As Summit County recently made the transition to ‘red level’ restrictions amid the fight against COVID-19, further capacity limits have been put in place at local resorts. Though the public health order that was signed on November 20 states that Summit County ski areas must work with the local public health agency to “further reduce their daily capacities,” what that means remains a bit up-in-the-air.

While the current public health order in Summit County doesn’t list specific capacity requirements, it does state that new capacity plans are effective as of November 25 – right in time for a long Thanksgiving weekend. This further reduces capacity limits that were previously approved prior to the shift to ‘level red’ restrictions.

Previously, each resort was required to submit a plan to the state for their specific location, rather than follow a blanket rule to be applied across the entire ski industry. While restaurant and gym capacity is addressed directly by the state’s dial system with standardized and stated capacity limits specific to each phase, this is not the case for ski resorts.

While new capacity limits may be in place, specifics about those capacity limits are not being revealed to the public. According to a report from Summit Daily, ski resorts consider specific capacity limits a ‘trade secret’ as visitation data can provide insight into confidential financial information.

It is known that something called a ‘carrying capacity’ was used to determine reduced capacity numbers, though a daily ‘carry capacity’ is not the official maximum number of people that can be on mountain. Throughout the typical season, resorts tend to regularly exceed these numbers on busy days.

Summit County Resorts seem to have daily carrying capacities as follows:

• Breckenridge: 14,920 daily guests (2007 master plan)
• Keystone: 12,110 daily guests (2014 master plan)
• Copper: 11,870 daily guests (2011 master plan)
• Arapahoe Basin: 3,780 daily guests (2012 master plan)

It is unclear how new capacity limits will impact previously made reservations.

Many local ski county residents have expressed concern that allowing resorts to stay open will result in elevated levels of COVID-19 cases. While Coloradans have been asked to avoid seeing all family and friends outside of their own household for the foreseeable future, resorts continue to welcome guests from around the world.

Summit County has taken other noteworthy efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19, including the implementation of strict short-term lodging policies. Most recently, it was announced that people renting at hotels, AirBnbs, and many other lodging options are limited to one household per rental.

As Thanksgiving weekend approaches, Governor Jared Polis continues to urge Coloradans to avoid gatherings amid high numbers of COVID-19 cases and surging hospitalizations.