So far, it’s a winter of discontent for cross-country skiers
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/01/2024 (1020 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
WINNIPEG — Cross-country skiers are feeling blue due to a lack of white stuff this holiday season.
“It’s pretty bleak,” said Karin McSherry, executive director of the Cross Country Ski Association of Manitoba.
McSherry said this was one of the worst Decembers in recent memory for cross-country skiing — she can recall maybe two of the last 20 years when Winnipeggers weren’t on local trails by this time of year.
Blame Mother Nature for putting a damper on the Prairie pastime. Decent ski trails need about 10 centimetres of snow, and this season has been drier and warmer than normal, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada.
In fact, this December was expected to be the second warmest on record in the region, said Samantha Mauti, a meteorologist with the federal agency. She noted a similar dry, warm trend in other Prairie provinces.
Some parts of the province had better luck.
At Riding Mountain National Park, located about 250 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, all classic cross-country ski trails are groomed and open, said George Hartlen, CAO of Friends of Riding Mountain National Park. The snowpack in the park is about 20 to 40 centimetres deep, he said, though that is less than normal.
“We’re hoping for more snow, as is everybody,” Hartlen said.
On the other side of the province, they were making do with what they got and making snow where they could.
Caleigh Christie, general manager for Falcon Ridge Ski Slopes, located about 200 kilometres east of Winnipeg, credited her team’s efforts at making snow for allowing a few parts of the hill to open. As of late December, tubing runs were open, as were some beginner ski runs and the rail park. The ski hill was offering 50 per cent off lift tickets until the weather improved and more runs can open.
The team also maintains a 20-kilometre network of cross-country ski trails. For the first time in about 30 years, none were open at Christmas, she said.
“I would say this is definitely an unusual year for us,” she said.
Christie said they need one more blast of snow for decent cross-country ski conditions. The minute that happens, she’s confident the man responsible for maintenance — Ryan The Groomer, as he’s known on Instagram, where he posts updates on trail conditions — will be working his magic.
“He’ll be up till three in the morning, grooming in the middle of the night, just to make the perfect, crisp trail,” she said.
McSherry, with the Cross Country Ski Association of Manitoba, encouraged anyone who finds decent trail conditions in Manitoba to post about their experience on the association’s website. She knows the real “gung-ho” skiers will always find trails somewhere.
» Winnipeg Free Press