SUNDRE — Embracing the outdoors regardless of the season, volunteer members with the Sundre Bike ’n Ski Club have recently been setting some track for cross-country skiing.
Among the areas that were completed are the north field — also known as Coyote Flats north of 12th Avenue NE immediately east of Centre Street North or the James River Road — as well as the Red Deer River trail and the Sundre Rodeo Grounds, said club secretary Katie Jo Munro.
Setting the track at the rodeo grounds served as a training exercise introducing volunteers to the equipment that gets the job done, she said.
Unfortunately, the extremely cold conditions and dry, powdery snow make maintaining a picture-perfect track challenging, as the wind tends to blow loose snow in and fill the tracks, she said.
“(The snow) just doesn’t pack. So, there’s almost no point in setting it, because it’s fluff — it’s not going to hold any shape,” she said, adding efforts for the time being have been focused on cross-country ski tracks.
“We didn’t do any of the fat biking trails. But they all seem to be pretty good from people just walking on them,” she said. “What we didn’t do, is a full-on groom where we corduroy the whole trail. We just set the cross-country ski trails.”
But courtesy of a piece of equipment known as a Ginzugroomer, which has an attachment that can set a corduroy track alongside a classic cross-country ski track, that might yet happen.
“We’re really lucky to have gotten that through grant money,” she said about the track setter.
The Jackrabbits youth cross-country ski program was scheduled to start this past Sunday afternoon, with room still available for anyone who might be interested in registering a youth or adolescent. The program runs weekly on Sundays until the snow melts.
So far, Munro said about 20 kids between the ages of 6 and 12 were signed up, and added she hopes to see some adolescents getting involved as well.
“It’s just really great to get the teenagers out there,” she said.
With regards to public health regulations, Munro said the club intends to adhere to the provincial government’s protocols.
“We’re going to do our best to stick with COVID rules,” she said, adding that essentially means donning a mask when in close proximity to others, but of course being able to remove the face covering once skiing on the open trails.
“It’s been so bloody cold you’ll probably leave your mask on,” she said with a laugh.
Several of the club’s members gathered on Sunday, Jan. 2 at the rodeo grounds to learn how the track setting machine works. The group plans to introduce adult lessons this year, an effort that should be facilitated by new members, she said.
“We’ve got a pretty good string of coaches this year” including a new instructor and former teacher who relocated to Sundre from Fort McMurray with his wife, bringing the total of cross-country ski coaches up to half a dozen, she said.
The group itself has also grown a bit, she added.
“We’ve got some new board members — some fresh perspective and energy — and they have really been doing a lot of good work," she said.
Anyone who is interested in learning more about the club's activities, including a Tuesday evening cross-country ski session as well as Sunday morning runs at Snake Hill, or registering a youth or adolescent for the Jackrabbit program, is encouraged to email sundrebikenskiclub@gmail.com.