Where are We Going?

With all the uncertainty in the world right now we know you have questions about the coming ski season. Some of you may be wondering whether there will even be a season or why we are still planning one.

We recognize that many have lost loved ones and that recreational snow sports are trivial in comparison with loss of human life, loss of jobs, housing and businesses. When the board met in late March, the travel and global health outlook was fairly bleak. After extensive discussion, the board decided to move forward with the season with a guiding principle we came to call “Rational Optimism.”

Skiing and riding are our passion and the club is a community. With the hard work of the committees and volunteers, the cooperation of the resorts and our vendors, we forged ahead. No one knew what the season ahead would look like but we began planning for a season like no other. The season had to be scalable – the ability to add, drop, defer and change trips with as much flexibility as possible. We would need to find a way to have opening night – even if we could not meet. We would need to find a way to get forms signed and payments made – in a world where suddenly no one wanted to touch paper or cash.

All of our volunteers went to work on this and have made unbelievable progress in three short months. You will learn more about the changes to the trip signup process as well as the trips currently on the schedule at the June 17, 2020, Zoom general meeting.

Candidly, I am not certain which trip(s) I will attend next year. I remember during April and early May - when the health crisis was at its worst in our area - looking at my computer screen saver of Rendezvous Bowl and my framed photo with ski club friends at the Blackcomb Glacier often. I recall thinking that I was so glad I had gone on those trips, had those experiences and memories, particularly if returning to those places might not be all that easy in the future.

As I write this, the travel and public health outlook, while still less than ideal, look a little brighter. Neither the club nor I can tell you whether you should purchase a pass, what will happen if there is another shutdown, or what skiing will be like if social distancing remains. There is a certain amount of risk involved in all adventure travel. This coming year will involve a bit more risk, no doubt. Each and every turn we are fortunate enough to experience will be that much more rewarding having faced the prospect of a winter without sliding on snow.

Everyone will need to make their own decisions in their own time. The club understands this. We remain Rationally Optimistic.

- Jeanine