Colorado Ski Area Requires All Staff To Be Fully Vaccinated

Arapahoe Basin ski area in Colorado has announced that all staff must be fully vaccinated in order to be able to work there this season.

The resort, one of the world’s highest and often the first non-glacier area in the northern hemisphere to open for the season in late October or early November, says that right now about 90% of our staff are vaccinated.

Its new rules are that of the remaining 10% all will have had to have had their second shot by 2nd November.  New employees will have one week from their start date to begin the vaccination process and six weeks to receive their final shot.

“Managing Arapahoe Basin through the COVID era has been an extraordinary challenge for all of us that work at the resort. From the beginning there was so much uncertainty. Some of our guests felt we were too restrictive in our operations. Others felt we did not do enough. Throughout the past 18 months we have had to follow very stringent operating guidelines from county and state agencies. We were constantly dealing with moving targets. Despite it all, we still provided a fun and energizing place for hundreds of thousands of people to play in the mountains,” said the resort’s COO Alan Henceroth, who added,

“Our intention is to protect the safety and well-being of our employees and guests and to keep our business open, viable and sustainable. By requiring vaccinations, we will reduce the chance of employees transmitting and contracting the disease as well as reduce the amount of business interruption caused by employee absences related to illness and quarantines. This is not a decision we take lightly. We feel strongly that requiring employee vaccinations is our best step forward.”

At the end of last season A Basin organised vaccination by the slopes for skiers with incentives such as free drinks for those who got a jab.