A December to remember, but one cross-country skiers would like to forget

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This article was published 27/12/2023 (681 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Cross-country skiers are feeling blue due to a lack of white stuff this holiday season.

“It’s pretty bleak,” said Karin McSherry, executive director of the Cross Country Ski Association of Manitoba.

McSherry said this has been one of the worst Decembers in recent memory for cross-country skiing — she can recall maybe two of the last 20 years when Winnipeggers weren’t on local trails by this time of year.

Blame Mother Nature for putting a damper on the Prairie pastime. Decent ski trails need about 10 centimetres of snow, and this season has been drier and warmer than normal, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada.

In fact, this month is trending to be the second warmest December on record in the region, said Samantha Mauti, a meteorologist with the federal agency. She noted other Prairie provinces are experiencing a similar dry, warm trend.

And the short-term forecast isn’t looking favourable for snow-seekers. Mauti said no significant snowfall is expected for Manitoba in the coming week or so.

The good news is temperatures aren’t expected to rise above zero, meaning the snow that’s on the ground now is likely to remain.

Some parts of the province are having better luck.

At Riding Mountain National Park, located about 250 km northwest of Winnipeg, all classic cross-country ski trails are groomed and open, said George Hartlen, CAO of Friends of Riding Mountain National Park. The snowpack in the park is about 20 to 40 centimetres deep, he said, though that is less than normal.

“We’re hoping for more snow, as is everybody,” Hartlen said.

On the other side of the province, they’re making do with what they’ve got and making snow where they can.

Caleigh Christie, general manager for Falcon Ridge Ski Slopes, located about 200 km east of Winnipeg, credited her team’s efforts at making snow for allowing a few parts of the hill to open. Tubing runs are open, as are some beginner ski runs and the rail park. The ski hill is offering 50 per cent off lift tickets until the weather improves and more runs can open.

The team also maintains a 20-km network of cross-country ski trails. For the first time in about 30 years, none were open at Christmas, she said.

“I would say this is definitely an unusual year for us,” she said.

Christie said they need one more blast of snow for decent cross-country ski conditions. The minute that happens, she’s confident the man responsible for maintenance — Ryan The Groomer, as he’s known on Instagram, where he posts updates on trail conditions — will be working his magic.

“He’ll be up till three in the morning, grooming in the middle of the night, just to make the perfect, crisp trail,” she said.

McSherry, with the Cross Country Ski Association of Manitoba, encourages anyone who finds decent trail conditions in Manitoba to post about their experience on the association’s website. She knows the real “gung-ho” skiers will always find trails somewhere.

And while things “aren’t looking good” for the association’s New Year Loppet (a cross-country ski event) scheduled for January 1 at Windsor Park Nordic Centre in Winnipeg, she’s still holding out hope for more snow.

“Who knows what can happen?” she said.

katrina.clarke@freepress.mb.ca