loss on the courts, you on the slopes. I may take the skiing up seriously next year. Having said that, I doubt I will be able to compete with you. Had trouble on the greens with Cake. But, still was fun. First time in about five years.
Tennis,
Park City, UT
Nice photo’s ; did you buy a new bike ?
mr. z3,
Oxnard, CA
Same old Duc.
I love Sam Bush's music!
Drummer J,
Lehi, UT