Dear HPSC Friends:
I hope everyone had a fantastic and restful holiday season and is looking forward to a great HPSC season.
This week marks the return to a more normal season – including the recent weather. While we would all love to have full snow cover and consistent lower temperatures, historically, especially here in Toronto, that has not always been the case. A thaw in January is actually very common. This is why ski resorts start as early as possible making snow to build up a base (and pack it down) to help withstand warmer temperatures and rain.
This brings me to an important point – we do not cancel downhill day trips due to weather unless it severely impacts member safety. (Cross-country is a different case, because rain and especially rain followed by lower temperatures can result in icy trails and be very dangerous for our cross-country members.) We also do not cancel trips based on long-range forecasts – since these can be notoriously unreliable.
The other thing to keep in mind is that the weather/conditions in Toronto rarely reflect the conditions at the resorts. A couple of degrees discrepancy can make a huge difference between rain and snow – just look back to pre-Christmas when Toronto received mostly rain with a little bit of snow, while fairly close, just south of Lake Ontario in the Niagara region was under severe blizzard conditions.
We would all love perfect bluebird ski days every time we go out, however that is not probable, which is why such days are so special. I hope that everyone who is going on this weekend’s trips has a fantastic time!
Justin Graham
President, High Park Ski Club