Justin Graham – Page 3 – High Park Ski Club Blog

2021-11-102021-11-29

President’s Message – A nip in the air!

November 10, 2021

Dear HPSC friends!

One of the great things about being a member of the club is that we are all lovers of winter. You are not viewed as strange for actually looking forward to colder weather and the winter. This was brought home to me when I was on a zoom call last week with a number of other ski clubs and ski schools from across the country (regarding insurance) when someone out west mentioned that it was getting colder, and we all agree that was fantastic news.

With the nip in the air and the return to Standard Time, we are coming closer to an actual ski season. Over the past weekend, the downhill daytrips schedule was posted. Our charter and long trips are available for registration if there are still spots available, but only for those who have provided their vaccination proof.

At SkiFit this past weekend we had the largest turnout all fall. It is interesting that the cooler it gets, and the closer we get to the season, the more people start to come out for SkiFit. As a reminder there are just two more weeks left for SkiFit. Registration opens each Tuesday. I would personally like to thank Karen Evans, who is now out west for the season, and John McHutchion, for their excellent help in leading the program this season.

I would also like to thank the two-thirds of our current members who have provided their vaccination proof. For the rest, please do so as soon as possible. As a further reminder, only those who have provided their proof for verification will be able to register for any in-person event (including drive-up for daytrips) or charter/long trips with the club this season.

SnoBiz is a one of the key ways to keep up with what is going on in the club, so I encourage all members to read all of the articles in the current edition. There are some important announcements.

Looking forward to the coming season and meeting up with as many members as possible!

Cheers!

Justin Graham

President, High Park Ski Club

2021-11-08

Charter and Long Trip Update

Mont Tremblant, February 2021 Photo by JK Graham

It has been a very busy time for your Long Trips Committee and trip leaders!

Although the first charter trip, to Club Med in France, does not depart until the end of January, the deadline for new registrants has passed and the trip is now closed. If you are still interested in a charter this season, there are still spots available on our last trip of the season, to Taos, New Mexico in March. But the rest of the charter trips are full.

If you are interested in one of the full trips, spots do open due to various reasons, so be sure to put your name on the wait list. Please check the website and our social media posts for updates.

In late October we started signups for our long bus trips. The mid-week trip to Tremblant in February sold out! But don’t despair, there are still spots available on all of the other long trips.

New this year is a mid-week Mont Ste Anne trip. Also available is the traditional HPSC end of season weekend at Tremblant, and the popular Family Day Eastern Townships Orford trip, which includes two dinners. If you have never dined in the Eastern Townships you are in for a treat! For our cross-country and snowshoe members we are also offering a Family Day weekend to Huntsville including trips to Algonquin Park, Arrowhead, and the Frost Centre.

Unfortunately, we had to postpone the trips to Killington and Jay Peak to a future year. Although it may seem early to postpone, as these trips are months away, there are tight deadlines to avoid penalties with our suppliers for cancelling space, and the initial registration was small. Early sign up by members is important when we have to make these types of decisions.

We are still in uncertain times, but are very optimistic about the 2022 ski season. If you really want to go on a trip this season, we encourage you to sign up now to guarantee your spot.

2021-10-242021-10-24

What we currently know about the rules for cross-border and international trips

As of November 8^th, we will be able to cross over the U.S. land border. This is fantastic news for the club since we have planned three bus trips to U.S. resorts.

What we know at this point is that crossing into the U.S. will require both your passport and your proof of full vaccination. On October 15^th the U.S. also announced that they will accept mixed vaccination of WHO approved vaccines.

When flying (including domestically) you will require your QR code vaccination document (and a photo ID/Passport).

However, currently, when returning to Canada, all travellers need to provide the results from an accepted COVID Test result taken within 72 hours of arrival at the Canadian border. (Rapid tests are not accepted.) If your trip is less than 72 hours (i.e. our Holiday Valley weekend trip) you can get a test done at home prior to leaving and use it on your way back home.

For longer trips, if the same rules still apply, you will need to have a test done while out of the country. Please remember that most of our international trips are not running for another 4 to 5 months, in late February or March 2022, so the requirements when returning to Canada may have changed by that point. Just think back to the quarantine requirements that were in place five months ago last May.

Club Med has indicated to us that they will be able to arrange these tests for our members (at a separate cost to members.) For our U.S. trips we have not been able to confirm exactly how the process will work. With the border closed last season, the resorts did not have to deal with this issue, so this is something new for them, and therefore still in flux.

The Long Trips Committee and those who have stepped up to be Trip Leaders already have a lot of responsibilities and things to keep track of even in a normal year for trips. While the club tries to provide as much information as possible, ultimately, it is up to the individual to understand what the travel rules and requirements are for their personal situation.

If there is anyone who would like to volunteer to help out the club by researching and tracking this topic it would be greatly appreciated. Please contact longtrips@hpsc.ca.

2021-10-132021-11-08

President’s Report – Many things to be thankful for!

October 13, 2021

Happy Thanksgiving to all in the HPSC community!

As we move into mid October, it really does feel that things are slowly returning back to normal, or at least as close to normal as possible right now.

On September 30th we held the club’s Annual General Meeting virtually. A thank you to the 70+ members who logged in, and to Kerry Kupecz for acting as the Chairperson for this year’s meeting. The club Annual Report is available to members on our website under About Us/Club Documents.

This past Thursday we had a successful Charter trip sign up, with three trips reaching initial capacity! We honestly were unsure about how enthusiastic members would be. While some trips are full, if you are interested, please put your name on the wait list – sometimes additional spots can be negotiated, and frequently people’s plans or situations change opening up spots. Also please consider the other available trips – all are to great resorts!

I personally want to say thank you to the members of our Long Trips Committee for all of their hard work over the last two seasons. It really has not been easy. And a thank you to all the members who have stepped up to be Trip Leaders this year. Without each one of our volunteers our club could not function.

As a reminder, you must be fully vaccinated to sign up for any of the trips, so please send in your vaccination proof (vac@hpsc.ca) as soon as possible; or at least as a first step please go into your membership profile and click on Edit and acknowledge your vaccination status, (as well as the Code of Conduct, and waiver). At this point about half of our current members have provided or shown their vaccination proof. You must do at least one or the other prior to long trip signup on October 28^th in order to register for a trip. You will eventually need to show us your vaccination proof.

I will be available in person to review your vaccination proof after SkiFit for the next two Saturdays, in High Park (just north of the Maple Leaf by Grenadier Pond) between approximately 10:45 to 11:15am. If you would like to arrange a different time and place, please contact me and we can try to work something out.

If you didn’t join last season due to COVID we understand and would really like to see you back as a member. Just a reminder, the early bird rate of $150 (+HST) for returning members ends on October 31^st. As of November 1^st, the fee increases to $170 (+HST). (For all new members the $150 rate continues for the entire season.)

And personally, this week my 2021/22 Ikon pass arrived in the mail which always lifts my spirits in anticipation of the coming season. Hope to see as many of you on the hills and trails this coming year!

Justin Graham

President, High Park Ski Club

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

2021-09-152021-09-29

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

2021-09-152021-09-15

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

2021-09-012021-09-03

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.