New Jersey’s three ski resorts were expecting the pandemic to keep customers away when the ski season started. However, due to a combination of record snowfall, travel restrictions to other areas, and a weekday surge from customers working and schooling at home, business is booming. Though these ski areas are operating with 50% outdoor and 25% indoor capacity restrictions on weekends, the mid-week surge is more than making up for it.
More People Outdoors
The same increasing focus on outdoor activities that made bicycles, rollerblades and other outdoor gear hard to find last year is impacting this year’s ski season in a good way. The abundance of snow isn’t hurting either. Last season saw only two inches of natural snow falling. This seasons storms have brought a sigh of relief to skiers looking to hit the slopes.
Too Much of a Good Thing
The increased traffic combined with the capacity restrictions means that lift lines of 20 minutes or longer are common. There are also longer lines for equipment rentals due to social distancing and limiting the number of people allowed indoors at one time. Finding a place to park has become more challenging as plowed snow takes over spots around the perimeter of parking areas. At the end of the day, for most, optimum conditions combined with the desire to get outdoors are keeping visitors coming and that’s welcome news to the state’s three resorts.
Source: nj.com
