I went to Squaw right before Christmas (12/19-12/24) since my Hawaiian vacation ended up getting nixed due to delayed test results. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with both the resort and guests are handling COVID. It also wasn't very crowded at all, which will likely change as the season progresses. Besides the mediocre snow that we're getting so far, I felt that this hasn't been too different from a normal ski day any other year.

- where did you go?
Squaw Valley & Alpine Meadows

- rental process/queue
Own skis

- lift queue
Not bad, no more than 10 minute waits even though not a lot of lifts are open right now. Lines looked longer than usual because the were more horizontally spaced out. E.g. if there were normally 6 lanes merging, there were only 3 now. I think the stay at home order (which we ignored due to how ridiculous it is) is keeping a lot of people away. We avoided the enclosed gondola and tram, opting for only chairlifts. You ride with your party, but they may ask if you can "adopt" a single rider, keeping one seat in between. You're free to decline, and nobody gives you any pressure. It helps that Squaw has a bunch of 6-person lifts and not just quads. Singles can opt to form a party of 1 in the main line (to avoid riding with anyone else) or join the "mixed singles" line.

- bathroom situation
Windows open, very clean, manual soap pumps replaced with touchless dispensers. Capacity was never an issue - seemed like there were never more than 3-4 people at a time in huge bathrooms that could accommodate 20+.

- cafeteria
Outdoor vending and seating only. Tables at the mid-mountain lodge quite spaced out.

- did you take lunch break, or avoid cafeteria?
Even before COVID, I would always pack lunch in order to save money and time. Plenty of space in the trees to sit, relax, enjoy the view, and eat a sandwich.

- shuttle bus to resort
N/A - stayed within a 10 min walk to the lifts to avoid shuttles

- were people compliant with masks / social distance?
Almost 100% mask compliance in line, and employees in the lines had megaphones calling people out to put on their masks correctly (above the nose). Most people were even wearing masks while skiing downhill, which isn't required. Technically, Squaw requires "multi-layer masks", so single-layer neck gaiters / balaclavas would not qualify. But practically, that's impossible to enforce, so any sort of face covering worked. I just wore a normal blue medical mask, and it was surprisingly quite comfortable. I was worried about it getting wet from sweat / condensation, but it all evaporated while on the lifts.

- anything else that was different from a normal year?
Lodging - although hotels are supposed to be open to "essential workers", I called several up and they said that they have "no way of verifying if we're essential workers" and to just "come with in-state ID". Employees were all quite friendly and appreciated the business. I doubt this status will change anytime soon given CA's low ICU capacity.