“People Need Hope” Says Ski Areas Leader

The president of Quebec’s association of ski areas has said people need hope after nearly a year of pandemic.

Speaking to Canadian broadcaster CBC News as ski areas in the province began to re-open under COVID operating restrictions,

“The mood is relief and joy because we’re back on the boards…” said Yves Juneau, president of Quebec’s association of ski areas told CBC, “…these are little sacrifices that people are willing to make, because at the end of the day, what really matters is to be able to go out on the slopes. And that’s how people felt. They were happy.”

Quebec is divided in to a number of zones determined by the rate of infection. More than 40 of the province’s near 100 ski areas are in ‘red zones’ where day lodges will not be allowed to serve food and drink indoors on top of all the other pandemic prevention measures.

“We live in a time when people need hope, and going outside and doing your favourite outdoor sport, that provided hope this weekend,” Mr Juneau concluded.

Image credit, Mont Tremblant, Quebec, Opening Day 2020-21