Skiing and Covid-19 masks

[old goat]

The rule I'm seeing is at least one open seat between strangers, but you can ride solo if you want. Very few people are riding solo but I don't see the ones that do getting any grief. My personal rule if things are busy is 2 open seats, solo if things aren't too busy.
I did have one guy who cut a long line, refused to wear a mask, and hop on a quad right next to me--no open seat--at the last second. I had the lift op stop the chair and I hopped off. Everyone in line was screaming at the guy for being an asshole. I was hoping patrol would be waiting for him up top but no such luck,

Things are getting organized--a line for singles if you're willing to share a chair. If you want to ride solo you get in the regular line. I imagine things will start breaking down as it gets busier, pow days. No weekends or gondolas for me.

[glademaster]

I think the OR masks are great for skiing. I've yet to have goggle fogging issues, even on snowy days. I put it on before I put my helmet on, and don't touch it again until I'm back to the car and have sanitized my hands. On cold/snowy days it does get frozen to my face, but who gives a shit, skiing is a winter sport. I have no trouble breathing through it, even while skiing bumps/hiking/side stepping.

ETA: I don't personally think it's necessary to keep one on while you're actually skiing, but with an ear-loop mask and a helmet, taking it on and off each run is more of a pain in the ass than just setting and forgetting it.

[NakedShorts]

While I have changed my general "public" approach to life I am mostly "unafraid" of covid at the MTN. (I will only be venturing into a lodge to drop the kids at the pool (This will not be an issue) - but my wife does pee in them). Been packing lunch since I was to poor to buy the food. Now I'm just $mart. Worst case is PBJs it only a lunch. I do carry PBJ and Water already on powdays b/c I'm that guy.

I will share a chair but only with prior approval / confirmation. And extra butt space is good. I will also leave my NG up. I have and will ski with Friends. We leave a little room. Probably all ride a Triple if 3 of us.

I have been playing Golf multiple times per month if not a week with others(Stranger Danger).

I don't ski with the mask up unless the weather calls for it.

#someofyallaffraidofthebogieman though and I am not saying we should not be virus diligent, I am saying ALL of the activities associated with just leaving my house and arriving and skiing and returning home pose a significantly higher degree of actual RISK than covid. The hospital situation is mindbending enough to even need to go there in the first place b/c that's where #covid is.

It sucks. I have fundamentally altered my life. My ski mask is not saving anything.

[Mustonen]

Things are getting organized--a line for singles if you're willing to share a chair. If you want to ride solo you get in the regular line. I imagine things will start breaking down as it gets busier, pow days. No weekends or gondolas for me.

I think that will be the trick: organized into habit or devolves due to lack of sustained follow-through. Spending part of my patrol shift as mask police in the lift line isn’t fun, but largely settled out later in the day as everybody except the fucking middle schoolers figured it out.

While I have changed my general "public" approach to life I am mostly "unafraid" of covid at the MTN. (I will only be venturing into a lodge to drop the kids at the pool (This will not be an issue) - but my wife does pee in them). Been packing lunch since I was to poor to buy the food. Now I'm just $mart. Worst case is PBJs it only a lunch. I do carry PBJ and Water already on powdays b/c I'm that guy.

I will share a chair but only with prior approval / confirmation. And extra butt space is good. I will also leave my NG up. I have and will ski with Friends. We leave a little room. Probably all ride a Triple if 3 of us.

I have been playing Golf multiple times per month if not a week with others(Stranger Danger).

I don't ski with the mask up unless the weather calls for it.

#someofyallaffraidofthebogieman though and I am not saying we should not be virus diligent, I am saying ALL of the activities associated with just leaving my house and arriving and skiing and returning home pose a significantly higher degree of actual RISK than covid. The hospital situation is mindbending enough to even need to go there in the first place b/c that's where #covid is.

It sucks. I have fundamentally altered my life. My ski mask is not saving anything.

Risk tolerance is an ongoing topic with patrol crew, and it was even brought up regarding having some kind of signal or indicator for whether somebody was comfortable sharing a chair, etc.

There is a disconnect in that line of thinking, though: I can sign a waiver for me and even my kids, but I can’t sign a waiver for all the other people I and they will come into contact with, potentially while a vector of asymptomatic spread. Forget the non-zero economic cost shared by my community if I do have severe symptoms. Point being, it’s a community decision, not a me decision.

[old goat]

While I have changed my general "public" approach to life I am mostly "unafraid" of covid at the MTN. (I will only be venturing into a lodge to drop the kids at the pool (This will not be an issue) - but my wife does pee in them). Been packing lunch since I was to poor to buy the food. Now I'm just $mart. Worst case is PBJs it only a lunch. I do carry PBJ and Water already on powdays b/c I'm that guy.

I will share a chair but only with prior approval / confirmation. And extra butt space is good. I will also leave my NG up. I have and will ski with Friends. We leave a little room. Probably all ride a Triple if 3 of us.

I have been playing Golf multiple times per month if not a week with others(Stranger Danger).

I don't ski with the mask up unless the weather calls for it.

#someofyallaffraidofthebogieman though and I am not saying we should not be virus diligent, I am saying ALL of the activities associated with just leaving my house and arriving and skiing and returning home pose a significantly higher degree of actual RISK than covid. The hospital situation is mindbending enough to even need to go there in the first place b/c that's where #covid is.

It sucks. I have fundamentally altered my life. My ski mask is not saving anything.

Covid deaths are about 10 times yearly auto fatalities in the US.

[JKnight]

#someofyallaffraidofthebogieman though and I am not saying we should not be virus diligent, I am saying covid AND all of the activities associated with just leaving my house and arriving and skiing and returning home pose a significant risk. The hospital situation is mindbending enough to even need to go there in the first place b/c that's where #covid is.

It sucks. I have fundamentally altered my life. My ski mask is not saving anything.

Fify.

It's a good time to check the fatigue. We're in a race between vaccinations and the variant. Then factor the folks that are over it and have let their guard down, the ones in denial, the antagonistic brainwashed shitbags. Don't kid yourself, it's mid winter and avy danger is considerable. The anxiety sucks, but I'd happily take it back in exchange for dealing with this illness and the anger as more friends and family get sick. Numbers come up, but imo being vigilant and doing what you can, limits fear by reducing the odds of getting sick/exposing others.

Edit to add: The FOG's at Solitude suck. They hassled a buddy in a line who was just giving some other folks space. And it wasn't an isolated incident as they are racking up the complaints.

[406]

Another vote for OR Lightweight Ubertube. Got one based on this thread, have only done 1 resort day but very happy. Left it on all day other then eat, drink. 30 and snowing, so it got a little wet, but no goggle fog.

[TBS]

I think the OR masks are great for skiing. I've yet to have goggle fogging issues, even on snowy days. I put it on before I put my helmet on, and don't touch it again until I'm back to the car and have sanitized my hands. On cold/snowy days it does get frozen to my face, but who gives a shit, skiing is a winter sport. I have no trouble breathing through it, even while skiing bumps/hiking/side stepping.

ETA: I don't personally think it's necessary to keep one on while you're actually skiing, but with an ear-loop mask and a helmet, taking it on and off each run is more of a pain in the ass than just setting and forgetting it.

Are you using the paper filter in yours?
I gave up because they got soaked in about 30 min.

Not clear to me whether a soaked paper barrier between face and the world is a good thing or a bad thing. And it sorta feels like the moisture in the filter makes it harder to breathe. But maybe that’s a psychological issue for me...

[glademaster]

I'm not using the filters in mine when I ski. I know they probably aren't terribly protective that way, but for something active like skiing, it's a trade-off. Fortunately I've been more or less skiing onto the lift every day I've been out this season, and I boot up at my car/pee in the woods/don't go indoors when I'm at the ski hill.

I use the OR ones for daily wear, and in those instances, I always use them with the filter.

[Hood26]

Not clear to me whether a soaked paper barrier between face and the world is a good thing or a bad thing. And it sorta feels like the moisture in the filter makes it harder to breathe. But maybe that’s a psychological issue for me...

N95s and surgical masks become ineffective when wet, so I would bet the same is true for the paper filter.

[TBS]

Yup, that was my guess too.

At this point my first line of defense is distancing. As Plake sang,
“Like a good neighbor, stay over there...”

[Lvovsky]

[bodywhomper]

So that MIT/Alta study that stated that shoulder to shoulder on a lift all wearing masks was not a risk for getting covid if one passengers is positive and asymptomatic.... anybody have thoughts on that?

[Danno]

Link?

[old goat]

So that MIT/Alta study that stated that shoulder to shoulder on a lift all wearing masks was not a risk for getting covid if one passengers is positive and asymptomatic.... anybody have thoughts on that?

The only source I found was a newspaper article, without much detail on how the study was done. It sounds like there was no actual experimental work done, like trying to create an experimental model and measure actual particles of a certain size. I think what they did is calculate exposure from things like particle size, estimated air movement, number of particles under various scenarios. So a lot of math without any experimental confirmation. It worked for Einstein. I don't know about MIT. Personally I wouldn't want to ride a lift shoulder to shoulder with anyone other than my wife, but that's my gut feeling, which I suppose is less valid than MIT's method.
(At Alpine Meadows they're sometimes loading 4 strangers on a 6 person chair which means not even one full empty space between each 2 people. You can decline. I do.)

The big message from the study I think is that people should shut up.

https://www.sltrib.com/sports/2020/1...r-calls-quiet/

[Danno]

If the chair is running I suspect it would be safe. But if the chair broke down for any length of time, that would make me very uncomfortable. The other thing is, what if the guy next to you pulls his mask down, or keeps looking at you and talking loudly, or whatever. It's not like you can walk away.

[bodywhomper]

The only other thing that I’ve seen is the YouTube link in the article where they present to the town council. I have seen a scientific paper yet. When this first came out, it was discussed a bit in the main covid thread.

It looks like Lindsey Marr has posted about this, barely.

https://mobile.twitter.com/linseymar...15618863607809

[glademaster]

So that MIT/Alta study that stated that shoulder to shoulder on a lift all wearing masks was not a risk for getting covid if one passengers is positive and asymptomatic.... anybody have thoughts on that?

Do you miss having your personal space invaded by a stranger for 10+ minutes at a time every 4 minutes? Why would you even ask this?

The ability to ride solo when you want this year has been the biggest upside to this whole COVID shitstorm. It's something I'm going to be really sad to see go away eventually when things get back to normal, so don't rush it.

[skifishbum]

i missed the pic
but the lifty standing at the top shack with the
all we ask is pull
up yur mask
sign
seemed like a pretty good dont be the reason we end the season
message

[utagonian]

Tried my new Shema97 mask yesterday. It was cool and easy to breath with. Never wanted to pull it down, even when hiking or skiing bumps. I did get a few looks but whatever.

[bodywhomper]

Do you miss having your personal space invaded by a stranger for 10+ minutes at a time every 4 minutes? Why would you even ask this?

The ability to ride solo when you want this year has been the biggest upside to this whole COVID shitstorm. It's something I'm going to be really sad to see go away eventually when things get back to normal, so don't rush it.

i like to ride the chair with friends. So do my kids. None of our friends are in a “bubble/pod” with us. I thought the study had interesting results. I could not find real details about the study nor any critical review of it. Thus, I was asking.

[~mikey b]

[CnRzG]

Yup, that was my guess too.

At this point my first line of defense is distancing. As Plake sang,
“Like a good neighbor, stay over there...”

That's a Glen Plake quote, eh?

[bendtheski]

Seirus Evo Arc Dynamax Dana first and 2nd impression

HeiQ V-Block anti-microbial fabric over the nose/mouth area, which doesn’t absorb moisture, so no water-boarding effect. Overall breathes better than their Neofleece combo scarf, even without perforations, and the Arc rib top to bottom creates a little airspace between nose/mouth and the inside of the mask, making breathing easier, and speech less muffled. Velcro attachment at back of neck is much more comfortable than an earloop mask under a helmet. Goggle fogging was minimal at around 10-15F, so should be good across the board.

Way more comfortable and less fogging issues than a Buff. $30 seems pretty reasonable after seeing some shortcomings with neck tubes.

Cons: will drop on your face without goggles. Smells like a patched inner-tube out of the box, and feels a little more like breathable rubber than fabric on the face.

Sure not one of my more exciting gear purchases, but very functional. 4-star rating. Would probably be a 5 for the balaclava version; this one will work its way down if goggles aren’t holding it in place. I just like having the option of no head cover under the helmet on warmer days. YMMV.

Might pick up a mask with no gator for around town.

https://www.seirus.com/evo-arc-dynamax-dana


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[Nobody Famous]

Based on the mentions on here I bought an OR lightweight ubertube mask. Tried it today. It is lightweight and the ear straps hold it up really well. You almost forget you're wearing it.

I have been using an OR Adrenaline Sports face mask and I like that better than the ubertube. The Adrenaline Sports has a closer fit around the nose and upper cheeks for me vs. the ubertube. I can tell a lot less exhaled air, and presumably inhaled air, goes through the gap between mask and face using the adrenaline sports.