{"id":22679,"date":"2020-05-01T10:33:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-01T16:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skyhinews.com\/news\/outfitters-wary-as-reservations-run-dry\/"},"modified":"2020-05-01T10:33:00","modified_gmt":"2020-05-01T16:33:00","slug":"outfitters-wary-as-reservations-run-dry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/local-news\/outfitters-wary-as-reservations-run-dry\/","title":{"rendered":"Outfitters wary as reservations run dry"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image p402_hide\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"678\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/05\/Outfitters-shn-050120-1-1024x678.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/05\/Outfitters-shn-050120-1-1024x678.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/05\/Outfitters-shn-050120-1-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/05\/Outfitters-shn-050120-1-768x509.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/05\/Outfitters-shn-050120-1-1536x1018.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/05\/Outfitters-shn-050120-1-2048x1357.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><figcaption><strong>Grand County visitors enjoy a guided rafting trip down the Upper Colorado last summer with MAD Adventures. Outfitters are concerned about the upcoming season with lodging bans extended into May.<\/strong><br \/><em>Courtesy MAD Adventures Rafting \/ Tyler Cline<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The west side of Grand County is a summer recreator\u2019s paradise. From rafting to riding, the Kremmling area offers visitors access to world-class ATV trails and Rocky Mountain views.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">As with winter sports, though, summer outfitters rely almost entirely on tourism to keep their businesses afloat. And with short-term lodging bans in Grand County extended to May 26 and Summit County to May 31, the outfitters are seeing few \u2013 if any \u2013 reservations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe generally see the bulk of our reservations come in within one to two weeks of the activity date, however, we also typically have something on the books for every day of the busy season (mid-June to late-August) by now,\u201d said Han Smith, who owns and operates the Rusty Spurr Ranch with his wife, Connie.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cRight now we only have four reservations for the month of June and six for July,\u201d Smith said. \u201cNormally we would expect to have around 25-30 reservations for June and 40-50 for July at this time of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\" readability=\"6\">\n<div class=\"row shn-donation shn-donation-mobile p-0\" readability=\"7\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/02\/shn-logo-2x-wht.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/02\/shn-logo-2x-wht.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\" onclick=\"handleDonationButtonClickMidArticle()\">Donate<\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The Smiths aren\u2019t alone.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cSeason reservations were a bit ahead of average heading into the pandemic, but have been few and far between since the pandemic started,\u201d said Ryan Barwick of MAD Adventures Rafting.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">With multiple access points from Colorado Highway 1 between Kremmling and State Bridge, the Colorado River attracts both seasoned rafters and tourists looking for a taste of whitewater. According to Barwick, the Upper Colorado typically hosts between 35,000 and 50,000 commercial users per season \u2013 making rafting a significant seasonal business in the West Grand community.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Six rafting outfitters maintain permanent residences in Kremmling \u2014 MAD Adventures, Adventures in Whitewater and Liquid Descent all have main street storefronts, and Breckenridge Whitewater, KODI and AVA maintain offices in the area.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Subhead\">Creating a safe environment<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">With their lodging partners not operating, most of the outfitters are focused on how their day-to-day operations will need to change in a post-pandemic world.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThere are plenty of uncertainties around the guidelines we will operate under this summer,\u201d Barwick said. \u201cMAD will operate, (but) there will be some changes from our normal operation. The industry is having conversations with and waiting on some final guidance on those changes and guidelines from the state.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Eric Woog, whose business Alpine Motor Sports, usually rents ATVs to summer visitors, has already decided the state-issued disinfection guidelines and the effort to maintain a COVID-safe environment doesn\u2019t justify continuing that piece of business this summer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cUnfortunately, due to the coronavirus shutdowns, it looks like will not be renting Razors this summer \u2014 at least not without a huge turnaround,\u201d Woog said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The Smiths are looking at their daily operating routines too and considering whether the expense of opening for the summer will outweigh the profit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIs the (tourism) interest going to justify all of the upfront expense to open \u2014 training staff, shoeing horses, renewing work comp, insuring vehicles, liability insurance, marketing expenses like brochure distribution and Google ad campaigns, traveling to referral businesses for promotional purposes, etc.,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Like many other small businesses, the Smiths have applied for a Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loan to help remove some of the financial burden.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cA business like ours has a huge overhead and most of it is paid before any paying customers come through the door,\u201d Smith said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been successful in postponing or delaying most of these expenses until we have more information to make decisions about our season.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">In addition to seeking a loan to retain their key employees, the Smiths are also considering contracting their services to working ranches in the area who need help because of seasonal labor restrictions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">While the state\u2019s recommendations and guidelines remain in flux, the one thing that has remained constant for all of the outfitters is community support.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThe spirit of cooperation and support that we\u2019ve encountered at every turn will provide us with the strength to survive this challenging time,\u201d Smith said. \u201cOur collective attitude has been: Let\u2019s work together to make sure we all survive 2020, and we can get back to business as usual next year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Barwick echoed those sentiments.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt is safe to assume that out-of-state visitation will be down for the summer season,\u201d he said. \u201cMy hope is that Coloradans will still want and be able to go outdoors to recreate with their family, and in doing so, (will) travel Colorado and support our local businesses and workers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyhinews.com\/news\/outfitters-wary-as-reservations-run-dry\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Sky-Hi News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Grand County visitors enjoy a guided rafting trip down the Upper Colorado last summer with MAD Adventures. Outfitters are concerned about the upcoming season with lodging bans extended into May.Courtesy MAD Adventures Rafting \/ Tyler Cline The west side of Grand County is a summer recreator\u2019s paradise. From rafting to riding, the Kremmling area offers [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-22679","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-20 18:43:20","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KRKY Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22679"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22679\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}