1-No ski injuries, no wear and tear on ski-essential joints – thus hopefully giving an extra year of ski longevity in the long run.
2-Time to get a full scale ski plan organized for next winter. Consider: what do you really want to get out of your season, which resorts are on your radar, do you want to try cat or heli-skiing while you still have the energy? Priority: get more skiing next winter to make up for the gap!
3-Opportunity to get ski fit over an entire year rather than the usual last minute rush between Sept and Dec. Methods I’m trying: a more plant-based eating plan launched optimistically this Jan (even if I only do “vegan ’til 6” it’ll be an improvement); ski-focused gym workouts four days per week (while it’s still open and continued at home during the next lockdown); several two-hour-plus nature walks per week (irritatingly intersected by perfunctory golf swings since I’m in the Algarve); occasional games of padel tennis (combo of outdoor squash and tennis wielding a smaller chunky racket); more dance either at home alone or a weekly Zumba class. Lots of help online too. Check out these free ski fitness classes with Bumps for Boomers for example.
4-Hone your skills with online ski tuition; or try the Ski School App
5-Opportunity to create a new winter wardrobe hopefully from all the mega sales that will be going on for ski equipment and clothing!
6-Immense gratitude next season when you finally get your heart’s desire.
The “Vacation Vaccine”
I won’t labour the “cons” of a winter without travel or skiing but instead focus on the
COVID-19 vaccine which I hope to get by autumn 2021 (apparently the 60+ age group is not a priority in Portugal where I’m living). If vaccination vacations start up somewhere soon, I’ll be on the first plane to try to jump the queue! After all, the vaccine is going to be the new passport.
Virtual Skiing
The other day, I tried lying down with my eyes closed and going through skiing moves down a powder run in my mind to see whether it made me happier or sadder. A kind of meditative virtual reality. The rhythm was easy to recreate mentally, the sinuous side to side motions synchronized with pole planting pleasure emerged, and I found myself in a world of white underfoot and dazzling blue skies above with a huge smile on my face – I could even sense the exhilarating cold even though it was 14 degrees Celsius where I was. It was actually a positive experience just as dreams about skiing make us smile rather than sob. So, I’m going to day dream skiing more often especially if further lockdowns commit us to the couch. BTW – what happened to all those VR ski innovations? Just when we really need it, the techy industry has let us down! This winter’s top Xmas gift should have been VR headsets in which to lose ourselves in perfect snow in ski resorts around the world. Or, better still, a ski machine like the Zwift and Peleton bike equivalents, where we could mimic the moves we miss so much in synch with a screen.
One question that has been haunting me in the past few months is “Do we really want to read about travel and skiing when we can’t do either?” Also, are videos of downhill delights just like plunging a knife into the wound? Or do we get something out of vicarious enjoyment? Thinking about it more, I realize that we are happy to watch this sort of stuff during the summer off season when no-one – except those in the Southern hemisphere – can ski. So, why not now when so many of us are denied our winterly fix?
Downhill Discounts
With extra time on our hands for many of us, gear is something we can all while away hours researching and bargain hunting. Check out the Rossignol Outlet for example or the Warehouse Clearance at Snow+Rock. Obermeyer is on sale at Peter Glenn and North Face has end of season bargains already. Peak Performance fans will like the January prices and Salomon’s promo price points are looking pretty attractive, too.
Double Duty
This winter, those already in possession of a comprehensive skier’s wardrobe are in prime position to enjoy the enforced al fresco socializing that is a big part of the pandemic. Everywhere around the world whole populations are being forced outdoors for any kind of recreation, fitness and socializing and, for many of us, it is winter and therefore pretty chilly. Who better equipped to deal with this than skiers with their warm wardrobe of upliftingly colourful clothing?
Heated Gear: The New Winter Staple
If like me you are a heated garment fan, you can help spread the word to the non-initiated and non-skiers that battery heated clothing is the new winter staple. I cannot labour this enough – if you have to socialize in the frosty back garden, on the parky (English slang for chilly) park bench, on the cold stones or sand of a winter beach, on a windswept patio, under a gusty gazebo, on a tailgate, outside what would in former times have been a cosy ski lodge, or huddled around a campfire, you NEED a heated vest or heated mitts, a heated scarf or heated socks, or - perhaps better still – your own heated seat pad. And, why not all of the above? The winter is by no means over and lockdowns are proliferating. These heated garments are no longer namby-pamby accessories but necessities for everyone to enjoy the outdoors. And people are realizing this – Volt Heat has been literally deluged in an avalanche of buyers this winter, emptying its stocks of heated seat pads which are being bought by forward-thinking restauranteurs and bar owners as well as the general public. Thankfully, Volt has geared up its manufacturing potential to produce more stock and there are several other companies who make heated gear.
When weighing up the cost, you know you’ll use these items regularly from now until around April for all of your outdoor socializing and exercise and then, of course, you’ll be all set for optimizing your skiing next winter. There won’t be a day when you have to give up early because you are too cold. When you are on a chairlift wearing your heated vest, your back will be so cosy as the heated shoulder-blade pads press against the frigid bars of the chair and your chest will be infused with the torso-toasting effects of the front pads. A warm torso, BTW, is what keeps our fingers and toes from shutting down their circulation. If you opt for heated socks, you’ll never feel the pain of frozen toes and it won’t be you taking off your boots and defrosting your feet over heating vents. Heated mitts are the ultimate luxury and you can turn them up and down in concert with internal and external temperature fluctuations. You can even volunteer to be group photographer as a couple of seconds without gloves on will mean nothing to you when you can plunge them back into battery-heated warmth straight afterwards. I haven’t tried the heated scarves yet but I wish I had one on right now when the spotty heating in my stone-walled tile-floored house hasn’t quite kicked in and there’s no sun coming through the windows to warm me up.
Heat Holders Warm Winter Wardrobe
If you can’t justify the cost of heated gear, then at least indulge in some Heat Holders – I can guarantee that your normal socks will be jealous that you never choose them. Heat Holders thermal socks are rated seven times warmer than regular socks. Although not battery heated, I think they are the warmest socks in the world – apparently due to the Japanese-designed, cashmere-like thermal yarn, looped cushion pile, and intense brushing on the inside. Putting them on feels like plunging your feet into the softest Beanie Babies. For coping with a Portuguese winter, I chose the slipper socks so that I can pad around my icy tiled floors in sublime warmth and comfort (I hate it when they are in the wash – should have bought two pairs!) but they also do regular socks, lite socks, bed socks, and ski socks. And there’s an array of gloves, hats and thermals for men, women and kids if you are interested in an entire Heat Holders winter wardrobe.
Links:
Sun Peaks Resort, BC, Canada https://www.sunpeaksresort.com/
Bumps for Boomers https://www.bumpsforboomers.com/basic-ski-fitness/;
Drop In Snow https://www.dropin-snow.com/ski-video-tutorials-online-ski-school/
Ski School App http://www.skischoolapp.com/
Rossignol https://www.rossignol.com/uk/Rossignol-outlet.html
Snow+Rock https://www.snowandrock.com/c/sale.html
Obermeyer https://obermeyer.com/
Obermeyer at Peter Glenn https://www.peterglenn.com/sale?filters=im_vid_6%3A26
North Face https://www.thenorthface.com/shop/mens-sale.
Peak Performance https://www.peakperformance.com/gb/junior/featured/sale-1/
Salomon https://www.salomon.com/en-gb/shop-emea/promotions/sale/clothing.html.
Volt Heat https://voltheat.com/
Heat Holders https://www.heatholders.com/
and https://www.heatholders.com/pages/why-heat-holders-are-so-warm
Photos:
Courtesy of Sun Peaks Resort
Special thanks to Kathy and Harold Richins, Roger Mirka and Chris Wilson
