Life In A Ski Town Under Lock Down – What’s It Like?

 

 

Mountainwatch | Reggae Elliss 

Since the resort closures started happening in North America and Europe a few weeks ago, life has been very different for people in ski towns and resorts around the world. Typically, some of the closures coincided with good snowfalls, but while restrictions on skiing and snowboarding are one element, there are a lot of other factors to consider. Mountainwatch spoke to four people living in lockdown in different ski towns around the world about their experiences and thoughts on the unfolding Covid-19 pandemic

Sam Robertson, Verbier, Switzerland

Sam Robertson  grew up in Thredbo is a former member of the Australian race team and has been living and working in Stockholm the past few years. A passionate skier, Sam spends as much time as he can in Verbier each winter which where he was when we spoke to him, just coming out of self-isolation after contracting the Covid-19 virus.

 

 You’re in Verbier in with the virus and in lockdown – when did you find out?

About three weeks ago was the best week of the season – we had 50cm+ every two days and it was going off. This obviously attracted a big crew and a lot of friends to Verbier. A couple of days after things settled, some friends of mine tested positive back in Stockholm and also some others in London. We had all been partying together and riding the cable cars like a pack of sardines, so that was a big red flag. All of a sudden a lot of locals started becoming very ill. A couple of days later Televerbier closed the resort and a few days after that I started showing symptoms.

What has it been like and how are you feeling now? What were your symptoms?

For me it was quite mild, but I was lucky. Some friends of mine have been really sick (and some cruised through it). It differed to a regular flu in that: I had some quite intense muscle and joint pain, a dry barky cough and throat, rather than the usual wet runny nose and a fever. Also, some rarer symptoms, a loss of taste and smell and a couple of Bali belly style poo’s (ew). It sounds bad, but overall, I had more energy than the usual knockout you get from the flu.

Are you seeing doctors or just in self-quarantine and waiting to get well?

I haven’t been to the doctor. Resources are thin up here with what the local doctors describe as a “corona explosion”. I followed the advice to self-quarantine after my first symptoms and to only see a doctor in the worst case, which luckily, I haven’t needed to.

Who are you with and how have you been coping with the lock down? Where are you living?

I’m living with my friend Charlie Raposo from the British Alpine Team at the moment. He came here straight after the final World Cups were cancelled. We both decided that Verbier would be a better place to be in the event of a lockdown than heading back to the cities. looks like we were right. He has also shown symptoms and we’ve been inside for the recommended week now. It hasn’t been so bad! I’ve been catching up with my work team in Stockholm (it can get a little distracting during the season) and being productive. Of course, that’s been mixed in with some Netflix and chill.

 

Verbier was locked down a couple of weeks ago like all of Switzerland and European resorts. Did it come out of the blue or did you know the lock down was going to happen?

It was completely out of the blue. On the Monday we were skiing some of the best snow I’ve ever had in Verbier before heading to a packed après ski. On the Wednesday rumours started circulating that they may close the resort in two weeks. On Thursday night we heard that The Arlberg has decided to close that weekend which everyone thought was crazy! It’s turns out that was simply a prophecy, the following morning we heard that Verbier would be closing in a week; three hours later Televerbier announced they will be closing for the season that day. Two days later it was a ghost town. It all happened so fast.

What was the reaction around town? How are people coping and what is the mood there?

At first everyone was in shock, but it sunk in very quickly. I’m sure a lot of people can relate when I say that ski towns can be a fantasy land, we really didn’t understand how serious the situation was until it was too late. Right now, the mood in town is good. Most of the locals have recovered. People are abiding by the rules and there’re smiles around. It’s quiet and easy going.

What are the next steps? Once you well are you going to stay in Verbier – do you have any choice?

Charlie and I have been without symptoms for a few days now a feel back to normal which is a relief.  I’ve decided to stay here for at least another month to see what happens in Stockholm. It’s very quiet here without many people so it seems ideal for this situation.

How’s the snow? Once you’re feeling OK, can you go touring?

We actually had our first tour today! The snow was terrible ha-ha, but it was great to be outside. We made sure to keep our distance from others which wasn’t hard. We maybe saw 10 others on the hill. At the moment Switzerland is the only country in the Alps where you can still tour. We’ll see if stays that way. We really hope the mountains stay open, but of course we’ll respect any further quarantine rules that are introduced by the experts.

What are your thoughts on the whole thing?  Lockdowns, getting sick – it’s been wild ride! You feeling good?

My whole outlook has changed dramatically. Only three weeks ago the virus was an afterthought, I didn’t really take it seriously. But it turns out the ski resorts of the Alps were the perfect storm for the virus to explode. Apparently all 32 Of Sweden’s original cases came from holiday goers in the Alps, or so goes the rumour. I’m just happy that my friends and I are healthy again. If we get stuck here, it’s better than being in the city for the time being!

 

 

Bernie Rosow, Mammoth Lakes, California.

Bernie is a grooming supervisor in Mammoth where he has been working winters on the mountain for over a decade. He is also one of the best skiers in Mammoth, regularly uploading some incredible POV skiing videos to social media which has garnered Bernie over 18000 Insta followers. The lockdown ended his job and in-resort skiing for the season, three months earlier than usual.

 

When Alterra Mountain company made the decision to close Mammoth on March 15, did you finish straight away? What was your reaction?

I normally have Friday – Saturday as my days off.  On Thursday we had decided to go to a four-day work week to save on costs due to a slow spring.  After the schools were closed in California the same day, the town occupancy shot up to somewhere around 90%.  On Saturday the grocery store was pillaged.  It was extremely apparent that people that should have been in town for only two days were putting too much stress on our resources.  Skiing is an outdoor sport, but ski towns are notoriously overcrowded on busy weekends. People came here from Southern California and stocked up for the next month in our grocery store. By Saturday evening I was personally hoping that they would close the ski area to stop the virus from invading the town. When Vail announced their closures, I knew Alterra was right behind them.  I think it was 100% the right move, even though it’s a big blow to everyone.

How many more weeks would you have been working?

This is cutting my season short by 2-3 months.  It’s around 1/3 of our season.  That’s a lot of $$ in lost income.

What have you been doing since Mammoth closed? You had some snow this week. I saw you managed to get out into the back country for a few runs. Are you still able to hike for turns or is the lockdown state-wide?  

I’ve been hiking non-stop for the last week but Mammoth just had its first positive case today.  I think that is the sign that we need to stop our outdoor activities.  California is under a state-wide stay at home mandate. Exercise is an excuse to be outside, but there have been more unexperienced people in the backcountry in the last week than I’ve ever seen before. It’s dangerous and it’s going to put more stress on a healthcare system that’s about to be overrun. It’s fun to share ski lines with people but I don’t want people to think that this an all right activity to do right now.  I’m done posting new content to my social media.  If we’re going to close everything down than let’s stop messing around and get this over with.

 

What’s the vibe like over there? I know your partner Amber and young son Alexander are in LA – are you going to join them?

Good question.  I’m currently watching a lot of TV in my house with my roommate.  Just been in my house, truck, skis, truck, and house for the last week.  Haven’t talked to too many people.  I’m trying to figure out what my plans are with my family.  They’re still in Venice at the moment.  Either I’m going down there or they’re coming up here.

What about the future? Mammoth Lakes will take a hit on not having any visitors for the last weeks of the season. How do think it’ll get through it?  

This is way bigger than just Mammoth Lakes.  The world will be a different place after this.  In my dream fantasy world, after everything collapses and our whole way of life changes I’d like to hope we can rebuild things to be environmentally conscious.  This could be the world’s chance to really do something.  The global economy is going to be devastated.  Big businesses are going to fail, and this could be the best chance we ever get to rebuild a better world.  My pessimistic side says this isn’t possible, but we can still dream.  Ski and outdoor recreation communities will recover eventually.  Unfortunately, it is going to be a very hard few years ahead for most of us.

The below video is from one of Bernie’s final days in the backcountry last week

 

Anna Segal, Whistler

Australian pro skier Anna Segal now calls Pemberton, British Columbia, home and she spends the northern hemi winter skiing Whistler Blackcomb, the Coast Mountain’s backcountry and filming for her sponsors.

 

Whistler Blackcomb shut down 10 days ago and things have been tightening up throughout Canada over the past few days. How is it over there?

Pretty much everything has shut down in Pemberton and Whistler. Many people have lost their jobs due to the majority of work being in the tourism and hospitality industry – including my boyfriend, who is a mountain guide. All backcountry lodges and skiing operations have been shut down.

What is the general attitude there to touring and the backcountry after the shutdowns?

There’s definitely been some controversy about outdoor recreation in this area. Although it’s outside, it’s encouraging social interaction. In addition to this, there is the risk factor of getting hurt, which creates the potential of taking up medical resources and hospital beds in a time of a health crisis. So, these are all things I’ve been thinking about.  Search and Rescue Whistler are also asking people not to get out in the backcountry, so I am following that advice.

What about you, how has it impacted on your plans for the rest of the season?

I was supposed to fly to AK yesterday to film for BLANK, but obviously that has also been cancelled. Bit of a bummer, but not a big deal in relation to what’s going on in the world right now.  I’m feeling lucky to live in the mountains. I’ve been doing some mellow ski touring – but nothing of high risk. I’ve also been trail running and hang boarding on my back porch.  We can leave our house, but are trying not to venture into public places unless it’s a necessity. National parks, playgrounds, skate parks, most restaurants/ coffee shops are all closed.

I imagine it’s a pretty weird time for everyone, especially for an outdoor community like you have in Pemberton and Whistler. How are you coping with it?

To stay sane, I’m making sure I get a good hit of exercise each day, as this always makes me feel better – a trail run or a little strength circuit on my back balcony does the trick, plus some online yoga.  I’m also trying to get on top of all the chores I put on the back burner during the season- taxes, home improvement projects etc.  The bright side is, it means an extended period of time at home time for me, so my partner and I decided what better time to get a pup! We adopted our new furry friend yesterday and are now in the process of getting to know him.

 

 

TJ Balon, Revelstoke

TJ Balon is a Canadian-born professional photographer who has been living in Melbourne for 25 years. His Australian wife Mon runs two snow online retail stores, plusnow.com.au and skiandboardonline.com and they have two kids, Ellie aged 10 and Finn, 10.  The family moved to Revelstoke late last year, planning on staying for two winters and a summer, TJ working as a guide/photographer for the CMH Heli ski while Mon continues to run her online business. 

 

TJ, how did the lock-down pan out for you? You’ve been working for CMH all winter – but that operation was also part of the shutdown.

Well two weeks ago I was finishing up after a 15-day shift and was headed to the Nomads lodge to go shoot for a private Heli trip. Now I’m one day from coming out of self-isolation with the family.  We have just found out that one of the CMH guests from last week has tested positive when he got home. Not sure where he picked it up.

How was it in Revelstoke when they closed the mountain?

When the mountain took so long to close down people were pretty shitty in town especially as all the spring-breakers were about to head here and there is limited hospital beds. Now everything is shut down and the town is almost completely in lockdown

It is not a full lock-down, but no businesses are open. Nobody wants to be next to anyone right at this point. Essentials are still open – pharmacy, town logistics, hospitals, super markets. There are apparently three out of town cases that were in town earlier and now people are waiting to see if it causes any ripples.

 

How has it been for you? How’s the family coping?

Me and the family are quite lucky. We back onto a forest and I’ve have made a little ski track for the kids to play around with. The kids and I have Canadian passports and I wasn’t planning to work this summer anyway and spend more family time with the kids after working so much this winter at the lodge. We can ride this out and hopefully see the other side next season.

Your kids are pretty young, only 10 and seven, how has it been for them? What are your thoughts on all of this as a parent?

I sat our 10-year-old down and explained properly what was going on and that it was a bit of a big deal. She nodded and took a good chunk of it in but, she has the blessing of being naive to these sorts of emergencies and dramas of the world. She knows and “gets it” but does she really GET it? I don’t know and only time will tell. It’s nice to have the kids around to keep entertained as we need it as much as they do in these scary times.

We haven’t hit full down yet in Australia, but it feels like it’ll be any day now. Are you glad you’re over there?

I reckon I’m happy to be here right now in the middle of nowhere with nature to keep us going. What we’ve seen Australia turn into over this with the supermarket hoarding and fighting.  After only just coming out of the fires, and everyone helping each other out,  to that. Shakes my faith in Humanity a bit.