Ski trails like the one at Little Red River Park are bound to get more crowded in the warmer weather. (Submitted Photo/City of Prince Albert)

By Rob Mahon

Busy Ski Trails

Ski club welcomes rise in temperature

Jan 12, 2022 | 12:00 PM

As the weather makes its way out of arctic temperatures, people are getting more and more active outdoors. One area they’ll be spending more time is local ski trails.

Local ski club members have been eagerly awaiting warmer weather, though that’s not to say the colder temperatures kept everybody off the trails. Even those brave enough to head out in -30 C don’t mind seeing the warmer temperatures, however.

“It makes it a lot more comfortable for people to get out and ski,” said Mike Horn, president of the Prince Albert Nordic Ski Club. “Our trails don’t actually close when it’s really cold. If people are brave enough to go ski, some people do. They bundle up and they’ll go ski, because once you get moving out in the bush it’s not too bad, but not many people do that.”

According to Horn, skis glide faster in warmer weather so the trails are more enjoyable when it’s warm out anyway. Even a Saturday forecast of 2 C in the Prince Albert area isn’t necessarily a bad thing for the trails.

“We don’t ever really want to see it above zero this time of the year,” said Horn. “But we’ve got enough snow and we’ve got grooming equipment so if it does melt a little bit, we can deal with that. And right now, the sun doesn’t have quite as much power in it as it would in late February or March.”

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A season’s starting snowfall in early November helped get the trails off on the right foot, and they’ve only gotten better from there. Though they haven’t been as well used in recent weeks thanks to the cold, they’ve still been well maintained.

“They’re in incredible shape,” Horn said. “They’re absolutely amazing, it’s a winter wonderland out there. I really encourage anyone to get on their skis and go enjoy the park and our trails and take it in. We’re very fortunate to have the snow again this year to make it a great experience.”

Last season, with so many other sports cancelled or severely limited due to COVID, the ski club grew in popularity. Even though those sports have been allowed to resume, the number of people out on the trails has stayed steady this season.

“We’ve seen busy weekends before it was super cold,” said Horn. “Our membership numbers are continuing to grow and we’re hopeful that we hit our number that we did last year. It’s looking like we probably will. I think people still have the appetite for the outdoors and it’s not going to be a one-and-done.”

Horn added they’re still planning on hosting their Classic Loppet on Jan. 30 and they’ll be capping entries at 100. The club also has a new ski trail map available on their website.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP