Black Hills ski resort prepares for 2020-21 season

BLACK HILLS, S.D. (KEVN) - Step outside, and mother nature has tricked us into thinking it’s winter rather than fall. And winter weather means a switch from biking and kayaking to snowmobiling and skiing.

“We’re excited that we’re here at the ski area because we can offer natural social distancing on the slopes. You can definitely stay six feet apart from one another when you’re skiing or snowboarding,” said Linda Derosier, Terry Peak’s marketing director.

Terry Peak Ski Area closed the slopes 10 days early back in March. Luckily for this business, their season was almost done, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t disappointing.

“We mainly closed due to public outcry, I guess is how I would have to put it,” said Derosier. “But we still felt like we were a very safe place to be up here at Terry Peak with natural social distancing on the slopes, so we were kind of sad to have to close early last season.”

The 2020-21 season is set to begin around the first weekend of December, with new guidelines to keep those hitting the “powder” healthy.

“Each department is going to be asked to maintain more sanitizing measures in each of their departments,” said Derosier. “We’ve got our signage that’s coming. We’re asking people to not bring coolers or gear bags into our lodges because the space in our lodges has got to be for people to maintain distance.”

The ski resort also requires masks in all of their buildings. Despite all the changes and challenges of 2020, Derosier said the staff is optimistic.

“It’s really hard to know what’s going to happen,” said Derosier. “None of us have a crystal ball. We really can’t see what the future holds, but it looks like outdoor recreation is booming, and I would assume that skiing and snowboarding would definitely be in that boom as well.”

If everything goes as planned, the ski resort’s opening weekend should be Dec. 4-6.

Copyright 2020 KEVN. All rights reserved.