Frigid temperatures lead to cancellations, closures in Ottawa area
Winterlude's outdoor events have been called off Friday
Frigid temperatures across the Ottawa region have led to closures and cancellations, affecting several local ski hills and much of the first day of Winterlude.
Environment Canada has issued extreme cold warnings for all of western Quebec and eastern Ontario, as a cold front that arrived late Thursday brings frigid winds through Friday into Saturday morning.
Ottawa, Gatineau, Que., and Cornwall, Ont., are expected to see temperatures at or below –30 C, with the wind chill making it feel closer to –40.
Friday was supposed to be the start of Winterlude, but the extreme cold has forced some events to be postponed.
Organizers have cancelled all outdoor activities scheduled for Friday. Local MPs Yasir Naqvi and Marie-France Lalonde were scheduled to kick off the festival in the afternoon, but that was cancelled too.
The launch of the festival's ice-carving competition has been postponed to 10 a.m. Saturday.
Ski hills closed, operations modified
The western Quebec hills at Edelweiss Ski Resort, Ski Vorlage, Mont Cascades and Mont Ste. Marie will be fully closed all day Friday.
Mont Cascades said it plans to open Saturday but may modify its hours, while Mont Ste. Marie will reopen on Saturday morning.
Edelweiss is planning to stay closed Saturday, while Ski Vorlage has not yet said whether it will return to operation.
Despite the bone-chilling cold front, some hills will be open for intrepid skiers.
Camp Fortune in Chelsea, Que., said it will modify its operations Friday but will not be closing.
It said both Pineault Quad and Valley Quad will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., while Skyline Quad and Meech Quad will be closed.
Camp Fortune has also cancelled night skiing Friday but said operations will return to normal Saturday.
Mount Pakenham near Calabogie, Ont., said in an email that it will be open as normal Friday.
In other outdoor events, the Ontario Winter Games in Renfrew, Ont., are slated to go ahead without disruption.
The annual Nakkertok Trails Cross Country Ski Race, however, is cancelling races in all of its categories Friday.