My Two Writing Teachers colleagues and I are hosting the 14th Annual March Slice of Life Story Challenge, in which teachers from around the world participate in posting a story per day.
How do I explain the significance of Lot 1 if you’re not from where I’m from? I’ll try.
I’ll start from the very beginning.
Every weekend, and sometimes during the work week, for years and years, I have spent my days on the mountain skiing and hiking. I’ve been skiing since I was toddler. I skied as a little kid, through my teenage years, through college, and now as an adult, with my two kids. It is a huge part of my life, my husband’s life, and my kids’ lives.
Over the years, we’ve become like family with many others who ski at our mountain. We ski together, carpool, and our kids ski together. In the summers we all hike together and bike together. We organize giant camping trips with a dozen or more families involved; we have big parties and celebrations; we do holidays and vacation trips together. And we rally together when someone in our circle is in need of help. My family doesn’t belong to a church, but I imagine that our ski community has a lot in common with many churches in the way that we support each one another.
In the winter, we love to end our days by setting up grills and chairs and having food in the parking lot. That’s where Parking Lot 1 comes in.
Pre-pandemic, our beloved Lot 1 was a bit of scene. It is the only place to park that you can ski to, without having to walk or take a shuttle, so it’s an ideal meet-up spot. At the end of any ski day, all the kids play on the giant snow piles and in the surrounding woods. Someone is usually playing music and handing out hot dogs or hamburgers. Just a few times a year the weather gets warm enough, and the sun stays out long enough for a true party in Lot 1.
Of course, all that had to stop during the pandemic. Now we all come and go. Get there, ski, and leave. But it’s still nice to see all our friends and say hi. We meet up and ride the chairlift together, with masks on, of course.
In response to the pandemic, the ski resort installed a gate, and began locking Lot 1 so that nobody can park there too early or too late. I assume that this is to discourage people from congregating in groups in the parking lot — but I can’t know for sure because the resort hasn’t done anything to communicate with locals.
As you can imagine, this has been a huge source of controversy and heated discussion amongst the local skiers. It’s easy to interpret that the resort really doesn’t care much about what the locals want. So, all season long, we have been grumbling about the gates.
A friend of mine started an Instagram account called “Free Lot 1.” It’s mostly memes and photos of the actual parking lot. You should look it up if you’re on Instagram. You can order bumper stickers. The money will be used to buy a big gift for employees stuck with the job of having to turn people away from Lot 1. The employees, after all, are locals too.
Free Lot 1 pokes fun at the resort’s decisions and how they impact locals. The resort administrators know about it and have been in touch with my friend. They asked that we make sure the stickers aren’t put on any resort property, which makes sense to me. So I have one on my helmet. So do both of my kids.
Locking up Lot 1 feels like we are teenagers that broke curfew and now we’re not allowed out of the house. Ugh. Now we have to park all the way across the road in Lot 3!? Gross!
Today, things got worse. They kept Lot 1 closed all day, and even put cement barriers behind the gate as if to emphasize the message: STAY OUT.
The pandemic is bad enough. Why do they have to take this away too?
Of all the things going on in the world, THIS is not the thing to focus on. I know that.
What a privilege to live where I live. To have a lifetime of outdoor adventure. To have great friends and a safe community. To have the resources to ski and be able to share that with my kids as well. We are so fortunate.
But dammit. Why’d they have to close Lot 1? Whyyyyy?