SANDPOINT — Schweitzer Mountain Resort is proceeding with winter season plans like a skier or snowboarder descending the White Lightning trail under blinding overcast skies, a foot of new powder and a scouring headwind — with deliberation but caution.

"Our capacity is going to be pretty conservative," resort CEO Tom Chasse said during a winter operations briefing during a Sandpoint Rotary Club meeting on Wednesday.

Facial coverings will be required of all staff when social distancing cannot be accomplished and guests will be asked to don face coverings in indoor spaces until they're seated at a table.

Season pass holders will be issued Buffs, multifunctional headwear which can serve as headbands, but will be encouraged for use as facial masks. It was also revealed on Wednesday that the coronavirus restrictions will favor the resort's season pass holders, who have shown demonstrable loyalty to the resort.

"They're committed to us," said Chasse.

Chasse candidly admitted that there is concern that an outbreak could bring an early end to the season.

"Our biggest fear is that we'll have a significant outbreak," he said.

The resort's staff of 65 lift operators, for instance, use a cramped locker room where an outbreak could take hold and sideline the whole crew.

Employees will have their temperatures checked when reporting for duty on a daily basis and will be asked questions to help determine if they've been exposed to the virus.

The resort will be offering a limited number of date-specific day lift tickets, which will become available on Nov. 9, to ease crowding on the slopes.

Seating in the Lakeview Lodge will be reduced by 30 percent and guests will be encouraged to grab nourishment and warm themselves quickly. Camping out at tables in the lodge, meanwhile, will be discouraged due to the reduction in seating.

Social distancing will be practiced in restrooms and locker rooms, although the resort is recommending that people's vehicles be used to lace up snowboard boots or clamp down alpine boot bales.

"Our biggest concern is indoor spaces," said Chasse.

Chasse said the resort is playing up the resort's outdoor charms during the novel coronavirus pandemic. To that end, the resort conducted 350 acres of tree thinning around the Stella lift.

"The outdoor experience, you will see, hasn't changed," Chasse said.

After Wednesday's Rotary meeting, Chasse said it's anticipated that the daily lift ticket limitations will affect only 15 days of the season and are not expected to impact season pass holders since they're used form the baseline for crowd capacity on the mountain.

"If we think we can manage a larger crowd as we get into the season we can add date specific tickets at any time. I doubt that we’ll have any midweek days (excluding the holidays) where we’ll limit sales. I believe that we’ll see a shift to more midweek visitors throughout the season," Chasse said.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com or followed on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.