Downhill skiing during the Covid pandemic has really complicated a beautiful sport. However, I wanted to help readers navigate this inconvenience, due to the positive mental health rewards from this mountain activity. The value for people to be off their electronics and in the outdoors cannot be underestimated. Some of the lessons I learned from Yale School of Happiness course, by Dr. Laurie Santos (available on Coursera for free) is to spend less time on social media and more time in nature. Savor the moment. As I write this post I hope to savor the great feeling with you.
Covid skiing requires that your car is your chalet. Boot changing and lunch is to be done in the vehicle. I recommend to bring a camping chair to extend your vehicle footprint and give yourself space to change and eat comfortably. In addition, bring a thermos for tea or soup in the car and keep it warm for lunch. If you have a truck open the back gate above your head as a roof and wind break. You can even hang some plastic sheeting over the tail gate to create a tent. These camping experiences are reminiscent of my days as a ski bum travelling in my van during the 70s. (See Ski Zen Love on Amazon). Your are not in high mountain elevation as in the Himalayas, so it is really not that uncomfortable. A small inconvenience for your family and public health.
Covid skiing, requires you buy your tickets in advance of the date you want to ski. If you are organized, you may have a seasons pass for your local mountain. At Mt. St. Louis they have a rechargeable card that allows you to load it for each ski day. Once you have your ticket loaded, you arrive at the mountain and when changed approach the hill to present your vaccination status. Once approved you enter the ski area. You can use washrooms and warm up, but no food eating in the buildings. In the lift lines and chairs and chalet you must maintain a mask to protect those around you. One more idea is to bring a snack with you on the mountain, so you can ski longer before returning to the vehicle for lunch.
As I skied Mt. St. Louis today, I was impressed with the full snow coverage of the slopes, considering there was very little natural snow to date. This is the miracle of Mt St. Louis Moonstone. Located in a beautiful snow belt, the well managed slopes are serviced by top of the line the ski making and grooming machinery. These are the elements for success during climate change skiing.
I had the pleasure to meet skiers from as far as Windsor who cancelled plans for Quebec due to the lockdown issues there and were happy to be in the small local Ontario hills north of Toronto. Others were supposed to be in Dominican, but had flights cancelled.
I was impressed with the tenacity of families to enjoy skiing no matter the complexity and inconvenience of it. Take care of your health, both physically and mentally and get out on the slopes and enjoy the mountain life. Wear your mask, and smell the fresh air without one on your way down.
The Adventure Guy
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