John Scarffe, Eldora. Eldora Mountain Resort, the ski area above Nederland, has been enjoying good snow fall and good attendance numbers during February. Eldora Marketing Director Sam Bass said that on Wednesday night, February 24, 2021, Eldora saw six to eight inches across the mountain, followed by a gorgeous blue-sky day on Thursday. 

“The snow has been absolutely fantastic in February,” Bass said. Eldora was off to a dry start in January, but in February the taps turned on. The resort has a little over 4 feet total. 

“It’s been great,” Bass said. All trails except one small section are open, basically 100 percent, and it’s snowing right now. The Nordic Center is dependent on natural snow, so it didn’t open until after the new year. 

All the snow in February has allowed all the trails to be covered. Eldora Mountain Resort opened the Monday after Thanksgiving and will stay open until April 18, snow dependent.

On Saturday, February 27, Bass was serving as manager on duty. Covid-19 restrictions forced a schedule change for coverage at all times. They had a decent number of people on the slopes that day. 

Eldora is restricting the number of people through parking. They are controlling the number of cars but not controlling the number of people per vehicle. On weekends they keep the numbers lower due to lesson plans and the Ski Club, when in session, so fewer reservations are available. 

It has been a learning experience to reopen during a pandemic, Bass said. It has required a lot of considerations for the health and safety of our guests. 

No one wants to be in a place where there is a Covid outbreak. Eldora is one of the more conservative ski areas in the state in terms of the number of people allowed in. 

They have received a lot of feedback from guests. One woman said she didn’t feel safe going to the grocery store, but she felt safe at Eldora. 

The whole industry was nervous about the governor saying he didn’t want ski areas open, so they are doing everything they can to get open and stay open, Bass said. It’s the same goal every ski area has but Eldora has been successful. 

In the Greater Denver and Boulder area, people are sensible and wear their masks, Bass said. Eldora is a day use only ski area, so they don’t have to fill beds. “We’re pretty local.”

For more information or to make a reservation, go to https://www.eldora.com/ 

(Originally published in the March 4, 2021, edition of The Mountain-Ear.)