Boots? Check. Goggles? Check. Phone, wallet, keys? Check. Mask? Check.
Skiing and snowboarding at resorts looks a bit different this year. In addition to needing mandatory reservations at most resorts (even for season pass holders), skiers and riders must wear a mask.
Last week, I made my season debut at Copper Mountain in Colorado. As is standard this season, masks are required on the shuttle bus, in the village area, in all restaurants and indoor areas, and on the lift. Basically, you have to wear a mask everywhere except when you’re skiing.
Since this was my first time skiing since the pandemic hit, figuring out how to properly configure my mask with my helmet and goggles was a bit awkward at first. I quickly found out that a mask or buff will not want to stay over your nose while you're wearing goggles. The key to correct mask use is to tuck it in to the bottom of your goggles.
This may be exceedingly obvious to people who are used to wearing a buff when skiing during non-pandemic times, but I’m not a buff-wearer. I get hot quickly, and I like the feeling of cold air rushing past my face. Facial hair helps keep me cozy too.
Mask usage presents some unexpected annoyances on the mountain. First is the problem of fogging-up goggles. Most of the time this wasn’t a problem, but when I was huffing down a tricky mogul run, a cloth mask directing warm breath into my goggles would fog up my lenses. Lots of the time fogging wasn’t an issue, and I’m not sure what the science of goggle-fogging is, but be aware that it could happen.
Another thing is that your mask will probably freeze. As mentioned above, when you ski, you’ll be breathing heavier than when you are walking down the grocery aisle. The moisture from your breath, and moisture from falling snow, will make your mask freeze after you’ve had cold air blasting your face for 5 minutes during a fast groomer lap. Similarly, if it’s a particularly snowy day, your mask could be wet for a significant portion of time.
I’m not advocating an anti-mask position here, so you can keep that angry tweet in your draft folders, please. These are some findings about skiing with a mask on that surprised me and that no one is really talking about.
In the future, when people ask us if we continued skiing during the 2020/2021 pandemic, we can say “yeah, we skied with masks on, and it was awesome!”
Takeaways
Wear a mask
Tuck it in to your goggles
Be prepared for a damp or frozen mask
Skiing is awesome this year!
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