Copper Mountain and Eldora Announce Operating Plans for the 2020-21 Season

In the wake of continued COVID restrictions, Colorado’s Copper and Eldora ski resorts announced their operating plans for the upcoming winter today. Weather permitting, both resorts will open in late November—Eldora’s opening is planned for November 23, while Copper’s is planned for November 30.

The resorts will require visitors to wear face masks at all times except when seated to eat or drink. Both areas will utilize additional spacing measures to manage physical distancing in lift lines, and with the possible exception of six-pack chairlifts and gondolas, no guests will be required to board with visitors outside their traveling party. Dining facilities will be open with social distancing measures in place and expanded grab-and-go options, but guests are encouraged to bring their own meals.

To limit crowds, parking will be by reservation only, including for season passholders. It’s unclear at this point how the reservation systems will work, but the resorts say they plan to share more details in the coming weeks.

To allow more time for prospective buyers to make a decision in the wake of these announcements, Copper has extended their early-bird season pass price through September 30.

At both resorts, season pass purchasers will be able to request full refunds for any reason before December 10. If the resort is closed for more than 21 total or 7 consecutive days between December 11, 2020 and April 14, 2021, passholders will receive future use vouchers. 2019-20 passholders should have received discount vouchers to renew for 2020-21.

Our Take

We’re glad to see Copper and Eldora confirm they’ll be operating all their terrain and facilities next season in this generally comprehensive plan. Both resorts are owned by the same parent company—Powdr—so it makes sense they essentially share the same policies.

However, it’s unclear how truly practical visiting these mountains will be until the parking reservation system is completely detailed. While there’s no reservation system to use tickets and passes (such as the one announced by Epic last week), it won’t exactly be feasible to travel to either of these remote mountains without the use of a car for many people. Hopefully, the announcement will come by the time Copper’s season pass prices go up.

One major upside, however, is that those able to utilize public transportation or staying onsite at Copper won’t have to worry about reserving spots. It’s also worth noting season passes for both resorts have very strong pass protections, with pre-season refund windows and decent mid-season closure policies.

For more on Copper, see our review here. We haven’t reviewed Eldora yet.