Following offseason improvements, the Rainy Lake Nordic Ski Club is hoping for a snowier year on the trails.
After a season that saw very little trail usage due to a lack of snow, and the Jackrabbits ski club only got in three lessons, club president Debbie Jean is hopeful that this year will be a better year for the trails which start from the chalet on Rocky Inlet Road off George Armstrong Drive to the east of Fort Frances.
“Last year was a disappointment for many. If you went out skiing in the day every once in a while you’d manage to get a couple kilometres in, but the conditions were never ideal,” she said. “It was just hard to get out.”
During the offseason the club has had the opportunity to make some upgrades at the chalet and on the trails.
“We got a grant from Tbaytel and that allowed us to redo the siding on the chalet and the broken window and we’re also going to get some new signage from that,” Jean said. “We also got some fill from Armstrong which was donated to level out some of the rocky areas on the trail. There’s been a lot of windy days so we’ve had to cut down or cut away fallen trees.”
In addition to the wind damaging trees, the club is also dealing with some pesky critters around the trails.
“We’ve also had the MNRF (Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry) out there because we have a beaver problem. They’re chewing away at some of the bigger trees right alongside the ski trails. So the MNRF is going to come down and take down some trees for us that might pose a danger to some of the skiers or hikers.”
In addition to trail clean up one of the hiking trails has also been extended.
“We’ve created a new hiking trail, it’s called the Long Walk, actually we’re going to name it after Cam Moorhouse, one of the founders of the ski trail, so it’ll be called Cam’s Long Walk. That will make our hiking trails about six kilometres in total so that extra loop is about one and a half kilometres and it goes off the Squirrel Trail off the Blue Trail.”
Hopes are high for a good season with events on the trails.
“We’re really hoping that this year we get a lot more snow and that our trails can be kept up really well for our skiers, snowshoers and hikers,” Jean said. “Last year our jackrabbits program only got to meet three times, so that’s another hope for this year, that it will run better.”
This year the Jackrabbits program is starting on January 5 and plans to run every Sunday starting at 10:30 a.m. and will run every Sunday no matter what the snow conditions are.
“It’s going to be running on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. and we are going to run it even if there is no snow,” Jean said. “They can do some hiking and some of the interpretive work that’s been done out there they can take advantage of.”
Registration for Rainy Lake Nordic Ski Club membership and the Jackrabbits program is available on Zone4.ca/register. You have to search Rainy Lake from the home page.
The fee structure remains the same as last year and early bird rates apply until Dec. 31. There is a price list available on the club’s Facebook page. Those who opt not to pay for a membership online can pay a day use fee in cash at the chalet. Day use fees are $5 for students, $10 19+ and $20 for families. There is also equipment available for use at a rate of $5 per day. Day use and rental payment is on the honour system at the chalet.
