Alta Releases 2020-21 Season Details, Will Limit Capacity Through First-Come, First-Serve Parking
Earlier today, Alta announced their operating plan for the COVID-era 2020-21 season. This skiers-only resort plans to open on November 21, 2020.
Alta will run all of its lifts next season, and guests will be allowed to load only with those in their party. Singles lines will be eliminated. Many dining facilities will remain open, but indoor restaurants will operate with limited capacity. Collins Grill will stay closed next season, but the resort will add a food truck to the Wildcat parking lot. In addition, Alf’s Restaurant will gain more dining space and an outdoor coffee shop.
The resort says it will use parking capacity to manage crowds on the mountain. Weather, snowpack, terrain, and indoor capacity will determine how many spots the resort keeps open on any given day, and spots will be first-come, first-serve. At this point, it looks like passholders will not need to make reservations to access the mountain. However, there’s been no official word, including for Ikon and Mountain Collective passholders. The resort says it plans to limit offsite ticket sales as well.
Alta season passes come with pass assurance that allows for full, no-questions-asked refunds until December 31, 2020. Those who purchased Alta-Bird passes will only have until December 1, 2020 for a refund. The resort says that renewing passholders are eligible for renewal discounts and should have received coupon codes via email in June. An unlimited adult season pass is currently $1,299, while an adult Alta-Bird pass is $2,099.
Our Take
Alta follows in the footsteps of multiple resorts with similar COVID-era lift and dining capacity policies. Compared to many other destination resorts, access restrictions seem to be less stringent.
The first-come/first-serve system for parking could prove to be a mess, however. Traffic on the Little Cottonwood Canyon access road can be overwhelming during a normal season, and with more limited parking than usual and no specified restrictions to onsite lift ticket sales, it’s possible we could see those trying to secure resort access during peak mornings causing mind-numbing backups. General travel restrictions around North America and neighboring Snowbird’s parking reservation policy may help with traffic, although it remains to be seen what happens.
Alta’s season pass assurance offers pretty okay protections, and the refund period extends a few weeks into the season. But there’s no mid-season deferment or refund policy based on days closed, making it risky to keep this pass past the final refund date if COVID is still a factor. Nearby Snowbird offers better safeguards.
For planned resort operations across other North American resorts, check out our comprehensive guide on policies for the 2020-21 season here.
