Month: September 2019

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It’s time to start planning your cross-country ski & snowshoe winter vacations

Beach destinations in winter? No thanks. We’re all about finding awesome places to play in the snow!

Every year, HPSC offers cross-country skiers and snowshoers opportunities to take overnight trips at some of the best cross-country ski and snowshoe resorts.

Charter Trip

Silver Star, BC is one of the premier cross-country ski destinations in North America. Between Silver Star and Sovereign Lake (a Nordic centre that you can ski to), there are over 100km of daily groomed trails. At Silver Star, you can take the gondola to the top of the mountain and ski with glorious mountain views. Trust us, this is unlike any ski experience you would get in Ontario. There is also extensive snowshoeing at both resorts. Silver Star is a smaller, quieter resort, if that’s what you like. Find out more details here.

This is how much snow there was the first week of December. Imagine prime ski season! Photo cred: Heather Steel.

Overnight Bus Trips

Another favourite resort, a little closer to home, is Mont-Tremblant. You can ski or snowshoe the trails at the resort, or you can take the bus (or ski 6km) over to Domaine Saint-Bernard where 80km of ski trails and 27km of snowshoe trails await. Mont-Tremblant is a lively resort if that’s what you’re looking for. Find out more details here.

View from the trails at Mont Tremblant. Photo cred: Heather Steel.

If a trip with just your fellow cross-country crew is more your speed, we are offering our family day long weekend trip to Stokley Creek, Sault Ste. Marie! This is a new destination for us. Stokely Creek features 100km of beautiful trails for skiers and snowshoers, more than enough to keep you happily skiing for the weekend. Find out more details here.

Northern Ontario’s beautiful trails! Photo cred: Paul Moser.

Our trips are popular and sell out quickly! We recommend registering on the date and time that they open. If they sell out, put yourself on the waiting list. There are often cancellations.

Happy vacation planning!

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Long Trips

Trip Sign-Up Night

Get ready! Coming soon are two Trip Sign-Up Nights (TSUN)- Thursday, October 10 for Charters and Thursday, October 24 for Overnight bus trips. You must be a paid member to be able to register for a trip. Don’t wait until the last minute to pay for your 2019-2020 membership. Here is why. Your membership renewal is not automatic; it is handled by a volunteer. While you submit your renewal application and pay online, the actual renewal will take a number of days to authorize. For a new member, the application must be approved which will take a bit longer. So don’t delay, renew your membership now!

How to Register

The procedures for registering on TSUN are on the webpage, TRIP SIGN UP PROCESS. Please read this page carefully so you understand what to do when the time comes. Popular trips can sell out very quickly, sometimes within the first minute or two. So if you are unsure what to do and are fumbling around with the website, you could miss out. As the Boy Scout motto says, “Be prepared.”

Travelling with a Friend

If you want to travel with a friend, roommate or spouse, you can register for yourself plus ONE additional person at the same time. Both of you must be members. Simply put a “1” in the Guest field and continue to the payment page. After you have paid the $200 deposit, you are guaranteed 2 spots.

Charter Trips

Six of our 2020 charter trips will go on sale on Thursday, October 10. Don’t look for the “Register” button now, you have to wait until October 10. Read over the detailed descriptions and decide which trips appeal to you. If you are uncertain about a trip or have questions, contact the Trip Leader who will clarify and get you the answers.

Trip Leaders

Trip Leaders were assigned in September and are undertaking their training this month. When training is complete, the names and contact information will be posted on a webpage. The page is only open to members so you must login to see it. If you find the page now, you will see that names are missing – be patient, they’ll be there soon.

Parking for Overnight Trips

We are looking for an alternate parking lot for our 2020 overnight bus trips. The lot would need to accommodate approximately 25 cars for the duration of each trip. If you can suggest a suitable location or want to help us find one, please contact Kevin Chabot, Parking Coordinator, kchabot@ican.net .

Bill Bates, Director

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SkiFit is back!

The temperatures are falling and the leaves are turning…this means it’s time for SkiFit, HPSC’s popular pre-ski season fitness program.

Every Saturday, join ski instructors John McHutchion and Karen Evans and their amazing crew of volunteers in High Park for a variety of fitness activities. There’s a level for everyone – for those who want a tough workout to those who just want to get out and move around.

The best part is the post workout brunch at the Grenadier Café!

Having fun & getting fit.

If you’re new the club, it’s a great opportunity to meet new people before the snow flies. Returning members can reconnect with old friends.

SkiFit will end with our participation in the popular annual event, Climb the Mountain, the first weekend in November in Blue Mountain.

Below are the dates. All sessions begin at 9am in High Park, meeting at The Grenadier Café parking lot.

September 7, 14, 21, 28

October 5, 19, 26 (note there is no SkiFit on Thanksgiving weekend)

Nov. 2: Climb the Mountain

Click here for the event schedule on the website:

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Heads up – new Saturday pick up/drop off schedule for cross-country daytrips

Your cross-country executive committee gets lots of feedback regarding pick up/drop off schedules. West-enders point out that they spend twice the amount of time on the bus as everyone else. Drivers want a 400/Hwy 7 drop off on Saturdays (currently only the case with two bus trips).

We’ve decided to tackle both of these issues with a change to the Saturday pick up/drop off schedule. Starting this season, Saturday will feature a REVERSE drop off on the way home, with the addition of a stop at 400/Hwy 7 to accommodate those who drive. If you don’t want to wait to get off at York Mills, please drive to Hwy 7. If you take the subway, you can hop on the subway at Keele, Davenport, Eglington, or York Mills.

 This is what the standard schedule will look like going forward for Saturday:

Pick ups:

  • 750am: Bloor/Indian Rd.
  • 810am: Davenport
  • 820am: Eglinton
  • 830am: York Mills
  • 845am: 400/Hwy 7

Drop offs:

  • 400/Hwy 7
  • Bloor/Indian Rd.
  • Davenport
  • Eglinton
  • York Mills

Two bus trips will operate on our normal two bus schedule, with the regular drop off schedule (Bus 1 – Queen’s Quay/Indian Rd/Hwy 7; Bus 2 – Yonge stops). Sunday will remain on the normal drop off schedule. All pick up and drop off times will be communicated via email and on the status page for every day trip. Be sure to check it before you go.

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Long Trips

Overnight Bus Trips

The list of 2020 overnight bus trips with a detailed description of the resorts, hotels, options and what is included in each trip is now on the website, here. These trips go on sale on Thursday, October 24. At that time, the “Register” button will appear on the trip page to allow you to sign up. Don’t look for the Register button now, you have to wait until October 24.

Charter Trips

The remainder of the 2020 charter trips will go on sale on Thursday, October 10. While the first two charter trips to Jasper, New Years and Pragelato, Italy are sold out, you can still add your name to the Jasper waiting list in case of a cancellation. For Pragelato, the waiting list is closed because there were many names already and adding more would not be productive

IKON Pass

Some members may have purchased the IKON pass for unlimited use at Blue Mountain. The cost of the base pass is $1,000 CAD and the full pass is $1,400 CAD. These members can use their pass on a number of our trips where the pass applies: Mt Tremblant (3 trips), Killington, Aspen, and Taos. These members would select the no-lifts option. Savings for using the pass are listed in the descriptions. 

Trip Sign-Up Night

The procedures for registering on Trip Sign-Up Nights (TSUN) are shown on the website, TRIP SIGN UP PROCESS. Please read this page so you understand what to do when the time comes. You can register for yourself and ONE additional member at the same time. Simply put a “1” in the Guest field and continue to the payment page.

FCFS

In the August blog, we discussed the way our trip registrations are done, ie First Come First Served (FCFS). We have used this procedure ever since we changed from lining up in person to signing up online. We felt that FCFS was the fairest and most transparent way although we realize that some members may be at a disadvantage (slow internet, slow fingers, away on TSUN, etc). If you have a suggestion as to how we could improve the procedure, we would like to hear from you. Our objective is to be fair to all members. Please send your suggestions to Bill Bates, longtrips@hpsc.ca.

Trip Leaders

Thank you to those who applied to be a 2020 trip leader. During September we will be training these leaders to lead the trips that you will be on. In the week before each TSUN, you will find the names and contact information for trip leaders on the website so you can ask any particular questions that are not covered in the detailed descriptions.

Bill Bates, Director

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Wild Apricot for Members app

The Wild Apricot for Members app is a completely free app where you can register for our upcoming events and pay event fees straight from your phone.

The main features this app offers are:

  • View an event calendar and event details
  • Register for an event through the app
  • View existing event registrations
  • Pay an outstanding event registration fee

Here are some previews of what you can see