Sam Bass, Eldora Mountain Resort. Eldora, the backyard winter playground for Boulder County and Colorado’s Northern Front Range, will open on Monday, November 23, for the 2020-2021 winter season. The ski area has prepared thorough, and adaptable operations plans to meet the challenges of opening and operating during these dynamic times, and its top priority remains the health and safety of its guests, staff, and local community.

“We are skiers and riders at heart here at Eldora,” says Brent Tregaskis, Eldora’s president and general manager. “We believe that being on snow, outdoors, with family and friends, is inherently healthy for our bodies and spirits. We are so excited to welcome our guests back and to work in partnership with them to ensure a full, fun season at this special mountain.”

Eldora refers to its suite of operational changes as “Operation Stay Safe,” and the largest and most obvious component will be its new parking reservation system, which is designed to manage the number of people on property at any given time in order to ensure that everyone is able to maintain appropriate physical distance.

The parking reservation requirement will be in effect all day, every day, this winter. Guests can choose from four different time slots - 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. - and arrive as early as one hour before their chosen slot. While many weekend slots have been booked, the vast majority of weekdays remain open and available, and the mountain plans to release additional parking spots on a limited, ongoing basis.

“Our goal is that guests can ski and ride when they want,” Tregaskis says. “If a day you want is booked, check back often to see if other guests have canceled due to changing plans, or if we’re able to open up more parking.” He recommends signing up for Eldora’s new text-alert system to stay informed of parking inventory releases and other updates. That can be done by texting ELDORA to 64600.

Arriving guests should be advised that only one parking reservation is required per vehicle per day for entry, and guests without reservations will be denied entry if parking is full. Guests who arrive without a reservation on a day when parking is available will be asked to pull over and make a reservation before entering. Parking reservations can be made at Eldora.com/parking.

So that Eldora may effectively manage visitation, vehicles dropping off guests will also need reservations. Guests arriving on RTD’s NB route will not need reservations but should be advised that RTD’s service will be extremely limited this winter due to Covid-19 changes. Bus capacity has been reduced to 20 people per bus, and no back-up buses will be available at scheduled departure times. More info about RTD’s NB route service changes can be found here.

While the parking reservation system is Eldora’s primary mechanism for managing visitation and fostering physical distancing, the mountain’s holistic winter operations plan follows the National Ski Areas Association’s Ski Well, Be Well best practices and guidance from State and County health authorities, and includes the following on-site measures designed to maintain a safe, fun environment.

The requirement for staff and guests to wear facial coverings when indoors, except when seated to eat or drink, and outdoors when six feet of physical distance cannot be maintained.

New protocols for lift queueing and riding to ensure appropriate physical distance.

Encouragement for guests to be prepared to change and dine at their vehicles, given reduced capacity limits in lodges and limited dining and beverage options at resort venues.

Restricted building entry due to capacity constraints required under CDPHE’s “Level Red” designation, available primarily to those who need to use restrooms.

Greatly reduced retail, rental, and dining services.

A continued commitment to uphold the highest standards of sanitization to keep our guests and staff safe.

While natural snowfall has been scant thus far, the mountain has spent more than 300 hours making artificial snow and plans to open with two chairlifts, the Alpenglow high-speed detachable six-person chair, and the Indian Peaks fixed-grip four-person chair, serving early-season conditions on several trails including La Belle, Hornblower to International, and Hornblower to Around the Horn to Lower Ambush.

The mountain also hopes to have a small terrain park available to freestyle skiers and riders but does not expect to have beginner terrain available for at least the first week of operation.

Tregaskis stresses that the Eldora experience will be different this season, much like skiing was in the ‘50s where the focus was on mountain access, the frills were few, and visitors brought their own food and based out of their cars. “Your car is your lodge this winter,” he says. “Think of it as the best place to suit up, boot up, and enjoy a snack or your lunch.”

Above all, Tregaskis wants his guests to know that, along with his staff, they’re all part of a team effort to protect the integrity of the season so everyone can enjoy a safe, full winter of fun on snow.

“We are so proud to be a part of Nederland and the greater Boulder community,” Tregaskis adds. “We recognize that Eldora is an integral part of the local economy, and for that reason we want to get open and stay open all winter long, but we all need to work together to make sure that can happen.”

Guests can buy Eldora passes with confidence knowing they will be covered by the Passholder Promise, which offers in-season 2020/21 Covid-19 coverage and the option for any guest with an unused 2020/21 pass to request and obtain a full refund for any reason before December 10, 2020.

For more about Eldora’s 2020/21 winter season, visit Eldora.com/winter-update.

 ABOUT ELDORA: Eldora is the backyard winter playground for Boulder County, greater Denver, and Colorado’s northern Front Range, located just 21 miles west of Boulder and 49 miles from Denver. From mellow beginner terrain to thrilling steeps and glades, Eldora offers fun for every type of skier and rider. With its combination of proximity, fantastic learning trails, low-key family-friendly vibe, and lesson programs for kids and adults, Eldora is known widely as Colorado’s best place to learn. Eldora is part of the POWDR adventure lifestyle portfolio. For more, including information on Eldora’s new parking-reservation system and other aspects of the 20/21 Winter Experience plan, visit Eldora.com.