A 'great winter so far' for Manitoba's trails network, but some still struggling to open
Cross-country ski trails have all opened, but most snowmobilers will still have to wait a little longer
Ken Shute glided through his first cross-country ski of the season on Thursday, with the help of a few extra centimetres of fresh snow and colder but pleasant temperatures.
It is a stark contrast from last year, he said, when winter started, but drier and warmer conditions didn't allow for a lot of ski time in January.
"The beginning of last year was pretty slow … towards the end of the season, we got in some good skiing, but later in February, March. This gives us a little bit early start in the year," he said.
Despite a rise in temperatures during the holidays, several winter trails are now open for the season, with snowmobilers, skaters and skiers hitting slopes across the province once again.
"It's just been a great winter so far," said Karin McSherry, executive director of the Cross Country Ski Association of Manitoba.
In contrast to last winter, she said, this season brought in more snow earlier, facilitating the opening of several cross-country ski trails in December.
Warmer days in the last stretch of last month led to a meltdown in some trails that had to close during the holiday season. But with cloudy conditions, fresh snow and plunging temperatures, many ski areas have seen a rebound in the last few days, she said.
"All places are open and reporting really good conditions," McSherry told CBC News on Thursday. "Last year was pretty awful … this year is a blessing."
Besides the favourable weather, artificial snow has been also key for this winter at the Windsor Park Nordic Centre in Winnipeg's Glenwood neighbourhood.
The facility didn't open until Jan. 11 last winter, but for this season, cross-country skiers hit the slopes more than a month earlier, starting on Dec. 7.
Laurie Penton, general manager at the site, said they had to close down a stretch of the trail network just ahead of Christmas after a surge in temperatures. But the venue stayed open by pivoting to a 2.5-kilometre loop trail built from man-made snow.
"It took over two weeks of a lot of volunteer engagement, but the trail is very durable … it withstands the melting," by being more dense than the natural snow pack, Penton said, preventing sunlight or heat from entering.
"Climate change is so real, we are exactly well-positioned to deal with that."
Majority of snowmobile trails still closed
It's also looking better this year than last winter for snowmobile trails.
Yvonne Rideout, executive director of the Snowmobilers Association of Manitoba, said last year, only trails west of the Interlake region and in the province's north stayed open for the full season, while in eastern Manitoba, the majority were shut down a week and a half into the season.
Rideout estimates between 15 to 20 per cent of snowmobile trails have opened so far this winter.
"We have to realize this is only Jan. 2. We usually don't get open until the second week of January anyway," she said, noting fluctuating temperatures have delayed the opening of some trails.
"We've had temperatures where it was cold and then it was warm, and then it was cold … that creates rotten ice," making it unsustainable for groomer machines to travel on them safely, she said.
"We asked snow pass holders [to] have patience, our clubs can't do much about that."
But that's not the only difficulty snowmobile trails are facing this season.
Rideout said some in eastern Manitoba, south of Highway 1, had to close after ATVs and pickup trucks went on them.
"People are just coming out, going for a ride and not realizing the damage they're doing to the trail," she said, adding they are only for those who buy passes to travel on them.
WATCH | Many winter trails now open for the season in Manitoba, but some need help
With files from Josh Crabb