CANORA - The Good Spirit Cross Country Ski Club members were excited to see the arrival of an earlier snowfall as compared to the previous winter.
Skiing the trails began over a month sooner than during the 2023/24 winter season. Weather conditions always have an effect on skiing but for the most part the club members have enjoyed many excellent ski days. Club memberships have been steady and registrations are completed through Zone4.ca under Good Spirit Cross Country Ski Club.
A wood splitting bee was held Oct. 26 with 20 hard working enthusiasts ensuring enough firewood was available for the warmup shelter.
The ski club’s Annual General Meeting was held following the work bee where the executive remained the same for the upcoming year. As was the case last year, executive members are: Darryl Stevenson, president; Lana Stanek-Sebastian, vice-president; Loralee Antonovitch, secretary and treasurer; and Anne Stupak, Lamplighter Loppet and Social Media Communications.
Brian Dudar, Good Spirit Provincial Park manager, along with park staff, was thanked for an excellent job of clearing the trails of fallen trees prior to the snow arriving. Dudar announced the park had purchased a side by side ATV with tracks to pull the ski trail machine. They also will be continuing to set a double track for the entire 20 kilometres of the trail system.
The Provincial Park trails are also used for hiking and biking throughout the summer and fall months. The Trans Canada Trail is part of the trail system and is maintained throughout the year. An increase in e-bikes was noted along the trails along with an increase usage of the shelter including the adjacent picnic/bonfire area. Our ski club provides birdseed and peanuts in the summer as well as in the winter.
Our club partnered with the Provincial Park in an awesome project to install lighting to part of the trails. Early in October, the motion sensor solar lights were installed on a portion of the main Trans Canada trail, which runs from just east of the park entry office to the warmup shelter. This included 60 lights placed 40 to 50 metres apart for the distance of nearly four km.
My wife Vickie and I along with Dana and Loralee Antonovitch and family hiked out one evening along this trail to test out the lighting system. The lights came on similar to a street light but in a dim stage until we walked close to the lights. Once activated, a bright light lit up the trail and stayed on for 20 to 30 seconds before returning to the dim setting once we walked past. These lights were intended to allow for night skiers/hikers to use this particular part of the trail with no headlamp assistance. This is an excellent addition to the Provincial Park’s Trans Canada Trail system for both summer and winter activities.
Skiing events planned for 2025 include the Lamplighter Loppet set for Feb. 15 and Saint Patrick’s Day Ski For The Gold, depending on snow conditions. The Lamplighter Loppet policy is to only hold the event if temperatures are warmer than -25°C. We have certainly experienced some extreme cold weather recently but have also been able to enjoy some milder skiing conditions.
It should be noted that the club also welcomes snowshoeing enthusiasts to share the use of the groomed trails. Trail etiquette signs are posted for all to enjoy the proper use of all activities. Our club welcomes all to participate in our events and the great trail system in our nearby provincial park. We look forward to an excellent skiing season with the abundance of snow we have received.
Don't count on social media to deliver your local news to you. Keep your news a touch away by bookmarking Canora Courier's homepage at this link.
Bookmark SASKTODAY.ca, Saskatchewan's home page, at this link.
