Crews working on ski trails in Little Red River Park are getting their early season maintenance out of the way, helped along by early snowfall. (Submitted Photo/City of Prince Albert)

By Rob Mahon

Ski Trails Starting

Early snowfall kickstarts ski trails around P.A.

Nov 30, 2021 | 4:00 PM

If you spent a lot of hours shoveling around Remembrance Day, you might not have appreciated the snowfall Prince Albert got too much. Those who operate and maintain ski trails in town, however, were grateful to get as much as they did, as early as they did.

After a season with comparatively little snowfall last winter, an early deposit has helped get things started for ski trails around the region. Though the weather has warmed up at times since, there’s still enough snow on the ground to keep the trails going.

“We had a big dump of snow in November last year, which kind of kickstarted our season,” said Mike Horn, president of the Prince Albert Nordic Ski Club. “This year, we received just enough snow in November to get our trails groomed properly and in very good condition.”

The trails aren’t in the clear for the season just yet, as rising and falling temperatures can cause trouble for them. That was one of the biggest problems last year, as melting and thawing occurred throughout the winter, so crews were kept busy making sure the trails were serviceable.

“We’ve got an excellent trail crew that does a great job of maintaining them,” said Horn, “kind of renovating them to keep them in fresh snow and well-groomed for our members.”

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According to Horn, trail preparation starts before the snow falls with the trail getting mowed late in the fall and branches being trimmed. After the snow begins, so does the work that will last through much of the winter.

“That first snowfall requires a lot of grooming and preparation to pack the snow,” Horn said. “Once that snow gets packed, we can go and lay the tracks and get everything set up for classic skiing and skate skiing.”

There are 45 kilometers worth of trails that need preparation and grooming, so their crews are certainly kept busy. Club members definitely appreciate it, however, and with COVID affecting most other activities last year, membership increased dramatically.

“Our membership almost doubled from 2019-2020 ski season,” said Horn. “Our membership trend this year is looking promising as well. Our club is fast approaching 300 members and we’re not even into December yet. It’s pretty remarkable.”

Horn added that Little Red River Park was seeing an increase in activity in general, ranging from snow shoeing to tobogganing to people just walking across the trails. He also said the current warm weather wouldn’t wreck the trails, but a little more snowfall would be helpful.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP