On March 15, ski resorts across the country shut down over fears of the spread of coronavirus. It appeared that the ski season, despite plenty of snow, was over. Then everyone started backcountry skiing. In fact, the niche sport is experiencing what could be the biggest bump in users ever.
“Our store immediately got overrun,” says Brendan Madigan, who owns Alpenglow Sports, a backcountry-centric gear shop in Tahoe City, California. “We were doing sales like we only see at Christmas.” Madigan soon shut down rentals of backcountry gear and, due to crowding in the shop and health concerns over the spread of the virus, he closed the store to in-person sales and switched to phone orders and curbside pickup only.
“I still have anxiety over the way we’re doing it and the sales we’re seeing for backcountry gear,” Madigan says. “Shelter in place doesn’t mean shelter in place and go ski touring. It means stay in your damn house.”
Even if you technically are able to go backcountry skiing and maintain the social-distancing precautions set forth by our public-health officials—staying six feet away on a skin track, driving your own car to the trailhead, standing apart on the summit—a bigger ethical dilemma remains. If you hurt yourself, you’re straining a health care system that’s desperately needed for other patients right now.