Long Trips – Page 5 – High Park Ski Club Blog

2021-12-222022-01-05

President’s Message – Happy Holidays!!

Home Smith Park, December 25, 2020 Photo by JK Graham

December 22, 2021

HPSC Friends,

I would like to wish all of you the very best of the holidays!

As you know we have been planning very hard, as best we can, for what we had hoped to be a close facsimile of a normal season. But the one thing we have all learned over the last two years is the need to stay flexible. During the last three weeks we have gone from being fairly optimistic of starting the season, weather dependent, on time, to having to make the following announcement.

As we have stated repeatedly, the safety of our members is our top priority. Therefore, due to the rapid increase of COVID cases due to the Omicron variant we have made the decision to pause the beginning of the season. And to start, unfortunately, we will not be able to run any buses.

Downhill daytrips will begin on Saturday January 15^th and continue as scheduled as drive-up only events. This means that we will offer lessons by our Snow School. To participate you will need to register via HPSC for lessons, but you will need to purchase your lift ticket directly from the resort. For the Wednesday trips we are still discussing with the clubs how tickets will be handled.

Due to the changing situation, registration for each week’s trip will also open one week prior to the first trip and continue on a weekly basis. Registration will close for the weekend and Monday trips as usual on Thursday at 6pm. Due to new requirements at the private clubs, we have had to move up the registration deadline as well to Thursday at 6pm. So all downhill trips will now close at the same time. Registration for the first week will open on January 8^th.

On the cross-country side, all trips at this point are postponed until at least January 22^nd, and will only run if we are able to run bus trips.

Our plan is to continuously monitor the situation and to start running buses when it is feasible, so please read all communications carefully from the club to stay informed.

Further, due to the revised regulations announced last week regarding the need for a PCR test for any trip outside of the country, even for less than 72 hours, the Long Trips Committee has made the decision to cancel our yearly trip to Holiday Valley for this season.

Never a dull moment!

Happy Holidays! Enjoy the season and please stay safe. And if you are able to, get your booster shot when you can.

Cheers!

Justin Graham

President, High Park Ski Club

2021-11-292021-12-16

President’s Message – Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

November 24, 2021

The Cowbell of Office – HPSC Information Night and Social, Liberty Common, Liberty Village, November 17, 2021 Photo by Amy Lam

HPSC Friends,

This week it is really finally feeling like winter is about to arrive. And with it a new HPSC season.

Over the last week, we held a very successful Club Information and Social Event in Liberty Village (thank you Amy), the last SkiFit of the season (thank you to John, George and Cynthia), and a successful on-line event, Cross-Country Skiing 101: Sliding on Skinny Skis (thank you Heather). The cross-fit series continues until the end of the month (registration is open for the remaining session)(thank you to Michaela).

We also found out this week that the federal government, as of November 30^th is lifting the testing requirement for vaccinated Canadians returning to Canada from trips of less than 72 hours. For the club this means that there will be no testing requirement for our weekend trip to Holiday Valley at the end of January. And on a higher level, the approval of vaccinations for children means that we are one step closer to the end of this pandemic and getting back to a much more normal season.

Thank you as well to the almost 70% of current members who have provided their vaccination proof to the club. A reminder that as of November 6^th, members cannot register for any in-person events including socials, daytrips, or long trips if they have not had their vaccination status verified. Please do so as soon as possible instead of waiting until you want to register for an event.

As well, a reminder for those who did not join last season due to COVID, last year still counts towards you club seniority, but to retain it you need to rejoin this year.

I have said in the past, people may come to the club for a specific sport, but they return year after year because of the friends they make and the community that is HPSC. This past year has challenged our ability to make those connections. We sincerely hope that this coming season we are able to get back to providing opportunities for members to meet their new lifelong friends!

Cheers!

Justin Graham, President, HPSC

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

2021-11-102021-11-07

The day we never thought would ever happen!

At the end of October, Bill Bates, our long-time Director of Long Trips announced his desire to step down as Director.

Bill has been on the Long Trips Committee (LTC) for over 25 years, and as Director for many of those years. Long trips is one of the core parts of what makes HPSC such a great club, and without Bill’s guiding hand the club would be much different. The stability of the LTC over the last 10 years says a lot about Bill’s approach and his leadership style.

Do not worry, Bill is not disappearing from the club or from Long Trips. He has offered to remain on the LTC to support the new Director and be a member of the LTC.

Bill has recommended to the Board that long-time member of the LTC and of the club, Kim Wiebe, be appointed as the new Director of Long Trips to finish out the remaining 6 months of his current term. Kim also has the support of the other members of the Long Trips Committee. At the November Board meeting held this week, Kim was approved as the new Director. Welcome to the board Kim, and I look forward to working with you!

On a personal note, Bill’s calm presence on the Board over the last year and a half has been a tremendous help as we worked through the aftermath of the COVID trip cancellations, as well as planning for trips in this new environment. His institutional knowledge of the club has also been a valuable resource.

Thank you so much Bill for all that you have done for the club! And I hope you enjoy all of your new free time!

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.

2021-10-24

Long Trip Sign-up Night on October 28th

After the success of our charter trip signup nights (there are still a limited number of spots available), our long trips sign up is this Thursday, October 28 at 8pm sharp.

Only those fully vaccinated are qualified to register for any trip. If you register and cannot provide your vaccination proof to our Membership team by November 6^th, you will be removed from the trip and will lose your $100 non-refundable deposit.

If you still need to renew your membership, or send in your vaccination proof, and want to sign up for one of the long trips, please do so by Tuesday October 26th. This allows the time for our membership team to process your materials prior to the trip signup on Thursday night.

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING CHANGE: The first weekend trip in December to Tremblant, that is the instructor training weekend, has been changed from a bus trip to a U-Drive trip, with a corresponding decrease in cost. Regular members are still welcome to register, however, please note you will need to arrange your own transportation to the resort. Also note that there will be no reception on this trip as originally planned.

We have arranged eight bus trips for the upcoming season, including three mid-week trips, and a specific weekend cross-country/snowshoe trip (and a cross-country option for the mid-week Tremblant trip). Three of the trips are cross-border, including the return of our very popular weekend trip to Holiday Valley, just outside of Buffalo.

Members have been asking questions about what the rules will be on the bus. At this point, since all members on the trip will be verified as fully vaccinated, we plan on running the buses at almost full capacity. Similar to when flying, members will be required to wear masks while on the bus and remain in their seat as much as possible. Eating and drinking should be limited, and food should not be passed around. For this year, there will be no ‘party’ table seats at the back

We understand that this is much different than our normal bus trips, but please recall that last season we were not even entertaining running long bus trips at all. Our greatest hope is that by this time next year we will again be back to worrying about trips selling out too quickly!

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