Author: Bill Bates

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

Trip Leaders are very important volunteers for the club. This season we’ll need 15 TLs to lead our 6 charter and 9 overnight bus trips. If you have been on a long trip, you’ve seen a TL in action. If you want to contribute to the club in this way, now is the time to consider it. If you feel it might be too much work for you alone, you can team up with a friend and share the task. Despite the work involved, it is a very rewarding experience and you’ll have fun doing it. You’ll get training, lots of support and a generous honorarium for your time and effort.

Here is what you need to do. Send an email to: Ephraim Fernandez, ephraim.fernandez@gmail.com requesting an application form.  Complete the form and submit it by the deadline of Friday, Sep 3, 2021.

Selection is based on the following criteria:

• Duration and extent of recent contributions as a volunteer to the club
• Leadership skills
• Previous trip experience
• People skills
• Business skills
• Computer skills – Excel & Word
• Special emphasis on Excel skills
• Skiing experience

Every HPSC member is eligible to apply. Don’t delay, request your application now as the time is short.

Bill Bates, Director

Predictions are for great snow this winter at one of HPSC’s favourite destinations.  Our annual Sun Peaks trip usually sells out right away, but this year, there are still some spaces. There are 2 great hotel options in this ski in-out village. All Covid safety protocols are in place at Sun Peaks. Time is running out…

Sun Peaks deadline date is Dec 22nd. To sign up, login to the website, click on the Register button and contact the supervisor to make arrangements for the deposit.

As always, travel insurance is STRONGLY recommended for all trips. For charter trips, you can purchase from the tour operator a travel insurance policy covering cancellation due to medical conditions, and covering medical expenses while you are away. You can also add on to this policy, “Cancel For Any Reason” insurance (CFAR) which allows you to cancel at any time, or for any reason. CFAR is available on all trips.

IF YOU MUST CANCEL from a trip whether for illness, injury or any reason, here are the conditions. First of all, email the supervisor who needs to know immediately and will assist you to follow the rules and procedures to get a refund.

a. Charter trip,
Cancellation policies are set by the tour operators, not HPSC. In each trip description, there is a paragraph which outlines the cancellation conditions for that specific trip.

b. Overnight trip,
Cancellation policy and procedures are described on the website; click CANCELLATION POLICY 2021. Importantly, members should note that there is no refund for cancelling within 7 days of departure.

____________________________________________________________

What happens IF A TRIP IS CANCELLED because the hotel or resort has closed due to COVID? In the unlikely event of a total cancellation, you will be informed immediately.

a. Charter trip,
Refunds will be given according to the policies of the tour operator and resort. This will require a claim on your own insurance or the insurance you purchased from the tour operator. Instead of a full refund you could possibly be offered a partial refund and future travel credit.

b. Overnight trip,
You will likely get a full refund. Where HPSC has been fully reimbursed by it’s suppliers, members will receive a refund of same. Where HPSC has not been reimbursed or only partially reimbursed, members will be expected to claim a refund from their own insurance. This year our 2021 hotel contracts were structured for a full refund. Member refunds will be made back to the credit card that was used for payment.

Ski season will be here sooner than we realize. All resorts have Covid protocols in place now so skier safety will be top of mind. If you planned to sign up for a charter trip but haven’t done so yet, take note of these deadline dates. For each trip there is a date by which the un-booked space must be released as explained in the trip description. If you miss this date, you may still be able to sign up… but the price will be higher because of increased charges by the airline for your air seat. And more importantly, there may not be an air seat for you at all… or a hotel room for you at the group rate. Deadline dates are as follows:

Trip	Deadline Date
C2 Banff	Nov 25
C3 Panorama	Dec 15
C4 Sun Peaks	Dec 22
C5 Whistler	Dec 30
C6 St Moritz	Dec 12

To sign up for your trip, login to the website, click on the Register button and contact the supervisor to make arrangements for the deposit.

Trip Sign-Up Night #3 (TSUN) will occur this week on Thursday, October 29 starting at exactly 8:00 PM. All 6 overnight trips go on sale for the first time. We have four Downhill trips, one X-country trip and the weeklong trip to Mt Tremblant is a combo DH & XC. Login, go to the webpage for the trip you want, and scroll down to the “Register” button. Don’t look for the button now; the “Register” button will appear only after 8:00 PM. Registration will continue 24 hours a day until each trip is sold out.

Getting on a Trip

Only members who have paid the membership fee for 2020-2021 are allowed to register. If you haven’t renewed your membership yet, do it right away because it will take 24-48 hours to be approved. The procedures for registering on TSUN are on the webpage, TRIP SIGN UP 2021.

What’s Different Now

The pandemic caused us to make big changes to overnight procedures. Firstly these are now self-driving trips. We reviewed bussing for overnight trips and rejected it as being very unsafe at this time considering the duration, confinement, masking, social distancing and sanitation that members would experience on a charter bus for the lengthy time it takes to get to distant Quebec ski resorts. Since we could not guarantee safety despite Covid protocols that might be in place, we organized trips for those who can arrange their own transportation.

Secondly, HPSC will not be assigning roommates this year. If you do not have a pre-arranged roommate, you will be required to pay the single room supplement. Therefore when you register, you are booking a room and can specify the name of your roommate (or a SINGLE).

Thirdly, because you are booking a room and not one seat, the non-refundable deposit this year is $200. Your roommate doesn’t have to pay a deposit because you have already secured the room. When you each have to pay the balance of the overnight trip cost, we will assume your roommate has given you half the cost of the room deposit.

Trip Supervisors

A supervisor is assigned to plan and manage all aspects of each trip. The supervisor may or may not travel on the trip itself, but they are very knowledgeable and experienced in HPSC group travel. If there is a question that the detailed description on the website doesn’t answer, please email the supervisor. The supervisor webpage is open to members-only, so you must login to get the email address.

Registered Attendees

When you register for a trip you can decide if you want your name added to the list of attendees. The list is not public and can only be seen by members after they login. If you don’t want your name shown, click on the flag and you will show up as “Anonymous”.  If you are already registered and want a change, contact the supervisor.

The date for registering for our charter trips is this Thursday, Oct 15 at 8:00 PM. Synchronize your watch to CP24 and wait for the clock to tick over to 8:00 PM. Be sure to login first.

Registration is already open for Whistler and St Moritz-Switzerland. Whistler has an early bird price that has been extended to Nov 15. St Moritz is an all-inclusive trip to a 4-Trident Club Med resort where all meals, all refreshments and all ski guiding are included.

Remember that you must have paid your membership fee for 2020-21 to be able to register.

Overnight Trip Registration

Registering for overnight trips will occur in two weeks on Thursday, Oct 29 at 8:00 PM. This Covid year, we had to make significant changes to our overnight trips with the emphasis on safety. Enjoying a ski trip to Quebec while being as safe as possible has caused us to arrange u-drive trips instead of our usual practice of bus transportation.

The difficulties of social distancing on a long distance bus ride, for many hours, with all hygiene considerations, and the reliance on everybody onboard to maintain Covid protocol, did not allow us to run our buses safely. Thus we have 5 u-drive trips with 5 excellent opportunities to “Ski-Quebec” including two weeklong trips. So plan your transportation, with a roommate, free up some cash, mark the signup date on your calendar, and get ready to register. Oh… we have single rooms available if that is your choice.

Quarantine for Covid

A few members have asked about the federal government requirement to quarantine following your return back to Toronto from a charter trip. This requirement now only applies to a trip leaving Canada; our BC and Alberta trips are not affected. The tour operator for the St Moritz trip has told us that by the time this trip runs next March, quarantining will no longer be required. But there have been many surprises during this pandemic so nothing can be ruled out for sure.

With summer over, the excitement of ski trip possibilities is upon us. Our 2021 lineup includes 6 charter trips and 5 overnight trips. To register for a charter or overnight trip, you must begin by reading over web page TRIP SIGN UP 2021. This page gives all the information about how to register and when to register.

Registration opens sooner than you think. Whistler is already open and at the end of this month, registration will open for St Moritz-Switzerland. As in past seasons, registration will open at precisely 8:00 PM on the dates listed. So don’t look for the Register button before those dates; the button won’t be showing. Although registration for overnight trips doesn’t happen until October 29, you will find it helpful to understand the procedure so you can ask any questions now about particular trips you may be interested in.

Note: You must have paid your membership fee for 2020-21 to be able to register.

Safety, Safety, Safety

Skiing is still great! But due to the pandemic, we had to make several changes this year to be able to run long trips in a safe manner. Safety was our primary consideration. A major change is that we cannot match up roommates for those who don’t already have one. Thus if you do not have a pre-arranged roommate, you will be required to pay the single room supplement. Another change is that all overnight trips will be u-drive. There is no bus transportation available this year because we could not guarantee social distancing on a long distance bus for the number of hours it takes to get to the resorts. A further change is that our normal après ski receptions cannot be held. Instead we will create opportunities to meet and mix with fellow travelers during the ski day. Skiers will be grouped up according to ability, and on all overnight trips HPSC instructors will provide guided touring as they have done in the past.

A final change you will notice is that while a supervisor has been appointed to organize each trip, they may not actually accompany the group to the resort. Supervisors are well-versed in the trip parameters and will respond to any questions you may have. The web page for supervisor name and email address is found by hovering over the Charter 2021 landing page or Overnight 2021 landing page. The supervisor page is a member-only page so you must login first.

FOTL Pass

Coronavirus cancelled charter trips C7 France and C8 Taos last March affecting 84 members (boo hoo!). These members received a Front-of-the-Line (FOTL) pass for 2021 to help them through their tears. They have the privilege to reserve a seat ahead of the rest of the membership. Thus when you are looking at the trip page, you may see that some seats have been sold before the registration night. These are the FOTL passes.