How Skiing Through a Pandemic Can Create a Community Crisis

The snowboarder was airlifted to a hospital in Grand Junction, Colo., Anderson said, and was expected to be occupying a bed in the intensive care unit for quite a while.

“What happens in two weeks when people need all those beds for people dying from Covid-19?” Anderson said, referring to the disease caused by the virus. “What happens when that person gets Covid from being in the hospital? This is an unbelievably unprecedented time. We have to think more responsibly.”

A Colorado stay-at-home order, which went into effect on Thursday, does not prohibit activity on the state’s mountains. But on Friday, Gov. Jared Polis held a news conference to clarify the order and strongly discouraged traveling to the mountains for exercise.

“It is not a competition to see what you can get away with,” said Polis, who had ordered the resorts to close on March 15.

“If you need to recreate and you love our outdoors,” he added, “do it in communities close to your home. This pandemic is not a vacation. It’s not the time to drive two or three hours from Denver to mountain communities, many of which are reeling from the crisis.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/29/sports/skiing/coronavirus-skiers-avalanche-warning.html