Uncategorised – Page 13 – High Park Ski Club Blog

2022-01-042022-01-19

New Director of Communications

Communication Director Nemanja Davidovic, informed the board that due to increased work responsibilities he needed to resign as Director of Communications. Long time member Suzanne de Grandpre was appointed by the board at our December meeting as the new Director of Communications to complete Nemanja’s term.

I would personally like to thank Nemanja for all his work on the board and his assistance and help in transitioning Suzanne into the role. And I look forward to working with Suzanne.

To read more about Suzanne, see below:

“Having grown up in Alberta, I started skiing in Banff and Whistler during university. After a hiatus of a number of years, I moved to Toronto and wished to get back into skiing. I didn’t even know people skied in Ontario until I joined High Park Ski Club, of which I have been a continuous member since 1998. My time in the club has consisted of everything from day trips to overnight trips to Quebec and the US and, of course, the charter trips which I eagerly anticipate every year! I have made many friends and gained many fond skiing memories over the years. The excellent instruction I received from our amazing instructors has taken my skiing to new levels. It has also been a most gratifying experience giving back to the club as a volunteer, director, co-trip leader and bus captain. I am looking forward to continue serving the club as Communications Director.”

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

2021-12-02

Cross-country day trips begin Dec. 29!

Your cross-country ski and snowshoe team is excited to announce that the first trip of the season will be a rare mid-week trip for us – Wed., Dec. 29 to Scenic Caves! Since Christmas and New Year’s both fall on weekends, we couldn’t schedule our regular New Year’s celebration on the weekend. So we’re trying something new!

Are you off work in between Christmas and New Year’s? Get in a ski on what we hope will be relatively quiet midweek trails. Ring in a new year with friends and enjoy the first HPSC trip back in nearly two years!

We will have access to the log cabin and the adjacent washrooms. There is no food, so bring your own. You may want to bring a ski pack with some extra food and warm, dry clothing. There are rentals.

No lessons on this trip – let’s just get our ski legs back!

Registration opens Dec. 15th.

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

2021-11-102021-11-07

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

2021-11-102021-11-29

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

2021-10-132021-11-08

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