Put on the skis, hit the golf course

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 31/01/2012 (5214 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Cross-country skiers in the Wildwood area have tried to keep it a secret for roughly 20 years now.

Sorry, folks — the cat’s out of the bag.

The cross-country ski track in the Wildwood Trails system is a 4.5-kilometre groove that winds through the Wildewood Club golf course, along the Red River and right up to the fields of St. John’s-Ravenscourt school. The idea for the ski track came about as residents wanted the opportunity to step off their front porch and into some outdoor winter activity.

“It’s a little pocket of people who enjoy being able to just walk down the street and go for a little ski,” said Harvey Peltz, one of the volunteers with the Wildwood Park Community Centre (WPCC). “I know we get a lot of people who now drive to our trails. You often see vehicles lined up along the streets at points of the day.”

There are three main trailheads available for people to jump into the track. The Wildewood Club (North Drive at Netley Street) has plenty of parking available for visitors, or interested skiers can get onto the tracks via the Netley and Oakenwald Avenue entrance or at the corner of Oakenwald and North Drive, near the WPCC.

Street parking is available at those two spots, as well, providing a easy setup for those looking to get a quick cardio workout in during the lunch hour.

“It’s really close — a 10-minute drive for me,” said Rose Ringor, right before she set off for an afternoon ski. “And for me, being a beginner, it’s a pretty easy trail. There are some people who are really good and have probably been coming here for years, but it’s not intimidating here. I like that.”

Three different groups organize the trail each winter. The Wildewood Club provides the golf course as the anchor stretch of track, while the WPCC and St. John’s-Ravenscourt help foot the grooming bill (the Cross Country Ski Association of Manitoba cuts the trail for the group). Most of the costs are covered through user generosity; envelopes can be picked up along the trail and sent in to the WPCC.

Last winter, one that had a lot more snow than this current season, the community centre received $3,000 in donations from 64 different people, a sum that ate up a nice chunk of the $4,200 tracking bill.

The walking trial, which winds up and down the banks of the river, was added three or four years ago, Peltz said. It came not from a demand but more of a necessity for the ski population, as over the years volunteers found some people liked walking their dogs along the trails, unintentionally ruining the track for those looking to glide.

That is a big deal for some skiers.

“People actually respect the ski trails here,” said skier Ron Simonite. “It’s really annoying when they do that (allow dogs on trails). I used to go to another place, but it just got so bad I had to go somewhere else. That’s why this place is nice with the separate trails.”

 

Dropping In is a ‘random act of journalism’ that starts with a thumbtack on a city map and ends with a story from the street

adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca