Issue 219 - The One With The Hydrogen-Powered Snow Groomer

December 21, 2020

Dec 21, 2020

Wednesday will be the last issue of 2020. We will be back on Jan. 4th. Hope everyone gets some rest and relaxation over the holidays because 2021 is going to be Legen…wait for it…dary. 🐮

- Kirsten

If a wonderful friend sent you this email then hit the button below to subscribe!

Final Poll Of 2020:

What is your favourite Holiday movie?

🚐 National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
🔫 Die Hard
🏚 Home Alone
🧝 Elf
📖 A Christmas Story
🎅 A Christmas Carol

Leave a comment below if you have another favourite…I can only fit 6 on the list!

Results on Wednesday.

Play More: Some Thoughts After 100,000 Vertical Feet Skied So Far This Season

The Good:

We had a solid snowfall over the weekend, which brought with it some awesome powder skiing and some very sore legs!
The lifties are the heroes at the resort. The usual contingent of amazing Australians and New Zealanders are presumably at home dealing with COVID restrictions, so we currently have a more localish crew manning the lifts. They’re doing a great job keeping things moving along.
Most people are wearing masks in the lift lines!
Another 12-14 inches of snow is headed our way on Monday… I need to get some rest 🥱.

The Bad:

The resort seems very understaffed at the moment. I can’t figure out if it was a weekend rush of skiers or if the holiday ski crowd is here early this year. Usually, it doesn’t get super busy until the day after boxing day. Maybe it will be different this year, as you’re not allowed to host your family for Christmas, so why not go to the resort and ski! Makes total sense 🤪.
The resort needs additional staff to ensure there is a semblance of social distancing in the lift lines and on the chairlifts and to enforce masking for the 10% of people who just don’t get it.
The worst offenders for not following protocols are the coaches and members of the ski race teams. Normally, I am enraged by their pure lack of consideration for others that are skiing (they act like they own the hill), but now they are flat out ignoring the regulations that are keeping our ski season alive 😡.

Should I take to Twitter and call out this bad behaviour?

👍 Go Viral 👎 Keep Quiet

Waste Less: World's First Hydrogen-Powered Snow Groomer

As skiers, the natural environment is our playground, and preserving and enhancing it should be a high priority (that’s why MTN Impact is here!). There’s a long way to go, but we can all play our part in carving out a more sustainable future in winter sports and beyond!

Technology is catching up; let’s hope the ski resorts take notice and invest! (7 min watch).

Good Links 🔗

Coffee Break Video: Stuck and hanging from a lift at Sundance Utah (10 sec watch - Reddit)

Lunch Time POD: Life Lessons from Elite Explorers. Ask a professional adventurer to share the most important lesson they’ve learned from their time in the wild, and you’re bound to get a good story. (30 min listen)

Deals: Sawyer Tap Water Filtration System Giveaway. (1 min read)

Van Life: A Firetruck Turned Cabin Makes the Cozy Portable. Austin Smith has an addiction to big, red, kitted out trucks. Well, he has two, anyway, and considering the time and effort it takes to convert old, non-adventure trucks into rolling cabins, having two counts as an addiction. (6 min watch)

COVID (Canada): Big White ski resort cancels non-local bookings, but Whistler leaves it up to guests to follow COVID-19 rules. (2 min read)

COVID (US): Ski Season Is Back, And So Are Coronavirus Lockdowns. (4 min read)

How To: Ski When You Are Blind - no joke. (2 min read)

Deals: Greg’s Day Pack (MTN Impact recommended) - Osprey Men's Talon 22 Pack. (Get) - 26% off

Deals: My Day Pack (MTN Impact recommended) - Osprey Women's Tempest 20 Pack. (Get) - 26% off

Do Better:

Field Mag @fieldmag

It's not too late to add a book of adventure, by a Black author, to your holiday gifting. Here are 10 options any outdoorist will appreciate

fieldmag.com10 Outdoor Books by BIPOC Writers for Your Reading ListEducate yourself with these books on environmental justice, structural racism, and outdoor experiences by Black, Indigenous, and POC writers

Coffee Break Video: Outerlimits Ski Resort - Fake commercial made for a fictional ski resort (1 min watch - Reddit)

Waste Less: Ignik and HitchFire Partner up to Reduce Waste. “I look forward to seeing where these two brands go together, and we are glad to have Hitchfire’s support in the campaign to reduce waste and remove single-use propane bottles from our parks and landfills." (1 min read)

People: Avoiding the lodge at the Ski Resort! Nice work, Dave! Masks on and a social distance line up for a Mimosa! 🍸