September 2021 – High Park Ski Club Blog

2021-09-292021-10-28

President’s Message – It’s already the end of September!!

September 29, 2021

I can’t believe we are almost at the end of September already!! It seems like just yesterday that I was looking forward to our first SkiFit of the year. And now we are coming up to our fourth session this coming Saturday! (FYI Registration opens each Tuesday.)

The most important item on the upcoming HPSC schedule is the Annual General Meeting on Thursday September 30^th. I had sincerely hoped that by the time this year’s AGM rolled around we would be able to return to an in-person event. However, we will once again be restricted to a Zoom call.

If you haven’t already registered for the AGM please do so (https://hpsc.ca/event-4489401). We are restricted to just 100 participants, so if the event is full, please put your name on the waitlist. If you have registered but cannot attend, please cancel yourself out by clicking on the registration button and then on “more details” where there is a cancel button. This will allow other members to join the meeting. If you cannot attend but would like to send a proxy, the form is available on the website (https://hpsc.ca/club-documents).

The zoom link will be sent to all registrants on Thursday September 30^th. And the club Annual Report will be posted to the website on Thursday as well.

As of last Wednesday September 22^nd, all Ontarians are being asked to provide proof of vaccination at almost all non-essential businesses and organizations. As I have written before, we are not set up to just “show us at the door”. I would personally like to thank the approximately 40% of members who have already emailed their document (vac@hpsc.ca) or shown up at an in-person location (or caught me at a TBC bike ride 😊.) To confirm, only the membership team is accessing the emails and we are not saving your documents. Once it is reviewed and confirmed, the email and document is deleted.

Justin Graham

President

2021-09-262021-09-27

2022 Front-of-the-Line (FOTL)

If you click on a charter or overnight trip, you will see that the “SPACES LEFT” field will show declining numbers in the days before registration has even opened. Members wonder how can this happen? Are people able to jump the queue? The reason is that some members were issued a FOTL pass. FOTL gets a jump on the rest of the membership to register before trips go on sale.

In a normal year, very few FOTL passes are given out. Generally these are restricted to the Board of Directors and the Long Trips volunteers who planned those trips. But FOTL passes can only be used for one trip. To go on other trips, these dedicated volunteers must still compete for a seat on Trip Sign Up Night like the rest of us.

This season additional FOTL passes were issued to members whose trips were cancelled in March 2020 when the pandemic first hit us. Coronavirus cancelled France 2020 (34 members) and Taos 2020 (50 members). Many of these members received hotel and airline credits instead of an insurance refund payment. The FOTL pass ensures that they are able to get onto a 2022 trip and use their credits. It’s a small bit of good news for these members who lost out on their 2020 charter trip.

Bill Bates, Director

2021-09-212021-10-04

Where to buy cross-country ski and snowshoe gear

The winter will be here before we know it! If you want to buy gear rather than rent, you may want to think about it sooner rather than later. Last year, cross-country ski gear flew off the shelves as people sought safe ways to enjoy winter outside. While demand may not be at the same level (especially if downhill is open and some indoor fun returns), I still expect it to be high. October is usually when new stock arrives. So, where can you buy gear?

Retailers

Velotique – a bike and ski shop in the east end. They are probably the most knowledgeable about skis in the city. My top recommendation for a city retailer.

MEC – we all know MEC. I don’t find the staff is as knowledgeable anymore, but if you know what you want, it’s a great option.

Skiis and Bikes – I think they sell cross-country equipment? It’s been a while since I’ve been in the store. But you can give them a try too.

Ski resorts

If you can get out to Hardwood or Highlands Nordic, both have top notch pro shops with excellent staff who can fit you right. My top choice because I trust them.

Call the resorts to find out their shopping policies. You may still have to book appointments this year.

Ski swaps

Hardwood, Highlands and sometimes Velotique host ski swaps where you buy used equipment (or take your equipment to be sold). If we receive information about ski swaps, we will share on the blog and on the Facebook group. These generally happen in October and November.

Received word that Hardwood’s Ski Swap is Oct. 16-17 by reservation. Book early! https://www.hardwoodskiandbike.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Ski-Swap-Guide-2021.pdf

Received word that Highland’s Ski Swap is Oct. 30-31. Double vaccination required. Highlands Trailblazer Dust Em’ Off Ski Swap – 2021 – Highlands Nordic

If you have questions about gear, there is lots of information on the blog about just that!

A primer on buying skis, boots, and poles

A bit on waxing

A primer on buying snowshoes

Clothing considerations

2021-09-21

What to expect for cross-country skiing & snowshoeing, 2021-2022 edition

Hello cross-country skiers and snowshoers!

I hope everyone was able to have a great summer under the circumstances. Great weather to spend lots of time outdoors.

The HPSC board is planning for the winter. We hope to be able to ski and snowshoe with you all this year! I missed everyone last winter. I know that everyone must have lots of questions about what the year will look like. Trust me…so do I! Given the public health situation changes constantly, it’s tough to plan. We will be implementing policies that are in line public health guidelines, but it is not clear what those guidelines will be yet. But here are a few things that you can probably expect on the cross-country side this winter.

Keeping the fun on the snow

We’ve got a big contingent of snowshoers!

While HPSC is known for our fun day trip social events (bus potlucks, socials at the resort etc.), we will be keeping our fun strictly outside on the snow this year. This year isn’t the time to start sharing food. But, we will have lessons and guided snowshoeing, as usual. We are also introducing a new afternoon guided ski option for beginners on select day trips (especially in January). Volunteers will lead a group ski for beginners, allowing new skiers to learn the trails better and meet more people at their ski level.

Improve your ski skills

I made my class climb a big hill. Trust me, it was a pedagogically sound decision 😉

For those wanting to hone their skills – or learn some! – we will be offering lessons with our great group of certified instructors. Normally our lessons are small groups (about 6/class) and it is easy to distance on cross-country skis. We hope to be able to run normal lesson programming this year. Only the indoor components will likely change – probably no eating lunch with your class and no video analysis (at least indoors). We also will likely stagger the lesson start and end times so as to alleviate congestion on the bus at lunch.

Get comfortable outside

You may want to wear more than this with limited indoor space…!

While we don’t know what the indoor distancing guidelines will be this winter, the resorts have said that there likely will not be much indoor access again. Plan to spend more time outside than usual (you may want to travel with a small pack with snacks and extra clothing, as I suggested last year). We will work with the bus company to have the bus as our home base. What that looks like exactly is still being worked out.

Speaking of the bus…

With our mandatory vaccination policy, we are comfortable running buses this year. What the experience on the bus looks like, however, is still being worked out. Masking is likely to be required, and we would likely ask members to refrain from eating and drinking and walking around the bus to socialize. We all will also need a healthy dose of patience, as we all will likely need to get ready on the bus.

Once our policies are worked out, we will be communicating them to the membership through the website, this blog, and SnoBiz. We appreciate your patience as we work hard to plan a great season. We will update members as soon as new information becomes available.

Hoping for winter wonderlands this year!

2021-09-16

Looking for a volunteer!

Downhill day trips is looking for a volunteer coordinator for Monday day trips. This role includes closing the registration page on Thursday evenings at 6pm, downloading appropriate registration lists from the website and emailing Blue Mountain and Pacific Western Transportation (our bus company). This position requires the coordinator to be available Thursday evenings for about 30 minutes to complete necessary work.
Helpful skills include familiarity with basic Microsoft Excel and computer skills. The volunteer will receive training and assistance at the beginning of the season.
If you are interested, please email Erika, Director of Downhill Daytrips at daytrips.director@hpsc.ca

2021-09-152021-09-15

In-person Vaccination verification locations for September 16-28

Since our last SnoBiz the provincial government has finally announced that they will be creating a vaccination passport of some kind and will be requiring Ontarians to show their proof of vaccination starting September 22. Just to confirm that when the provincial document is available we will also accept that as vaccination proof.

I would like to thank those who have taken advantage of our in-person events to show us their documentation.

For those who are uncomfortable emailing their proof to vac@hpsc.ca the membership team will be available for in-person vaccination verification at various locations throughout the fall, including almost every Saturday in High Park after SkiFit.

Between September 16 and September 28, you can stop by to show your vaccination proof at:

Thursday September 16 Berczy Park by the Dog Fountain 5-6pm

Saturday September 18 (Post SkiFit) High Park – on one of the benches on the west side of the main Bloor St entrance 11:30am-1pm

Wednesday September 22 NW corner of Bloor St. and Church St. 5:15-6:15pm

Saturday September 25 (Post SkiFit) High Park – on one of the benches on the west side of the main 1 Bloor St. entrance 1:30am-1pm

Tuesday September 28 Yonge/Eglinton in front of the Skiis and Bikes 6-7pm

2021-09-152021-09-29

President’s Message – The Renewal of Autumn

SkiFit is even for the President – September 2019

Dear Friends

Things are finally restarting!! After a very long winter, spring, and summer, we have finally reached the point where things for the club are starting up again.

The charter and long trip lists are posted; SkiFit has begun; the first trip signup is next week (for the Serre Chevalier Club Med, France trip); and the Annual General Meeting is scheduled for Thursday September 30^th (official notification will be sent shortly).

As President, it has been fantastic to meet up in person with members of the HPSC community over the last couple of weeks at SkiFit (including a number of new members) and at our various in-person vaccination poof events.

Just a reminder to members who had their membership deferred from last year, you do not have to pay for this season, BUT we still require all to log into their website account and acknowledge the club Code of Conduct, Waiver, and your vaccination status. To do this click on your name in the upper right of the main page after logging in, and then click on EDIT PROFILE. It is on this page that you can read and acknowledge the various documents.

For members under 26 years of age we also require you to read and acknowledge the Concussion Code of Conduct, as required by the provincial government (Rowan’s Law). Although not required for other members, I would highly recommend reviewing it anyway just to understand concussions and what you should do if you suspect having a concussion.

Once you have updated your profile, and for all new and returning members, we then require you to send in your vaccination proof to vac@hpsc.ca (or stop by one of the in-person events – please see below for locations).

While some things are returning to normal there are other things that we still cannot do. We would normally be holding a special volunteer event thanking our fantastic volunteers and handing volunteer awards for the previous season. We would also have scheduled a number of information nights for the fall for new and prospective members to learn more about the club (and current members to reconnect). And I was personally hoping to have a President’s pub crawl this fall. So while things are improving somewhat they are still not back to normal.

As always, I hope that you will read all of the articles in this edition of SnoBiz to find out what is going on with the club!

Sincerely,

Justin Graham, President, High Park Ski Club

2021-09-012021-09-03

SkiFit Returns on Saturday September 11th

This year especially, pre-season fitness will be extremely important for HPSC members.

As always, we will be running our fun fall SkiFit program in High Park on Saturday mornings. Come enjoy the outdoors and make new friends. This is a free, fun and social event with athletic activities to suit a variety of fitness levels. We have something for everyone who wants to start getting ready for winter.

And good news, Karen Evans and John McHutchion, have agreed to return to lead the sessions this year. They, however, will not be available for the first session September 11^th or on September 25^th.

New HPSC members are very welcome to register. However, as was the case last year, we will continue SkiFit as an HPSC members only event.

We will also continue to require members to register each week for the session and will initially limit the number to 30 participants. Registration will open each Tuesday for the following Saturday’s session. The sessions are listed on the club Social page calendar.

If you cannot make the session, please email president@hpsc.ca and I will remove your name and open it up to the next person on the waitlist.

Unfortunately, the Grenadier Restaurant continues to be close on the weekends, so we will not be able to stay for brunch. Hopefully by the end of the fall, this will change, or we might be able to find another nearby location to have brunch.

Weekly Schedule

8:55 am Meet in High Park, under the trees on the north side of the Grenadier Restaurant parking lot. See map below.

9:00 am A fun warm up with introductions. Includes agility and balance exercises.

9:15 am We head off to enjoy a variety of activities. Walk, run, Nordic pole walking… We have groups for every fitness level. Nordic pole walking guidance offered. Bring your own walking poles.

10:45 am A stretching session led by our volunteers, and announcements of upcoming events.

11:00 am This year, we will not be arranging for brunch as a group at the Cafe.

Ski Fit is a free program for all club members. Register and come check us out. We meet rain or shine. Wet weather can be even more fun as we benefit from the leafy tree canopy and park shelters.

Location: 180 Colborne Lodge Dr., Toronto. In the centre of High Park. Meet on the North side of the Grenadier parking lot, under the trees.

NOTE: According the High Park website the park is closed to vehicles on the weekend, so if you are driving you will need to find a parking spot outside of the park.

2021-09-012021-09-03

In-person Vaccination verification locations for September 2-16

Get the Jab – Graffiti Alley Photo by JK Graham

As announced in the last SnoBiz, the HPSC board has decided that we will need proof of full vaccination at some point during the fall to allow members to participate in almost all in-person HPSC events this coming season.

While many other organizations can ask for proof “at the door” we are not able to do that. However, for those who are uncomfortable emailing their proof to the special email address (vac@hpsc.ca) the membership team will be available for in-person vaccination verification at various locations throughout the fall, including almost every Saturday in High Park after SkiFit.

If you cannot make it to any of the in-person events and are uncomfortable emailing your document please send a message to vac@hpsc.ca requesting a personal Zoom call to show us your document.

In each SnoBiz we will announce where and when we will be available during the following two weeks for in person verification. Between September 2 and September 16, you can stop by to show your vaccination proof at:

Saturday September 4

High Park – Look for us at one of the benches on the west side of the park near the main Bloor Street entrance

1-2pm

Thursday September 9

Bloor Islington Place (3280 Bloor Street West) – Bottom of the stairs below GoodLife Fitness

6-7pm

Saturday September 11 (Post SkiFit)

High Park – Look for us at one of the benches on the west side of the park near the main Bloor Street entrance

11:30am-1pm

Thursday September 16

Berczy Park – by the Dog Fountain (Front St. E and Scott St.)

5-6pm