Travel restrictions will impact ski hills
New travel restrictions enacted for residents of some parts of the province Friday will have an impact on ski hills closest to Halifax.
With COVID-19 cases increasing and in some cases from unknown exposures, public health increased some restrictions in parts of Halifax, Hants and Lunenburg counties on Friday, including nonessential travel to other parts of the province.
Both Ski Martock and Ski Wentworth posted notices on their Facebook pages asking people from the restricted areas not to visit while the public health order is in place.
Both hills said they hope to extend their seasons into April.
“Obviously it's affected business,” Ski Martock operations manager Andy Maclean said Monday. "A good chunk of our business comes from HRM, so that certainly had an affect over the weekend that we got to see, as did Wentworth."
He said the hill's original closing date was March 28, “but we've always said if the weather was there this year we would definitely extend it just because of all the other challenges that went along with a season like this.
Martock has extended its season into April before, he
said, but a lot depends on the weather.
“That's always been the case,” he said. "In seasons we've extended it, it's been because we could, so that's what we're hoping for this year as well.”
There weren't many people at the hill Monday, but rain was also a factor, Maclean said.
“On a day like today it's hard to judge because the weather is a factor,” he said.
Weekend numbers were lower because a lot of the weekly lesson programs on Saturdays and Sundays have participants from the zone where travel is restricted.
But, he said there has been an increase in interest in skiing and snowboarding over the past year as more people looked for reasons to be outdoors and stay active.
The travel restrictions for people from the affected areas have meant more opportunities for other people, Maclean said.
“Life is good for you. You have more space, more opportunity to take lessons without having to book so far in advance,” he said. People also may not have to book so far in advance of a weekend to get their online tickets because of less competition to get in.
He said it's clear from the traffic that people are taking the restrictions seriously.
“It's nice to know that people are respectful of that, because obviously Dr. Strang thinks it's important enough to put (in place).”
Andrew Hayes, the executive director of Ski Nova Scotia, said for people outside the restricted area “we're still going to maximize every training opportunity they have.“
In terms of competition, though, “it's a full stop on the season,” he said.
About half of competitive skiers in the province come from the Haliax area, Hayes said.
He said if Martock and Wentworth are able to extend the seasons, or if the weather cooperates, “we're going to try to sneak in some competitions at the end to maximize the value for our athletes.”
He said having a season that is primarily a training one
“is not a bad thing, especially compared to our friends in Alberta, Ontario and Quebec. They might not have been able to have any competitions, but training-wise they've had limited opportunity this year.”
He said Nova Scotia was able to have some alpine and snowboard competitions, but freestyle was delayed early in the season because of weather, and the first event on Saturday was cancelled because of the new restrictions.