ST. PAUL – To reignite excitement for the ski season, the Lakeland Cross Country Ski Club hosted a Free Family Fun Ski event on Feb. 17 at the St. Paul Golf Course. Over 50 members of the community participated in the event.
“It was a lovely turnout. The ski equipment was flying off the wall because we had a lot of demand of families coming to try the sky trails at the golf course,” said Pierre Lamoureux, the club’s president.
“It was a free demonstration day, so we had some of our volunteer skiers who are out on the trail giving people just a quick demonstration on basic technique,” he said, adding there was also a free waxing clinic for more seasoned skiers.
The event also served a dual purpose, with the day marking as the official trail signage reveal at the golf course. Signage was installed for various trail loops on both the front and back nine of the approximately 10 kilometres of ski trail at the golf course.
"Dave Shankowski did a lovely job with lots of community sponsors and partners to put up the signages,” said Lamoureux.
Westcove
Lamoureux said there will also be no formal skiing events this year at Westcove, which is located about 20 kilometres north of St. Paul.
The club was hoping to launch its first Lakeland regional loppet, a non-competitive ski festival, “But our plan will be deferred to exploring an annual Lakeland ski event at Westcove in the 2024-25 ski season.”
Ski Trails
Asked about the condition of ski trails, Lamoureux admits the season has been challenging with the lack of snow. But he is hopeful that with more snow coming in and with cooler weather in the forecast, it "should give our ski trails in good shape for a number of weeks into March."
“We are hopeful that a significant snowfall at this point in the season, coupled with cold weather, will preserve the ski trail networks for a number of weeks,” said Lamoureux.
For ski trail updates, such as when the St. Paul skiing trails were last groomed, visit the Nordic Pulse website: nordic-pulse.com
Skiers can search for “St. Paul” and check the conditions.
Club update
Asked if people can still join the club this winter, Lamoureux said it may be a bit late in the season for people to consider buying membership, “But memberships and donations are always welcome because we’ve had a very hard financial year."
Due to the lack of snow, there have not been many activities, which equals less revenue. But the club still has to pay for costs such as snowmobile maintenance for both its ski sites – the St. Paul Golf Course and the Westcove Municipal Recreation Area – and other overhead costs, like fuel.
The club is also currently running its annual online club fundraiser. To donate, people can visit the club’s website at lakelandxcski.com.
Joanne Lamoureux, a director at the club, also thanked supporters of the club. In the past three years, she said the club has been progressively gearing up to acquire grooming equipment to properly create groomed ski trails for people.
They have also been building up their inventory of ski equipment so those interested in skiing can try it out.
She also thanked the Bonnyville Nordic Ski Club for lending its equipment.
