Short Swings!
Friends in Vail recently got their Covid vaccinations. Colorado is making them available to people 70 and older.
If we were in Utah where we have a place, my wife and I would be able to get shots on Monday, January 18. But we’re in NY where, over the past few days, the Governor announced that people 65+ are now eligible. Scheduling the shot is confusing. The state’s vaccination registration website listing places administering vaccine has hundreds of drugstores, hospitals and dedicated vaccine administration sites. Virtually everyplace we called had no idea when the vaccine would be available.
Eventually, one of us was able to schedule an appointment at a freestanding vaccine administration site for the end of February. We’re still searching for another time slot.
Our friends in Vail were given cards verifying they’ve been vaccinated (the first of two doses). It will be interesting to see if a more sophisticated digital system will evolve to identify who has been vaccinated. If it does, it probably will raise issues about privacy. I’m all for maintaining individual digital privacy, but I’m also aware that most Internet users reveal far too much personal detail on Facebook and other social media platforms, often in contrast with their concerns about government knowledge of their personal lives. Articles I’ve read suggest that at one point, those of us who’ve been vaccinated will be part of a national digital registry. Eventually, when airlines and other enterprises limit access only to those who’ve been vaccinated, they’ll get that info from the registry.
It wouldn’t surprise me if, at one point in time, that info also will be registered on your electronic ski pass…the one that provides access to the lift. When that happens, it will help determine who has access to restaurants, rental facilities, etc. That’s probably several seasons out, but don’t be surprised when it happens.
Schweitzer Mountain Fights Back
Schweitzer Mountain’s Twilight skiing suspended because of disrespectful clientele
Schweitzer Mountain Resort, Sandpoint, Idaho, announced it will close its twilight skiing operations for two weekends as retribution for “…the verbal abuse…directed towards our staff as they have attempted to enforce our safety requirements…” Some customers have resisted wearing masks and social distancing.
$10,000 Reward to Identify Hit and Run Teen Skier
The collision occurred in Vail’s China Bowl on January 6. A teenage boy on skis crashed, full force, into Betty Benjamin, 74. She’s now hospitalized with a collapsed lung and all right-side ribs broken. Her brother is offering the reward. Colorado law makes it illegal for anyone involved in a ski accident in which someone is injured to leave the scene without giving name and address to an area employee or member of patrol. In a related matter, last week a panel for Colorado Court of Appeals affirmed use of waivers protecting ski resorts from lawsuits filed by people injured while skiing/boarding. It appears to be a win for the resorts, not the people who use them.
Own an Epic Pass but Unable to Use it? Read this.
This article from The New York Times explains the dilemma faced by Epic Passholders unable to cross stateliness because of Covid restrictions and and Vail’s response to the issue.
Alyeska Reports 460+”
Alyeska under the Northern Lights
Alaska’s Alyeska Resort is the first North American resort to top 400′ this season. Storms over the paset several days dumped almost 5′.
Indoor Dining Suspended at Aspen Snowmass
Pitkin County, where the resort is located will allow outside dining and takeout. The county has the second-highest Covid incidence rate in Colorado. One in 35 residents is infected.
Remember Eddie the Eagle?
He was the British ski jumper who bedazzled spectators during the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics with his barely competent but highly courageous derring-do. I’ve been thinking about Eddie’s pluck during this time of confinement. He didn’t win any medals but he inspired a world of onlookers with his grit and determination. His story was the subject of a feature film a few years ago starring Hugh Jackman. To watch the trailer, click on the picture. This brief, upbeat report about Eddie, now in his mid-50s, also is worth watching.
And Now For Something a Little Different
Chuck Patterson is a California freeskier who has graced the cover of Powder Magazine. Over the past few years, using ski boots and skis, he’s shifted from flakes to surf . Enjoy this video produced by Salomon.