SNOWMAIL

YOUR LETTERS

Spring is now upon us, and we’d love to hear your views on all things snowy. Pen our Star Letter and you’ll win a Ski Club Half Zip Sweater from the Ski Club Shop. Write to snowmail

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STAR LETTER

Have mask, will ski

It’s great to be back skiing, but on our first trip to the Aosta Valley this January we found it really fiddly putting an FFP2 mask on for each gondola and many chairlifts. Arrive at the queue, lift goggles, take helmet off, gloves off, pull mask out of pocket, loops over ears, helmet back on, pick up dropped glove, shuffle into gondola, ride up the hill with loops chafing ears, exit car, take off helmet, take off mask, replace helmet and gloves... And we weren’t the only ones struggling. It was enough to make you want to stick to lifts that didn’t require a mask. Then the light dawned. Sew a really big button firmly onto the flat of the goggle strap each side just in front of your ears. It was life-changing. Arrive at the lift, take out mask. Loops over buttons, mask is nicely in place, no need to remove helmet or disturb goggles, and no straps pulling on your ears while riding up in the cable car. At the top, exit the car, whip straps off buttons, mask in pocket, skis on feet and off you go.

We had a second great week in Monterosa using the goggle buttons method for our FFP2mask-wearing and many people remarked on it. Covid restrictions might be around for a while and actually, wearing a mask in a packed gondola car is quite comforting. So top tip: rig up buttons on your goggles, and putting a mask on and off becomes simple, and wearing it is comfortable

Yours smugly,

John Guy

We love a good gear tip here at the Ski Club HQ. Bravo for such an ingenious, problem-solving solution. At the time of going to press, mandatory mask-wearing on ski lifts, including gondolas, had been eradicated in most resorts – but we've no doubt many people will still opt to wear one, and your nifty tip will save them a whole lot of faffing.

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