High Park Ski Club Blog – Page 21 – Read about all of the latest news and events from HPSC

2020-11-182020-11-27

Long Trip >>> I must Cancel? Trip Cancelled?

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.

BOO HOO, I REALLY WANTED TO GO SKIING! BUT NOW I CAN’T…

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.

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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.

2020-11-13

Working together to make our XC season happen!

Still hoping for snow over here! In the meantime, I want to make sure our members are prepared for what this ski season will bring the club. Lots of things will remain the same – good friends, lots of laughs, high quality lessons (including beginner lessons). But, there are some things that are going to look a little different this year, and we all – the board/volunteers, members, and resorts – need to work together to make it a success.

First, we’ll be hanging out outside most of the time. Good thing us cross-country skiers and snowshoers are tough! All the resorts will have restricted access to indoor facilities in order to adhere to physical distancing guidelines. To compensate, we will have the bus open for lunch (with physical distancing rules in place). We also highly recommend that you bring a small pack to ski with. In your pack, you can bring extra snacks (or lunch, if it’s warm enough to eat on the trails), water, maybe a small thermos with warm liquid, and extra layers (I’ll be bringing my down coat, extra socks, and my big puffy pink mittens that keep me warm no matter the temperature!). There will be limited food options, so we suggest you always bring your lunch this year. We will also be getting ready on the bus and storing our personal items on the bus. Some of you already do this, so it won’t be a major change. For others (like me!), it will be.

Second, members need to be very careful when registering. Due to changes in the procedures we have to follow at the resorts, we cannot allow members to make changes to their registration options on the bus this year. Be careful not to make any mistakes; if you do contact crosscountry@hpsc.ca to rectify by Thursday 6pm before the trip (the trip registration deadline). If you have to make changes after that, you are responsible for doing so at the resort and will incur any extra costs.

Third, we’re all going to need a big dose of patience this year! Everything – loading and unloading the bus, getting the tickets, getting our rentals, organizing lessons – is simply going to take more time this year due to physical distancing guidelines. But if we all have some extra patience and understanding, treat each other with kindness and respect, and work together, I am confident we can make this a safe and successful ski season.

Looking forward to the day when we can be within 6 feet of each other. Until then, patience!

Remember – wear your masks, practice physical distancing, and wash your hands!

2020-11-122020-11-13

Deadline Dates for Charters

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.

2020-11-10

The Downhill Day Trip Schedule Is Here!

We have worked all summer to ensure that our members will have the best of Ontario skiing and snowboarding available. We continue our strong partnerships with our local hills, and have heard time and time again how happy hills are to have us return.

At this time, we are unsure if we will be running buses. While we hope we can provide bus transportation, in the event that we cannot due to health regulations, all trips will be available in a drive-up format.

For both bus and drive-up members, you will be required to register for your day trip through hpsc.ca
Members will be required to register for a lift ticket and lesson if they choose to take a lesson. Walk-up lift ticket purchases at the hills will not be available this year. HPSC will have a limited number of guaranteed lift tickets for registered day trip members. For this reason, we suggest registering early for a trip you are interested in.

For all downhill day trips, members will be required to follow HPSC and resort COVID-19 policies. Failure to follow these policies will result in disciplinary actions.

We look forward to sharing the best of winter with all of our members this season!

To view the 2020/2021 schedule, click here.

2020-11-092020-11-10

Cross-Country ski and snowshoe schedule online

Although summer seems to have returned to Southern Ontario, HPSC has winter on the mind!

If you are interested in where we are cross-country skiing and snowshoeing the year, the provisional schedule is now available on the website. Please note that dates and locations are subject to change as we continue to work with the resorts to confirm plans for this winter.

All resorts offer rentals and have wonderful ski and snowshoe trails. We will, as usual, offer lessons on every trip, unless otherwise noted (at the start and the end of the season). While we may not be able to offer our lessons series this year, there will be beginner lessons offered on every trip. If you need to learn to ski, we will teach you!

Stayed tuned to the website for changes!

Just a reminder of the magic of winter! March 31, 2019 at Hardwood Hills. All it takes is colder temps and good dump of snow!

2020-11-022020-11-02

First snow…

Was I ever excited to wake up to a thin blanket of snow this morning. Not enough for a ski in the park, but I had an awesome trail run!

We are getting ever closer to ski season. While the board is busy firming up our policies and procedures for this coming season, there’s lots that you can do to prepare for the ski season.

We are still running Ski Fit! This is a great way to get some exercise in High Park with your fellow members. Remember that this year you need to register on the website to participate. There are limited spots.

If you aren’t coming to Ski Fit, still get outdoors for consistent exercise so you are fit come ski season. Run, walk, hike, bike…whatever makes you happy! There is also cross-country ski specific training I covered in a post from last year. Don’t let a blustery November slow you down. It’s one of my favourite times of the year to run.

Finally, it’s time to think about making yourself – and consequently your ski community – safe for the winter. As cases increase, particularly in hot spots like the GTA, public health experts recommend that we decrease our close social contacts to keep the spread down and our communities safe. This is particularly important as the holiday season approaches. As difficult as it is, we know that prolonged, un-masked indoor social contact spreads the virus. If we want our ski season to run, let us, as the HPSC community, commit to keeping ourselves out of high risk situations. If we all follow public health guidelines to the best of our abilities and circumstances, we can keep each other safe and hopefully ski and snowshoe all winter long.

This bout of snow will disappear, but winter will arrive in full force soon. Do your snow dances and keep yourselves and your loved ones safe!

2020-10-252021-02-16

Anticipation in Autumn!

President’s Message

I like to say that I survive the summer in anticipation of the fall and the joy of winter. And this year is no different.

Autumn has always been one of my favourite times of the year – the crisp air, the colours of the trees, and of course preparing for the upcoming ski season, including the weekly HPSC SkiFit in High Park. This year, SkiFit has provided the opportunity for me to reconnect with members, as well as meeting a number of new members who have come out.

I know that many of you have been anxious to hear what our exact plans are for the year. In a normal season all of these things would have been announced by now. However, as we all know this is not a normal year. We are still working out details (and prices) with the various resorts because they are still working things out on their side. We will be communication plans as soon as we can.

HPSC members are different than many Canadians – we actually look forward to the coming of winter. And this year even more so than usual! A good omen for me was the arrival a couple of weeks ago (on my birthday) of a surprise package – my Ikon pass for the coming season!! And the news this past weekend that Mount Norquay in Banff has just opened, it’s earliest first day in it’s 95-year history.

I know this season will be much different than usual, but I can tell you that I am still looking forward to having a fantastic year.

Cheers!

Justin Graham

President, High Park Ski Club

2020-10-242020-10-27

Overnight Registration Is This Week

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.

2020-10-222020-10-23

Classic vs. Skate: What’s the difference and what do I choose?

If you’re new to cross-country skiing, you may not know that there are two different styles of skiing – classic skiing and skate skiing.

Classic skiing is the original form of cross-country skiing. Skiers ski in preset tracks made by groomers using a technique we call diagonal stride to propel themselves forward. With the skis in the track, the skier puts their weight on one ski, pushes off, and glides on the other ski. Then repeat! (This is a super simplified technique explanation). Most people will start their cross-country ski careers in classic. While classic technique is actually difficult to master and perform efficiently, it is relatively easy to get moving on the trails and takes perhaps a little less fitness to do so.

Instructor Regina works on her diagonal stride during an instructor training session.

HPSC member Natalie gave skate skiing a try last winter!

Skate skiing emerged as a newer technique. Done outside of the classic tracks, it resembles an ice skating motion (hence the name) with the skier pushing off the skis laterally to propel themselves forward. When done well, it’s fun and fast! There is, however, arguably a steeper learning curve to skating; while it varies between individuals, generally it takes people longer to get functionally moving with skate skis. And it can be exhausting at first. But if you stick with it, it becomes lots of fun, and less tiring as your technique improves.

The skis, boots, and poles are different for each. Classic skis are longer than skate skis, and classic poles are shorter than skate poles. Skate boots have more ankle support than classic boots. Skate gear tends to be more expensive to rent.

Conditions will dictate which technique will be more fun on any given day. I love classic skiing when there’s lots of fresh snow, or it’s a perfect blue wax day with fresh track. If you only skate ski, you’ll miss out on the beautiful classic-only trails Ontario has to offer. On a harder packed, or icy, day, give me skate skiing! That’s when you can really fly. Temperature can also play a critical role; if it’s really cold, skate skiing is going to be a slog.

HPSC offers lessons in both techniques! Learning both will open up a whole new world of skiing.

If you only skate ski, you miss out on fun adventures like this! (Orford, QC 2019)

2020-10-212020-11-02

Cross-country ski/snowshoe 2020-21 season update

We are currently planning the best we can for our season given COVID-19. To make the experience as safe as we can for members, we anticipate the following policies will be in place:

We are committed to running buses provided we can do so in accordance with public health guidelines. If they run, we will have reduced bus capacity (approximately 30 people) and one bus/trip (meaning trips are limited to 30 bus spots). Mandatory cloth or disposable masks (worn properly, covering both the mouth and nose) in all indoor spaces (bus and resort). NO EXCEPTIONS. We have confirmed that almost all of our resorts will accept bus groups this year (except Wasaga).

Friends at Georgian Nordic! Let’s repeat, just 6ft apart.

We will ask our members to commit to spending as little time inside resorts as possible. The bus will be an indoor lunch spot option. But not a social lunch – no more than a certain number of members on a time and please eat quickly and leave. We recommend bringing a pack to ski with that has food and extra clothing. If not too cold, eat on the trails. It will definitely be a different experience this year! Think of yourself as a backcountry explorer.

We will leave the resorts a bit earlier, at 4pm, to reduce the amount of waiting time at the end of the day.

Ski school is committed to providing lessons, although we may have to scale down our offerings in the interest of adhering to public health guidelines to keep everyone safe as well as based on our instructor availability. Luckily our classes are usually small and physical distancing when teaching isn’t a problem.

Drive up members will have to register online for lessons, and will be responsible for purchasing their own trail passes and rentals.

Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available. The board of directors is working hard to formalize our policies and will release them at the beginning of December. We ask for your patience as the situation is very fluid.

We are excited to get out skiing! Keep healthy and safe in the meantime.

Best,

Heather Steel, Director, Cross-Country Skiing and Snowshoeing