While you won’t have to be vaccinated to ski or snowboard at Sun Peaks Resort, staff say they will be following all of the COVID-19 public health orders this winter.

Chief Marketing Officer, Aidan Kelly, though says people will need to wear masks in all indoor public spaces as well as show their proof of vaccine if they want to eat in restaurants at the Resort.

“So we have it all laid out in a pretty information page on our website,” he said. “There is a COVID policies and procedures page and that gives all the information.”

“Obviously, we have full plans in place to follow all of the provincial health orders and all the areas that require proof of vaccination and the main thing is the dining facilities, the restaurants and things of that nature, and all of the indoor facilities with your mask mandate.”

Kelly also says all employees and volunteers at Sun Peaks Resort and the Sun Peaks Grand Hotel will be fully vaccinated in a bid to keep guests, employees, and the local community safe.

“[We] recognize that full vaccination against COVID-19 greatly reduces both the spread of the virus and the risk of serious illness or death as a result of contracting the virus,” the Resort said, in a statement. “Given the very focus of our industry is in hospitality and we welcome guests from many different places each year, our number one priority this season is to keep everyone safe while maintaining our operations.”

Other B.C. ski resorts like Grouse Mountain, Whistler Blackcomb, and Big White Ski Resort have also brought in vaccine mandates for their employees.

“According to BC’s Provincial Health Office, a person is considered fully vaccinated after two weeks has passed since their second Health Canada approved vaccine dose,” Big White said on its website.

“New and existing employees, as well as volunteers, will be required to show record of vaccination to Big White Ski Resort’s human resources department.”

Meanwhile, the Resorts of the Canadian Rockies (RCR) announced on Monday that all guests will have to show their proof of vaccination before they can get on the mountain at Fernie Alpine Resort, Kimberley Ski Resort, and Kicking Horse Mountain Resort as well as Nakiska Ski Area in Alberta, and Mont-Sainte-Anne and Stoneham Mountain Resort near Quebec City.

“This decision has been made with the goal of providing you, our guests, our staff, and our resort communities with the safest environment possible,” the company said, in a statement.

“Medical or religious exemptions will be considered; however, requests must be submitted four weeks before the date of your resort visit. Exemptions will only be approved if RCR believes that we can ensure the safety of other guests and staff.”

On Friday, Revelstoke Mountain Resort also announced that all guests aged over the age of 12 will have to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 if they want to ski or snowboard.

“In addition to keeping everyone safe, we also want to keep lift wait times as short as possible. Given the enclosed nature of the Revelation Gondola, proof of a COVID-19 Immunization Record will be required to access all facilities at Revelstoke Mountain Resort, including the gondola and chairlifts,” a statement said.

“Our intention is to operate all lifts at full capacity this winter to maximize everyone’s time on the slopes.”

For now though, Kelly adds Sun Peaks Resort isn’t requiring that people be vaccinated if they are only looking at buying lift tickets to go skiing or snowboarding.

“As we saw last winter, outdoor recreation in the mountains was relatively safe so in terms of buying your lift tickets and getting on the chairlift and going skiing, that’s kind of business as usual for now and we’re hoping that that leads to a successful winter,” he said.

Last month, Kelly told NL News he is managing his expectations ahead of the upcoming ski season, which gets underway on Nov. 20.