The worst part is not even the closure of Whistler, cutting short the season that has barely started or shouting down the town. The worst part of all of this is practically not knowing when the end is coming; we have absolutely no idea how long will it last.
Gradually, (at least here in BC) things around us started to close or shout down. Till about three or four weeks ago, we had been enjoying our Whistler shredding, getting ready to make the most of the March madness and the powder this month usually brings. After that, all spring riding. T-shirts, beers, park. A lot of park.
We had absolutely no rush. We also had a schedule. Some of us had jobs to go to every day, the rest, we were lucky to just enjoy, train hard, ride hard, not give a single f*** what’s happening in the world and live in our careless little bubble of snowboarding. A worry of today was a worry for another time.
Reading the news, listening to the radio never even crossed our little limited minds. We felt like kids, playing in our big little playground.
Then, one by one, restaurants, bars, facilities, started closing their doors and putting their vulnerable businesses on hold. I remember I was at the wedding when we got the news. Whistler is closing. Not even midway through March and our mountain is closing its doors for the season. Looking back on the last couple of weeks and everything that has happened after that, it doesn’t feel as bad as it did at the moment. Our little hearts were crushed.
Stay at home
Who are they, to tell us what to do? The government, oh yeah? Really? We want to ski, jump, bike, snowboard, skate and play outside. It is the reason we call Whistler, and Squamish our home. Pay enormous money in rent, battle with surviving the long bills of organic groceries and utilities, so we can go play fetch outside every single day.
Let’s be honest, it was a hard choice to make. For some people, staying at home for weeks and weeks on end seems doable, maybe even normal. For most of the people in BC, it does not, let me tell you that. We are aching to step outside, we are hurting to seek the sun, chase the sunsets on the coast, drive to the interior for some dry, champagne powder, finish our season. We got very limited, very quickly. Projects fell in the water, brands don’t want to make any decisions, sponsors are cutting their budgets shorts on end, not wanting to commit to anything at the moment or talk about the next season…
We are hurting. The world is hurting, but so are we.
Call us selfish, make mean comments, put us down, do whatever you want. But we live for nature, for sports and the feeling of breathing the fresh air in the morning.
I got pretty lucky to enjoy it for as long as I could. Thanks to the easy reach into the deep BC backcountry and some amazing, light equipment the season got its proper ending. With the last dump of snow, I’m happily satisfied to stay at home and take some downtime. It might give me the inspiration to write more, create more. Enjoy the quarantine. But who knows for how long?
And that is, in my opinion, the worst part of this worldwide pandemic. Not knowing, for how long we have to stay inside and “keep it to ourselves”. It can last a few more weeks or months. But what if it lasts a whole year? Will this chaos end before the end of December? We don’t know. Living in uncertainty is worst than knowing the bad news.
Until next time,
Alenka
☽ Follow me on Instagram – @alenkaamali – to see more of my adventures ☽
More about Alenka
“My name is Alenka and I’m a Squamish based photographer. I love using my medium to capture sports, adventures, underwater shots, adventures in the mountains and days on snow! Very simply put, I’m one stoked girl, ready to get up at 2 in the morning and hike for sunrise, go to the airport and take a random flight…you name it!
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