HPSC Communications – Page 18 – High Park Ski Club Blog

2022-01-192022-01-19

Welcoming New Instructors to the team! David Healey

Check out who they are and what their favourite things to do are. Keep your eyes out as we introduce you over the next several weeks. Today we welcome David Healey…

I became an instructor because I love refining my technique, sharing my skiing discoveries, and bringing that delight to others. I love the club because of the atmosphere. It’s so good skiing with an unpretentious group, and I really appreciated the punctuality and experience in running group trips.

My most memorable ski memory was the first time moving up from beginner boots to advanced boots and feeling the tightness of control – it felt like it was the payoff of all the early lessons and practice. Also the relief when taking them off after the first session.

2021-12-222021-12-22

Paul Marner…50th Anniversary of Organizing Ski Trips

From the latest edition of Ski Canada magazine…

“Around the same time readers first started turning pages of Ski Canada 50 years ago, Paul Marner, then a 14-year-old grade 10 student from the burbs of Toronto, was busy cooking up with his French teacher the first of countless group ski trips to Quebec. The young entrepreneur and definitive “freeskier” quickly learned how he could ski on someone else’s dime. (All it required was hours of organization and sales talk.) By grade 13 he had 500 students in buses heading to Quebec City during Christmas and March Breaks. Half a century later, Marner’s still at it with Merit Travel.

Most of the “lifers” in the ski-biz have worked directly with resorts or ski gear and clothing manufacturers, while Marner was the guy who got bums onto buses, planes and, indirectly, to ski shops. More than 250,000 by Marner’s count—and only one ski trip with a murder, but that’s a story for Ski Canada’s and Marner’s 100th anniversaries.

Before Breakaway Tours was founded in the early ’80s though, Marner worked for Majestic Travel and set up his own ski shop, Ski Connection, in the agency’s basement. “We leased skis and did tune-ups; as well, I used to buy close-outs of clothing and skis,” says Marner.

After Majestic and Breakaway Tours, Marner headed up Gotta Travel, which morphed into Ultimate Ski & Golf Vacations. (Remember Ultimate’s red carpet “Excite Flight” direct charter to Tremblant from the free parking at Toronto’s exclusive Executive Terminal?) Cross-promoting with Elan, Labatt, Bacardi, Columbia, Avalanche and radio stations like Q107, it was tough to curb his enthusiasm for our sport. He still has a copy of the formal response from the White House following his gracious invitation to U.S. President Ronald Reagan to take a ski break while discussing acid rain and the DEW line with Brian Mulroney during Quebec City’s Shamrock Summit.

Marner has since settled down with Merit Travel Ski Vacations, offering more than 100 resorts from the best of B.C., Alberta, Quebec, U.S. East and West and the Alps. And like many who have worked in the ski industry a long time, he’s at home leading a group of skiers.. As Ski Canada celebrates its 50th anniversary, they hope for a much better winter than the last. Certainly there’s more anticipation than ever for making travel plans and the memories that will follow. “

2021-12-162021-12-21

President’s Message – The Snow is Falling…

The snow is starting to fall more regularly and some of the local hills have already opened. It was fantastic to see posts from members who got out early to Mount St. Louis and Horseshoe Valley this past weekend.

While this year will still be a somewhat different experience, it will still be fantastic to get back to skiing regularly this coming season. Let me assure you that your HPSC team has been working continuously with the resorts to work out the details and procedures we will need to follow as the resorts work out the rules. Keep following the announcements in SnoBiz and the HPSC Facebook group to stay up to date.

And just a reminder that registration for all trips will be restricted to only those who have provided their vaccination proof to the club. If you haven’t done so yet, please send a copy to vac@hpsc.ca . Only the Director of Membership has access to this email address, and all documents are delated after verification – the club is not keeping copies of any documents. I want to thank the 72% of current members who have provided their proof for verification.

I am sincerely looking forward seeing as many of you as possible on the hill and trails this coming season!

Justin Graham

President, High Park Ski Club

2021-08-042021-08-09

It’s Time to Reconnect and Get Social Again

Do you follow the club on social media? If you are not a member of the private HPSC Facebook group please request to be one. And please follow us on Instagram and Twitter as well! Remember to stay connected via our different communication channels and contribute as much as you can in order to help reinvigorate HPSC when this pandemic finally ends.

Recently on the Facebook group a member conducted a short poll to find out how many different languages our members speak. So far, we are up to 20! Check out the alphabetical list and let us know if we are missing any language that you personally are fluent in.

Arabic

English

Estonian

French

German

Irish/Gaelic

Italian

Korean

Laotian

Lithuanian

Mandarin

Polish

Romanian

Russian

Serbian

Slovakian

Spanish

Tagalong

Turkish

Ukrainian

We’ve also asked our members to translate the club’s key messages into their language – so that we can promote our club and attract more winter lovers to join us.

If we have missed your language, please help us out by translating the following phrases: Learn to love winter! We ski everywhere! Please share your translations on Facebook.

Remember that our club is fully managed by volunteers. By volunteering, individual members make a difference. Volunteer contributions have and will positively impact the lives of thousands past, current and future club members. Together we aim to inspire and enable our members to enjoy winter snow sports in a fun, friendly and supportive community. And by travelling as a group and being run by volunteers we are able to control the cost of our trips.

Please remember to invite your friends and members of your various social communities to learn how to love and appreciate winter as much as you do – in many different languages and ways. People may join for their chosen winter activity, but they stay for the friendships and community they develop!

Stella Rossovskaia

2021-08-04

Position Open for Job Shadowing

As my directorship will end at the end of the 2021-22 season, I would like to ask for applications to be the next Membership and Volunteer Director.

I would like to ask this person to job shadow me for this coming year (mostly online).

Duties include:

-Monthly and AGM board meetings and reports,

-Monitoring the membership stats and as people join etc. and answering queries. almost daily mid-season,

-Organizing with the team for some events and attending,

-Monitoring the volunteers with a team.

Qualifications- people-friendly, tech-savvy, organized and accountable.

This is one of the lighter portfolios of the board. Thanks for considering.

Contact membership@hpsc.ca if you are interested.

Ruth Schefter

2021-08-04

Could You Be Our Next Downhill Instructor?

Snow school is a crucial part of the HPSC experience, with lessons and instructors consistently cited as the most common reason members love our club. If you have passed your level 1 CASI or CSIA instructor certification and have completed HPSC instructor training, or if you already have your level 2, you are eligible to apply to become an instructor and become part of our team!

As a club instructor, you receive ongoing development through afternoon sessions and our instructor development program. You’ll make a new group of friends, plus you get bus transportation to the hill and defray some of the costs involved in skiing or riding. You also get to wear our prestigious and trendy uniform! But even more importantly, you get to help a ton of your fellow High Parkers to improve their skiing or riding and give back to your community.

If you are interested in applying to the Snow School for either Downhill or Snowboarding and you meet the prerequisites above, please e-mail David Manning, director of downhill skiing and snowboarding at downhillsnowschool@hpsc.ca to express your interest. Applications will be accepted until September 3, 2021.

If you don’t yet have your level 1 or 2 but you’re excited at the idea of becoming an instructor, you might be a candidate for our Instructor Training program. More details on Instructor Training to come in future SnoBiz issues.

2020-11-10

The Downhill Day Trip Schedule Is Here!

We have worked all summer to ensure that our members will have the best of Ontario skiing and snowboarding available. We continue our strong partnerships with our local hills, and have heard time and time again how happy hills are to have us return.

At this time, we are unsure if we will be running buses. While we hope we can provide bus transportation, in the event that we cannot due to health regulations, all trips will be available in a drive-up format.

For both bus and drive-up members, you will be required to register for your day trip through hpsc.ca
Members will be required to register for a lift ticket and lesson if they choose to take a lesson. Walk-up lift ticket purchases at the hills will not be available this year. HPSC will have a limited number of guaranteed lift tickets for registered day trip members. For this reason, we suggest registering early for a trip you are interested in.

For all downhill day trips, members will be required to follow HPSC and resort COVID-19 policies. Failure to follow these policies will result in disciplinary actions.

We look forward to sharing the best of winter with all of our members this season!

To view the 2020/2021 schedule, click here.

2020-08-202020-09-03

Membership Renewal September 1

Another season is upon us! I think I saw some yellow leaves on the trees. Its time to start thinking about the snow.

We have a few new challenges this year that the board is all working on. All your questions will be answered on this blog, SnoBiz, and Facebook/ Instagram. We are trying to make this a safe year, as we absolutely want to get out on the snow if possible.

In the meantime, our membership renewal date of September 1 is here.

To acknowledge that many of you have been financially impacted by this pandemic, we have lowered the membership price for this season to $140 for the entire year (which is lower than our usual early bird rate); and lower than our regular rate of $170.

In this year of uncertainty, we are also including a special option If by January 31st, 2021 you have not participated in any club trips (daytrips, long trips, or charter trips) you can request to have your membership deferred for the year. To make this request, you will need to send an email to membership@hpsc.ca by February 1, 2021.

If the experience of resorts in the Southern Hemisphere are any indication, skiing and snow boarding will be very popular this coming season, and due to restricted numbers daily spots will likely sell out quickly. However, HPSC has been assured by alpine resorts that we will have access to a set number of those daily spots for our members who come on the bus and those who drive-up (drive-ups will need register and pay for their tickets through HPSC). On the cross-country side, we have not heard that resorts will be limiting daily spots, but discussions are on-going.

While this season will be a challenge, we look forward to seeing you all on the hills and trails soon.

Thanks for continuing to be part of High Park Ski Club.

See you at the zoom AGM on September 23.

Ruth

Membership Director

Photo by Caterina Berger on Unsplash.

2020-04-22

Thanks for another great snow season

Our Snow season has sadly ended abruptly. Here in isolation, I’m going over my ski pictures. What a great time we have had in the snow, in the forests and on the beautiful mountains.