Good Morning Ski Fans!
Trail Conditions:
After a wet weekend, and a significant drop in temperature – the trails are groomed! Last night we gave everything at least one-two passes, hoping to get some skiable conditions / check for bare spots on the trail – and the results are decent! Minimal bare spots, but a few spots that had some water laying that would have likely become ice overnight. There were some wet spots on all trail loops to a degree, but overall the conditions are skiable. Some shallow areas, you’ll notice the trackset being weaker than others. I attempted to at least maintain snow cover in hope to freeze everything with this cold snap. Our base is holding quite strong, and a foot of snow would be perfect right now :).
Both bridges trackset well, as did the first hill on the 5k. Charlie’s and Snake both had a couple of wet spots, but not in locations that were dangerous. The trackset on Charlie’s Loop was tough on the hill, so use caution. Josie’s is hanging tough despite low amounts of snow. I switched the trackset in some areas to ideally find a little bit more snow for depth.
The Groomer continues to work well this winter for us, so we’ll continue knocking on wood. We took advantage of the rain on Sunday to also get the chainsaw out and remove some trees that were encroaching on the trails – so hopefully that helps! Feel free to let us know if you notice anymore.
As stated previously, trail conditions are “Good Enough!”.
AGM Discussions:
A lengthy AGM saw Carly move into a position with the club managing our events, leaving two vacancies on the BoD. Mary stepped down after many years – we would like to thank Mary for all of her hard work over the years as treasurer / director! You’ll still see her flipping pancakes, managing the Club 200 event, and skiing the trails regularly.
Sherry stepped up into the treasurer role, and Kevin and Mary Theresa rounded out the BoDs for Striders this ski season! Great to have new faces to continue shaping the culture and direction of the club. As always – a huge thank you to Tyler, who is at the club every day running the rental shop and as always – Becky’s steadfast leadership! She’s been through all facets of the Ski Club, navigated the pandemic, and still hasn’t “gone for a ski in the snow” yet (am I allowed to make political references… well I did). Tune in to CBC to check out the most recent interview on the club, and thank you to those who showed up to be our models – the phone has been ringing off the hooks from big ski brands looking to scoop you all up already – especially Rick… so we’ll forward those calls to your agents.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-souris-striders-ski-club-lit-trails-1.7436707
A couple of key votes occurred:
– Snowshoers are permitted to use both the ski and snowshoe trails; however, strict enforcement of the following rule will occur (see picture below). We will be getting signs made, but if on the ski trail, please walk single file on the opposite side of the classic tracks. If walking on the trails, snowshoes are a must as boots leave far too large an impact on the conditions. All skiers feel free to remind snowshoers this if they are walking two – three people wide. Once off the ski trail and into the snowshoe trails, snowshoers can do whatever they would like in these areas with regards to single file vs. walk wide. Skiers are also more than welcome to take their skis on a backcountry adventure on the snowshoe trails (I do this periodically – its beautiful!). This has been based off of the fact that we do understand the desire to use the lights at night to get out for a walk, many snowshoers do this and we want them to enjoy it as much as the skiers, as some may be recovering from an injury or just dabbling with winter sports and chose snowshoeing with its lower barrier to entry. This ties to our goal to remain inclusive to all winter sports enthusiasts!
– We have periodically noticed dogs on the trails, which we also understand as many of the club volunteers have their own dogs who sadly watch us leave time and time again in the winter time; however, during lodge hours the no dogs rule on the ski trails will be enforced. Dogs are permitted on the snowshoe trail, under control! If you are fearful of animals of any kind, it’s best to ski at the club during the hours that the lodge is open, that is when we see the most traffic and we can enforce the rules. After hours, there is no one on call, so please ski at your own risk. There is obviously coyote / fox tracks all through the forest here, but very few people have had encounters with any.
Aside from those, the main sentiment was excitement, growth, and community. Upon completion of the infrastructure project, the club hopes to move into a couple of years of stability, where we continue to foster community and culture. With this, we have received some amazing history from some of our club members (Shane in particular).
Here are just a few of the great shots sent our way. Should you have more, we are going to try to collect a bunch, make a slideshow, and have a night at the lodge where we honour some of our more prominent members who got the club where it is today, as well as piece together the history of it all.
Events:
Tuesday Morning Tea and Ski will start next week leaving the lodge at 1030am.
Thursday Night Under the Lights had a 21 member attendance last week, and we are stoked to have the event sponsored by Bogside again this year with a donation of their “Hero” beer – a 0% non-alcoholic, to enjoy after a headlamp or lit ski. This is the most packed the warming hut has ever been, so thank you all for coming out. It included all skill ranges, just people wanting to get out and enjoy the night skiing, so all are encouraged to come out!
We had Blend n’ Brew in on Saturday for a busy day of smoothies and coffees, and she’s looking to make a return this Saturday for a stint as well! Hours will be posted on hers / our socials – but likely in the morning. It was great to see some of our snowmobilers out, as well as lots of familiar and not-so-familiar faces!
We are also stoked to welcome Tipsy Farmer on Sunday morning for a brunch! Tipsy will be taking reservations – so please go to their facebook page to book in a time slot. If there are openings, they will take walk-ins; however, no guarantees as their meals are always quite popular! We will have the rental shop open, so should you want to do a ski / brunch morning, come on out!!! Link below:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1E4fovZF4J/
Loaf n Ladle will be out next weekend, and both sides were equally disappointed with the weekend’s weather, but 02 February we will be looking forward to having Donal in house.
Stay tuned for events with Bogside including having their beer on draft at the lodge, as well as a home and home, where we host them and vice versa. We are also excited to have Carly begin planning some of our additional project-specific fundraisers and social events.
Club 200 calls will be starting soon, so get ready!
As always – it takes a village. Thanks to all of the volunteers and club members who pull their weight, even in the smallest of ways. And thanks to all of those who have done it for years, and asked for nothing in return! We appreciate you all. We have had over 120 memberships purchased online, with even more at the lodge itself, so thanks for purchasing the memberships, and there were talks at the AGM on bringing back the old jacket tags – so stay tuned!
Chad