As the COVID-19 pandemic starts to flatten the slope, skiers have been rushing down it. To pass the time during quarantine, many students have taken advantage of the recent cold spell to spend time on the hills. Sophomore Jade Laibly has been able to shred snow in Utah, seeing the experience as a gift.

“My family and I did it as a Christmas present to us,” she said. “It was just a really fun family-bonding activity and just a new experience for all of us to go out to the mountains.”

Sophomore Elise Palecek found skiing to be the perfect solution to her new quarantine schedule.

“My family and I always knew we were going to go skiing this year because it’s outside, everyone’s wearing masks, and you’re not by other people,” she said. “You ride up the chair lift with your family, or whoever you go with. It’s easy to social distance.”

Nordic Mountain has been open this season since December 4. According to manager William Ringenoldus, the popular local skiing location made the right changes to adapt to COVID-19 protocols.

“We limited capacity inside all of our buildings, we removed a bunch of tables in our bar and dining area, and removed bar stools from the bar,” he said. “We also removed a bunch of tables from the cafeteria area, and we have people at the doors when it's busy to control how many people come in the rental building.”

Sophomore Max Kuerschner has noticed new pandemic measures at Nordic Mountain and approves of their COVID-19 protocols.

“When you want to go, you can just go online, put your number that’s on the back of your card into the website, pay for your ticket, and it will just recharge your card so you will never have to go back inside unless it doesn’t work,” he said. “And that’s really, really nice because you’re good to go to the mountain, put your stuff on, and go straight up. Some people like cabin time, but I’d honestly rather be out on the hills.”

Sophomore Ava Berdelman has also found few hindrances to her skiing experience.

“You always wear masks when you’re skiing anyways to keep your face warm, so that’s not really an issue,” she said. “You can still have just as much fun on the hills.”

Nordic Mountain also follows the Wisconsin indoor mask mandate and has set up reminders to keep everyone safe. Ringenoldus rarely sees any disagreements to the protocols.

Sophomore Max Kuerschner and his brother give a thumbs-up to the camera. Kuerschner felt safe skiing thanks to new protocols.

“Most people are willingly following them,” he said. “We do have an occasional issue where somebody doesn’t want to wear a mask. The employee comes to get me, and I just inform them of our policies that we are requiring them in lift lines and in the buildings. If they choose not to follow them, we will happily refund their ticket for the day.”

Berdelman found there to be a general understanding of the restrictions.

“I feel like the protocols were pretty well followed,” she said. “Everyone was wearing a mask in the lodge and staying properly socially distanced for the most part. I feel very safe skiing; it’s a really good environment, especially with COVID-19, since it’s all outside.”

Although other businesses have seen a loss in revenue, some ski resorts are experiencing the opposite effect. Ringenoldus acknowledges the problems of a bigger crowd and has implemented some changes to solve these challenges.

“With being busier than usual, it’s extra tough keeping the right number of people in the building and keeping customers out,” he said. “We did add a bunch of outdoor seating as well; we added 10 more picnic tables than what we had before. We also added a large patio bar and grill area over in the tubing area and bathrooms over there. So now if someone needs the bathroom or a tube, they can go over there and not come over to the main building.”

For sophomore Sierra Kunde, the constant positivity of the people stands out to her but most especially during pandemic times.

“Nordic has changed just a little bit, because we have to wear masks in the lift lines this year,” she said. “That’s kind of weird, but everything else is kind of the same. Everyone acts the same still.”

Laibly reminisces of her times on the hills, seeing it as a time free from worry.

“It was just everyone trying to experience normal life again,” she said. “Going down the hills, you just kind of forgot about everything.”

by Hannah Chung

Published February 26, 2021

Oshkosh West Index Volume 117 Issue 5

Frozen slopes offer recreational refuge from Covid blues