Night Skiing Affected as Canadian Province of Quebec Goes into Stricter Lockdown
9th January 2021
Last modified on May 13th, 2021
Canada’s second-most populous province is to have a 4-week lockdown, including a strict curfew that will affect night skiing. Quebec contains the ski resorts of Le Massif, Mont St Anne and Stoneham.
Officials fear that without further measures the hospital system will be overwhelmed.
“We are in a race against time,” said the Premier, Francois Legault, adding that Quebec is so far losing the race.
Restaurants, gyms, theaters and most retail stores will remain closed for at least four weeks.
Legault calls it “shock therapy” that he hopes will not need to be extended.
“We’re talking here about saving lives and we’re talking about saving our health care system,” said Legault.
Ski resorts remain open and are working under strict rules.
The curfew will affect Stoneham and Mont St Anne that sits on the edge of Quebec City and have night-skiing operations.
“Based on the new curfew that will take effect this Saturday…..Evening skiing will start at 3 p.m. and the resort will close at 7 p.m,” said the resort.
“We are extremely fortunate to be able to continue to enjoy our winter sports despite the current health situation. We are counting on your collaboration, now more than ever, to respect the health rules in force.”
These include:
- Physical distance of 2 meters
- Wearing a face cover at all times
- Frequent hand washing
“Be safe on the mountain and help us ski until spring!” added Stoneham.
PlanetSKI’s editor James Cove, went night skiing in Stoneham back in 2012.
Check out his report here:
Stoneham, Quebec, Canada. Image © PlanetSKI.
Canada has been coping with a stubborn second wave of the virus, which is now growing more serious by the day, according to public health officials.
A Quebec health advisory group warned in December that Quebec could exhaust hospital capacity by the end of January if hospitalizations continue to increase.
“Covid-19 is spreading among people of all ages, with high infection rates across all age groups. However, nationally, infection rates remain highest among those aged 80 years and older who are at highest risk for severe outcomes,” warned Dr Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer.
Le Massif in Quebec Province also remains open.
Here are the rules at Le Massif:
⚠️ 𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗟 𝗜𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗔𝗡𝗧
😷 We ask you to respect the sanitary measures put in place by the resort at all times. It must now become automatic.
We would like to avoid having to put more severe conditions, and we are counting on you to keep the resort open this winter. 🙏 In addition to this, you need to know more about it. ‼ ️
Wearing a MANDATORY mask when queuing for ski lifts, ski lifts (chairs or gondola) and closed spaces.
In addition to this, you need to know more about it. In addition to this, you need to know more about it. ‼ ️ Respect the physical distance of 2 meters at ALL TIMES.
We have specifically put visuals in the queues to make your life easier. In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
In addition to this, you need to know more about it. ‼ ️ Wash your hands frequently.
In addition to this, you need to know more about it. ‼ ️
Chairlifts and gondola = 2 people at each end or a family bubble.
On the PlanetSKI visit to the area back in 2012 we also skied Le Massif:
And in Mont St Anne skiing continues.
“We will have evening skiing on Sunday at Mont-Sainte-Anne. It will therefore be possible to ski in the evening from Wednesday to Sunday inclusive'” said Mont St Anne.
“The maintenance of the slopes between day skiing and evening skiing will be maintained.”
“My concern at this moment is that we’re facing a potential introduction of an even more transmissible strain, that’s the one that’s being seen right now in the UK and if that were to take hold in an already out of control epidemic that we have, we’re talking about a situation that we’ve never seen,” said Dr Marina Klein, research director and infectious disease specialist at the McGill University Health Centre.
Canada. Image © PlanetSKI.
In Western Canada Big White Ski Resort in British Columbia says reservations for non-locals have been cancelled until February 5th when the province’s Covid-19 restrictions are set to expire.
The order advises people not to travel between regions or provinces.
“This will take a few days, as there are literally hundreds of reservations due to the pent-up demand of not being able to visit us earlier this season,” Tracy Layng, vice-president of Big White Central Reservations.
The resort had earlier cancelled non-local bookings up until January 8th.
“It’s important visitors and staff keep following precautions to minimize any further spread,” she said in a statement.
“This ski season, stick to your local ski hill with members of your household.”
The resort has already seen an outbreak that was traced to resort workers.
Meanwhile some Canadians are heading to Florida in the USA to be vaccinated.
So-called ‘snowbirds’ – retired people who travel south for the winter – have discovered they can get vaccinations in Florida earlier than they if they remain at home.
Florida is allowing anyone over the age of 65-years old to be vaccinated at no charge.
It is reported that some Canadian snowbirds are now who had cancelled their trips are now re-booking them.
