麻豆AV

Salmon Arm residents wanting to try out cross-country skiing this winter may be renting gear if they don鈥檛 already own it.

Boots, poles, skis, etc. are all in short supply among retailers this year, and not just in the Shuswap.

John Thielman of John鈥檚 Ski Shack, located en route to the Larch Hills cross-country ski area, joked his business will soon be just an athletic clothing store given how quickly gear has been selling.

鈥淲e鈥檙e always busy but this time of year, but this year seems exceptionally so,鈥� said Thielman. 鈥淚鈥檓 starting to run out of certain sizes of skis and boots but it鈥檚 starting to be pinchy 鈥� tough to find the stuff.鈥�

It鈥檚 the same at Skookum Cycle & Ski in Salmon Arm.

鈥淲e have some stuff left still鈥� we can still do packages and stuff like that, but it鈥檚 not like it was back in October when one could just walk in鈥� and we鈥檇 have your boot size and everything,鈥� said Skookum owner Tom Peasgood.

鈥淚 know Vernon sold out, 麻豆AV sold out, we鈥檙e basically sold out, Kamloops is basically sold out鈥� There鈥檚 nothing anywhere.鈥�

There are a number of factors at play behind the shortages, most related to COVID-19, and cross-country skiing being an outdoors sport people can safely enjoy without having to come into contact with others.

Larch Hills Nordic Society president Suzy Beckner said memberships this year have exceeded past numbers. And Thielman is seeing plenty of people who are new to the area and wanting to try out the sport.

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鈥淎t least once or twice a day I鈥檓 hearing that from people; 鈥榃e just moved up from the Sunshine Coast,鈥� or they moved here from Victoria or Alberta,鈥� said Thielman, adding some of those people were influenced by the 鈥淏est place to live in B.C.鈥� nod from Maclean鈥檚 magazine Salmon Arm received in 2019.

鈥淭his year I even ordered more (gear) and last year was slow and I had old stock which is all gone now,鈥� said Thielman. 鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty handy to have a sports store this year.鈥�

Another challenge is that suppliers are out of inventory 鈥� Peasgood said they鈥檝e been sold out since September. He explained how, according to his suppliers, stores back east ordered extra gear in August and absorbed additional inventory coming into Canada.

鈥淲e鈥檙e one of only a few B.C. shops that actually got out ahead of it and placed a secondary order back in September鈥�,鈥� said Peasgood, explaining it was the same situation with bikes, including fat bikes 鈥� a popular winter ride, which are also currently unavailable.

This systemic shortage of inventory, Peasgood explained, traces back to a lack of parts being made during the pandemic.

鈥淩ight now there鈥檚 thousands of bike frames waiting for bike parts and Shimano and SRAM are so far behind, there鈥檚 going to be a two-to-three-month gap where there won鈥檛 be many bikes to purchase鈥�,鈥� said Peasgood.

Regarding Nordic skiing, Skookum and John鈥檚 still offer rentals, with both locations having sanitization methods in place to keep staff and the public safe. Both locations also provide servicing for ski equipment.

Looking ahead to summer 2021, Peasgood said bike parts are already coming in and he expects bikes will be back in and ready to roll come February or March.

鈥淲e have all our orders in and they were all in on time so it鈥檚 going to happen,鈥� said Peasgood. 鈥淲e鈥檙e just like every other bike shop in Canada, we鈥檙e just in the queue and we just have to wait until they get here.鈥�

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