Access will be available to the general public—no Epic Pass necessary

Amidst the near-constant updates related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, here's one from Whistler Blackcomb (WB) that may put a smile on skiers and riders' faces.

WB announced today that it would open designated routes for uphill skiing on both mountains.

The decision was made "over the past couple of days, knowing we'd have a lot of folks wanting to do this," since Vail Resorts announced it was shutting down all of its North American resorts on Saturday, March 14, explained Marc Riddell, Vail Resorts' director of communications West Coast.

"Our goal, as always, is to make sure that people are safe. And so we decided to do this because we felt that operationally, we could still do the work that we need to do and allow this to happen at the same time," he said.

Maps and information about where these designated routes are located are in the process of being posted at the base of each mountain, as well as on the resort's website, according to Riddell. "As you can imagine, there's a lot of moving pieces," he said.

Access will be available to the general public—no Epic Pass or Edge Card necessary.

While skiers are encouraged to travel uphill using proper touring gear and skins, "If [those without touring equipment] want to hike up, that's completely up to them," Riddell said. "They just have to follow the designated routes. But we're not allowing any tobogganing or that sort of activity, just skiing and riding."