For some, there’s nothing better than the feeling of flying on the slopes, and that freedom has become even more important during the COVID-19 health crisis.
“It’s a good way to be active during the pandemic since the gyms are closed,” said Nicole Vamvakas, a skier in Sommet Gabriel in Sainte-Adèle, Qc.
“I find personally it’s good for my mental health to get out, get some fresh air and move a bit.”
Even though the province has announced a stricter lockdown as of Saturday, it didn’t ask people to hang up their skis.
The slopes will remain open but with a fresh layer of restrictions.
- Classes with instructors are now cancelled
- People can only ski with members of their family bubble
- Night skiing won’t be allowed in order to allow people to make it home in time for the 8 p.m. curfew.
That’s in addition to wearing a mask and limiting the number of people going on lifts together.
The new measures are forcing ski hill operators to readjust.
“We’ve had to readjust some products,” said Christian Dufour, marketing director of Les Sommets.
“So people that have night season passes, that are only available at night, we will readjust the hours to make sure that they are able to ski as much as possible.”
Dufour says they have limited the number of day passes they sell.
They have also stopped selling season passes in order to control how many people are on the hills.
“Which is a big impact to make sure that we satisfy our season’s pass holders first,” Dufour said.
But Dufour says the ski business is used to working under variable conditions and they are ready to change course — much to the delight of their customers, who say they don’t mind the measures.
“It feels like you still have that freedom aspect at the same time of being safe and having fun,” said Elle Barret.