Let it snow: Some Sask. businesses welcome return to normal winter conditions

People who sell snowmobiles, offer dog-sled tours or just generally rely on a good snowpack for their livelihood say this year's frigid temperatures and heavy snowstorms have been great for business.

"We are so thrilled to have the snow conditions that we have," said Shelley MacLean, park manager for Echo Valley Provincial Park, about 70 kilometres northeast of Regina.

For the last few years, Echo Valley has focused on winter tourism, creating an outdoor skating loop that runs through the treed campground and is lit at night for skaters.

The park also offers winter camping, snowshoe rentals, cross-country ski tours and a heated sauna.

But last year's warm weather and nearly non-existent snowpack hampered some activities like snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.

"This winter, the weather conditions for us have been truly a gift after coming through last winter where we had very little snow and very mild temperatures," MacLean said.

This year the park added dog-sled tours to its roster of winter activities.

Aaron Campbell brought his team of Alaskan sled dogs to the park last weekend and said he was nearly fully booked for tours, unlike last year, which saw most of his tours and several races cancelled because there wasn't enough snow.

"We need snow to generate income," Campbell said.

MacLean said the number of visitors to the park this winter is up about 12 per cent from last year, which she credited to the snow and cooler weather.

Over in Yorkton, Sask., about 190 kilometres northeast of Regina, snowmobile sales are also rebounding from last year, when many trails across the province didn't even open because there wasn't enough snow.

"We're a big seller of outdoor gear for the wintertime, and December was our biggest month we've probably ever had," said Rick Bradshaw, an owner and general manager of Schrader's in Yorkton.

Bradshaw said last year, sales were down, with about 50 per cent fewer people pre-buying sleds for this season.

He said people didn't want to pre-purchase snowmobiles because they were worried it might be another bad snow year.

Last year at this time there was only about nine centimetres of snow recorded on the ground in Regina compared with 34 cm this year, according to the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network, or CoCoRaHS, a volunteer group that monitors precipitation levels.

But with some early season snowstorms and a good base for trails, in-season snowmobile sales have rebounded, Bradshaw said.

"Snow levels, timing, maybe some pent-up demand and … farmers had a pretty good year too and that helps."

"People seem excited for the season. They want to go riding." 

Last year was extremely hard for our sport.—Leah Switzer, Saskatchewan Snowmobile Association executive director

That's in stark contrast to last year,when clubs weren't able to open snowmobile trails in much of the province because there wasn't enough snow, said Leah Switzer, executive director of the Saskatchewan Snowmobile Association.

"Last year was extremely hard for the sport. Our registration numbers were down, which means the funding for our clubs were down," Switzer said.

And she said it wasn't just snowmobile clubs and riders that were hurt by the lack of snow.

Small businesses including gas stations, restaurants and hotels located in popular snowmobile areas saw fewer sledders and dollars pass through their doors.

"Last year definitely financially hurt the clubs. It also definitely hurt, morale-wise," she said. "When you don't get a chance to get the trails open, that volunteer retention is definitely a little bit harder."

Switzer said this year, the clubs are busy and snowmobilers are buying sleds and gear and going out to enjoy the trails.

"We definitely have a lot happier people."