The resort opened for the summer season this past Friday. Given that most of the stuff going on happens outside in spaces where it’s generally easy to stay away from other people, Mr. and I felt okay joining in. Our first step was stopping to pick up our passes, which would turn out to be the most nerve wracking part of the day, as it was inside and there were more people there than I expected. There were lines set up with physical distancing reminders on the floor, but not everyone was paying attention to them, and too many people weren’t masked. We did our best to distance and only took our masks off to get our photos taken for the passes. Apparently we were the first to have new photos taken so the bugs weren’t all worked out with that process, so my photo makes me look a bit like a glowing alien.

Once we got past that step, I relaxed. We walked over to the lift, where they’ve painted distancing markers on the pavement and roped off the lines, which is good, though in the summer the only time there are lines is during festivals and those are all canceled as far as I know. Riding up, we were treated to seeing two bears ambling under the lift. Look closely at the photo below and maybe you can spot them.

At the top, we hiked one of the short trails near the ridge. There was still some snow on it in spots, which was fun to see.

We’d thought about having lunch at the top, since they have outside tables, but decided there were too many people around to make that feel relaxing, so we got back on the lift and rode down. We got takeout from the counter service place in the village and ate that outside before walking home.

Over the next three days, we rode up and hiked twice, skipping Sunday when the weather was blustery and rainy. That rain seems to have washed the air, as views from the top yesterday were really good.

 
I took way more photos on this opening weekend than I shared above; you can see them all on Flickr.