Vail Executive Explains Last Weekend's Long Lift Lines
(CBS4) -- Vail Mountain Chief Operating Officer Beth Howard released a statement Wednesday in an effort to assuage concerns about two-hour waits at the resort's ski lifts last weekend.
"I am well aware that a picture is worth a thousand words," Howard wrote, "but I truly hope my words here help provide context for what happened."
Howard's statement was released on the ski area's Twitter account, ironically the same social media that immediately spread word and imagery of the mass of skiers and snowboarders who gathered in anticipation of dreamy slope conditions.
CBS4's Jamie Leary was among them.
This was INSANE. Sundown Bowl opened later in AM at Vail. Five min of pure joy ⛷ followed by 2 hrs of misery... not sure the people in the end of that line made it up before closing! @CBSDenver @vailmtn #4wx pic.twitter.com/oaC6XdWSWP
— Jamie Leary (@JamieALeary) February 8, 2020
Vail's Howard described the wait as "undeniably long," but said customers began lining up at Gondola One at 6 a.m. -- more than two hours prior to the resort's opening.
"I want to assure you," Howard continued, "that those lines were gone by 10 a.m. on Friday and by 9:15 a.m. on Saturday. That gondola can manage a lot of guests – and once the initial group dissipated, the line was around 5 minutes long the rest of those days."
RELATED Hundreds Wait In Lift Lines At Vail
Howard went on to say that lengthy measures taken toward skier safety in the back bowls also created uncommonly little area open for use in the mornings. Consequently, lines began forming there.
"We considered whether to limit or meter guest access to that terrain," Howard added, "but candidly it was not something we had done before. We also tried to warn guests about the line, but fell way short in our effectiveness – and even when we did, guests tended to ski right past our staff because they wanted to enjoy the untouched powder. To help make up for any guest impacts, we decided to keep the lifts running an additional half-hour."
Howard stated the resort received 38 inches of new snow in a 48-hour period, a top-5 snowfall event in the ski area's 58-year history.
Following nearly 4 ft of snow in the last seven days, we're excited to share Vail Mountain is back to normal operations. We want to express our gratitude for your patience as we've been hard at work to dig out of this storm. It was a big one! Please respect any terrain closures. pic.twitter.com/nP8hllHd4D
— Vail (@vailmtn) February 11, 2020
A weather system capable of bring additional snow to the mountains is expected to roll into Colorado on Monday.