Category: Long Trips

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Club Med Trips Sign-up on August 24

Sign-up for our 2024 Club Med trips (Club Med Paradiski France and Club Med Charlevoix) is almost here!  

While membership renewal opens on September 1, if you were a member in the 2022/23 season, you will be able to log on and sign up August 24. But please note that you will need to renew your membership by the end of September in order to keep your spot on the trip. If you joined after March 1, 2023, your membership is already valid for the 2023/24 season.  

Before August 24, be sure to log on to the HPSC website and become familiar with the sign-up night procedures. Sign-up opens at 8 pm EDT sharp and some trips have been known to fill up within minutes.  

As noted below, the remaining charter trips will open for registration later in September and overnight bus trips in October.  

Detailed descriptions and pricing for most trips are already posted on the HPSC website

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Calling all potential trip leaders!

The Long Trips Committee is looking for members interested in volunteering to lead trips for the 2023-2024 ski season.Interested members will receive formal training. Additionally, those new to trip leadership will be able to assist a more experienced leader before running a trip independently. Being a trip leader is a  rewarding experience and greatly appreciated by fellow members.

Aside from being an amazing opportunity to utilize and improve leadership skills, there are other significant benefits to being a trip leader. Trip leaders will be pre-registered on the trip without having to register on Trip Sign-up Night. A financial compensation will be awarded for the work involved, paid post–trip, partially reducing your travel costs. Interested members should apply to the Long Trips Committee indicating their three preferences from the trips list in today’s SnoBiz. Please send your message to: ephraim.fernandez@gmail.com and copy longtrips@hpsc.ca.
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2024 Cross-Country Long Trips

We’ve got lots of great choices for our Cross-Country and Snowshoe members this coming year!

Featured Charter

  • Silver Star, BC – Cross-Country/Downhill Combo, Vance Creek Condos: March 4 to 11. This HPSC favourite has 105 km of XC ski trails where you can ski from the door. Snowshoeing and ice skating are also available.

Overnight Bus Trips

  • Ottawa-Gatineau – Holiday Inn: February 16 to 19 – Enjoy 200 kms of ski trails by daily HPSC coach or skate the Rideau Canal.
  • Tremblant, Combo trip – Holiday Inn: February 4-9 – Enjoy cross-country skiing at: Tremblant resort (12km), Domain St. Bernard, (32 km), P’tit Train du Nord (29 km), Tremblant National Park (43 km).
  • Quebec City, Combo trip – Stay at the lovely Manoir Victoria: March 10-15 (March Break) and enjoy the cross-country ski areas of Mt Ste. Anne (176 km), Le Massif (32 km), and Camp Mercier (70 km).

Other Charter trips where XC skiing is available:

You can sign up on any of the following downhill trips by choosing the ‘No Lifts’ option.

Note: Since they are not featured as XC trips, there may be no other cross-country skiers on these trips. These locations are best suited for members who are comfortable skiing on their own, in a small group, or plan to enjoy both downhill and cross-country skiing. Trail passes must be purchased by the member.

  • Red Mountain, BC – January 20-27 – 50 km of trails within a 25 minute walk from hotel, local shuttle available on some days (TBD)
  • Sun Peaks, BC 1 – January 27- February 3 – 30 km of ski trails, ski from the door and take the lift to the start of the cross-country trails
  • Winter Park Hotel Colorado, USA – February 3-10 – 200 km of ski trails at Snow Mountain Ranch and 120 km at Devil’s Thumb Ranch. Note that these locations are a 20 – 40 minute drive away and would require a vehicle rental.
  • Banff, AB 1 – February 10 -17 – 13 km accessible from town of Banff. Rent a vehicle for other trails.

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Calling All Prospective Trip Leaders for the2023-2024 Snow Season!

The Long Trips Committee is looking for members interested in being considered for leadership positions on the long trips scheduled from January to April 2024. 

Over the past 7 decades, HPSC has refined the trip running process and experienced Trip Leaders (TLs)  will train and mentor new TLs. TLs receive partial compensation for their trip after all of their post-trip responsibilities are completed.

Successful TLs are members who have been on at least a few HPSC long trips and have an interest in leading a long trip. They are basically proficient in MS Word and Excel, have good attention to detail, are organized and communicate well. The TL is the face of HPSC and as an ambassador, performs a key function that helps define and maintain the HPSC brand.

Interested members should indicate their interest in an email sent to longtrips@hpsc.ca with a copy to ephraim.fernandez@gmail.com

The Long Trips Committee thanks all those members who consider leading a long trip and particularly all those members who apply this year.

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Long Trips Announcement!

Start planning now to sign up for our exciting 2024 season!  This year, to minimize charter trip waiting lists on the most popular weeks and destinations, there are multiple options.  For overnight bus trips, we have a mix of weekend and midweek overnight trips, with something to please everyone. 

A trip to Japan is also in the works.  Please stay tuned for an early sign-up date once the trip details are finalized.

2024 Charter Trips 

Japan (Tokyo and Niseko)  – Jan 11-21 (TBC)
Peisey Vallandry, France – Club Med – (Les Arcs/La Plagne Paradiski) –
Jan 20-28
Red Mountain, BC – Josie Hotel – Jan 20-27
Sun Peaks, BC – Cahilty Lodge (hotel + kitchenette units) – Jan 27-Feb 3
Panorama, BC – Approach Hotel (new) – Feb 3-10
Winter Park, Colorado, USA – Vintage Hotel – Feb 3-10
Banff, AB – Banff Aspen Lodge – Feb 10-17
Sun Peaks, BC – Grand Hotel – March 3-10
SilverStar, BC Cross Country or Downhill – Vance Creek Condos –
March 4-11
Banff, AB – Banff Aspen Lodge – MARCH BREAK – March 9-16

2024 Overnight Bus Trips

Mont Tremblant, QC – Holiday Inn – Dec 15-17, 2023
Holiday Valley, NY, USA – Microtel – Jan 12-14
Mont Tremblant, QC – Holiday Inn – Feb 4-9
Quebec City, QC – Manoir Victoria (ski Mont Ste Anne, Le Massif and Stoneham) – MARCH BREAK – March 10-15
Killington, VT, USA – Killington Grand – studio kitchenettes and hotel –
March 17-22
Mont Tremblant, QC – Holiday Inn – March 22-24
Le Massif, QC – Club Med Charlevoix – March 24-29

Trip Sign-up Nights will be as follows:

Thursday, August 24 – Club Med Europe and Charlevoix
Thursday, Sepember 28 – Charters
Thursday, October 26 – Overnight bus trips

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Ikon Pass Group Sale Extended!

Good news for any Ikon Pass procrastinators! Our Group Sale agreement (with our partner Skican) has been extended to May 5th!

If you are hesitant because you are recovering from an injury, or because you are worried you may not otherwise be able to use the pass next year, Ikon has a few different types of insurance:

Adventure Assurance lets you defer the value of your pass to the following year, so long as you defer before December 14, 2023. And it’s free and included with your pass purchase!

Pass Protection and Injury Insurance are also available. See link here for details.

Insurance is not available directly through the Group Sale. The Spot Insurance will need to be purchased directly with Ikon by calling their Customer Support Center at 888-365-IKON after you’ve purchased your pass through Skican. This can be done anytime before October 31 2023.

For further information or to participate in the Group Sale, contact Russ Harding at ikon@hpsc.ca.

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Long Trips News

The season is over, but members are already rushing to pick up Ikon passes before the price increases for our Group Sale program on May 5th. Next season promises to have more Ikon pass trips including two trips to Banff, two to Sun Peaks, the new Approach hotel in Panorama, and the lovely slope side Josie hotel, a Colorado trip and three overnight bus trips to Mont Tremblant. Other club favorites such as Club Med Europe trip, the popular new Club Med in Charlevoix, a March Break trip to Quebec City, and Holiday Valley in New York are planned. We’re also working on some overnight bus trips to the USA. Stay tuned to SnoBiz as we will announce sign up dates soon.
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Ikon Pass Update

Ikon Pass sales have been way up this year over last year! Members seem to be recognizing that the price of day passes is increasing, making multi-mountain passes ideal.

The Ikon Base Pass is especially popular with our members, since it offers unlimited skiing at Blue Mountain and Tremblant. We have a few weeks of skiing left this season! Blue and Tremblant will accept next season’s pass right away! I was at Tremblant for the Easter weekend, and it was a glorious sunshine filled spring weekend with mostly short lines and surprisingly good snow and coverage!

There are a few destinations where only a full Ikon Pass is accepted (or Ikon Base Plus). As long as the passes are on sale, it will be possible to upgrade from an Ikon Base Pass to a full Ikon Pass (or Ikon Base Plus). So if you decide to go on a trip to destinations like Alta, Jackson Hole or a few others, you can upgrade at a later date.

Our Long Trips schedule is not yet settled, but it will have many options that will please holders of Ikon Passes.

Members purchasing or renewing passes get a chance to win a refund for an Ikon Base Pass, PLUS they get a $50 discount off ANY Skican trip.

Prices will be going up April 21. The renewal discount will be finished on that date. The Group Sale will run to September 1.

We are not permitted to share the exact pricing in a public way, so reach out to me for details: ikon@hpsc.ca.

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It’s not too early to start thinking about next season!

We’ve had tremendous demand for long trips this season so I’m pleased to tell you that we will be planning even more trips for next season. With the addition of Sun Peaks to the Ikon pass, we’ve planned for two trips next year to that destination. We will also have two trips to Banff. Both of these HPSC favorites had long waiting lists and we want members to have the best chances to be on these trips.

Be sure to continue to read Snobiz as we will announce our list of charters and overnight bus trips soon and provide instructions on how to apply to be an HPSC trip leader. Being selected as a trip leader is a great way to ensure that you and your travel partner will both be on that trip. As in prior years, our Club Med trips will go on sale first, followed by the rest of our charters, followed by bus trips. Dates will also be announced shortly.

Kim Wiebe

Director of Long Trips

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Trip Report: Marmot Basin–a jewel in the Rockies

Our diverse group of skiers found that Marmot Basin has something for everyone. Even though it was not a good snow year, the base was reliable and quite skiable. Located in Jasper National Park, the scenery is absolutely spectacular.

We stayed at the Crimson Hotel  — nice rooms, good facilities, extremely well-run. Après-ski was well attended, sharing a drink with friends on a sunny deck. Almost everyone on the trip showed up for pizza night and the group dinner at Fiddle River Restaurant, one of the many excellent restaurants on offer in the town of Jasper.

Those who took a day off to do the Maligne Canyon ice walk raved about the experience  — most highly recommended.

Ed Bezeau, Trip Leader