So, I as going back through my posts from last year when the pool was getting built. It is interesting to see how everything went almost a year later. We are opening the pool on April 29th, so I was doing some research on what I needed to do to get up and running quickly. The pool was finished in the middle of September, so we ended up getting about a month of use out of it. They (we) didn't end up putting the salt in or starting up the saltwater generator. I just used the liquid chlorine for the 6 weeks or so.
Anyway, this first Winter, we decided to go with a temporary cover. It was somewhat of a nightmare, especially with our raised edge. The top kept sliding in. The wind would get under it and wreck all kinds of havoc. It got holes in it and the leaves would weigh it down enough where it would fill with water. I'd pump the water off and then have to refill the pool to get the water back up on top of the tanning ledge. Towards the end I just pumped from the top of the cover back into the pool and brushed the leaves off.
In the end, we decided to go with the safety cover next year. Ended up costing $4600, but the local pool company is going to do the closing for nothing and install the cover at that time. They charged me $750 (including the temporary cover) to close it in the Winter and I don't see getting more than this season out of the temporary cover. So, in about 8 years the cover will pay for itself financially, but its already paid for in aggravation avoidance.