Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Too nice to be on the ice?
Officials ready to shut trails
TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Enlarge Image
Skaters enjoy an afternoon glide on the Assiniboine River Monday.
WINNIPEG -- Plans for one last skate on the river trail could fall through the ice this week.
An above-normal February, coupled with a downright balmy start to March, has officials at The Forks preparing to shut the popular skating and walking trails on the Assiniboine and Red rivers.
Conditions have been so spring-like over the last week crews started removing the warming huts from the ice Monday, just to get a jump on the coming thaw.
As Paul Jordan, the chief operating officer at The Forks, explains, there is no set expiration date on the winding ice trail.
"Put it this way: any time that we get into March is a bonus," he said.
As for when the trail will officially limit public access, Jordan believes all signs point to Thursday.
Today, clear skies are forecast once the fog clears early this morning and a high of -2 C is expected. On Wednesday morning, expect more of the same. Environment Canada is calling for more early morning fog followed by sunshine and a high of -3 C.
Temperatures are expected to reach 3 C by Thursday with sunshine and highs hovering around 0 C through the weekend.
With Friday and the weekend looking equally as pleasant (the extended forecast calls for temperatures above or near the freezing mark), people need to warm up to the idea the skating season could be over.
"It's harder and harder to bring the ice back," Jordan said. "After this last weekend, where our counts showed about 30,000 people skating, it took us all day to get it back -- and it's still pretty soft.
"Think about it: That's 60,000 skate blades carving up some soft ice. We've been out there with the Zamboni and the water truck, but it's just not ideal freezing conditions anymore."
If you thought last month was rather pleasant, you've got a good feel for our climate.
February saw an average high temperature of 8.7 C, which was only slightly warmer than the seasonal average. Of the 28 days in the month, only eight daytime temps dipped into double-digit figures.
The conditions were ideal for outdoor winter activities, making the skating trail an ideal recreation destination.
"Using our door cameras, we'll see 180,000 come through the market in a typical February," Jordan said.
"This time around, we did 250,000. We're doing summer numbers in the winter, which is terrific."
Jordan reminds people to check The Forks website (theforks.com) for updates on the skating and walking river trails.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 2, 2010 A2
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