A father and son snowboard down Optimist Hill on Feb. 10, 2019. (Keenan Sorokan/650 CKOM)

By Jeff D’Andrea

Large crowds look to embrace the outdoors during winter warm-up

Feb 20, 2021 | 9:16 AM

The return of more season conditions for this time of year is welcome news after a frigid deep freeze across the province.

Those warmer temperatures are expected to bring many people outdoors.

Gail Motsi, president of Saskatoon’s Nordic Ski Club, said cross country skiing is as popular as its ever been in many parts of the province.

More than 1,200 people have paid for memberships this season, more than double last year’s membership — which doesn’t count the hundreds of other skiers looking to get out this weekend.

“We have definitely seen a great uptake in the activity. The parking lots at Wildwood, Holiday Park, and Eb’s (Source for Adventure) trails near Duck Lake have all been full,” Motsi said. “It does mean we have to groom (trails) more frequently, sometimes as often as every day.”

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Last season, Motsi said volunteers were having to groom and maintain the tracks once a week at most.

With so much traffic on the trails, volunteers are out constantly making sure tracks are ready for crowds.

“It needs to be torn up and reset to have a good skiing experience. With the number of people, it’s getting icier faster, so we are (maintaining tracks) much more frequently this year.”

Environment Canada senior meteorologist David Phillips said 31 days of freezing temperatures have elapsed since late January.

Conditions are expected to get warmer thanks to a Pacific weather system that will blow warm air across the prairies.

“The polar vortex, that dreaded cold air mass that has caused misery, hardship and misfortune across all of North America is finally going home,” Phillips said.

In both Regina and Saskatoon, daytime highs will reach the minus-single digits on Saturday with temperatures expected to rise above the freezing mark at the start of next week.

Rob Letts, Optimist Hill project chair, is hoping that warm weather will translate to big crowds at the popular winter destination after more than 10 days of inactivity due to low temperatures.

“I envision we will have a lot of people there,” Letts said. “I would think that we would probably have upwards of between 400 to 600 people come through the park on a really, really good day.”
Optimist Hill closes once the temperature is -25 C or lower, which won’t be an obstacle for the hill’s second-anniversary celebration over the weekend.

A second lift and the unveiling of the new terrain section of the park will usher in the hill’s third year, along with extended hours on Monday and Tuesday to take advantage of lost time.

“We really haven’t had a chance for people to properly enjoy it,” Letts said.

“There’s a pile of new features and jumps and things there for the average snowboarder to come in and hone some of their skills and have a lot of fun.”

Letts is warning people looking to rent equipment to arrive early as rentals are often unavailable by the afternoon.

Motsi, with the Nordic Ski Club, said she is now accustomed to the surge in winter sports popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re nowhere near the end of the season, but we’re pretty used to seeing lots of people out there and we’re happy to see it,” Motsi said. “Now that the warm weather is coming back I’m sure there will be even more people out there.”

–With files from 650 CKOM’s Erin McNutt