The Nordic ski season is underway at Hardwood Ski and Bike in Oro-Medonte despite there not being much snow.
General manager Gareth Houben says the season was off to a great start during the holidays, but the number of skiers has tailed off with the weather shift.
“New Year’s Eve, things started to turn,” he said. “It stayed mild and rained for about a week straight.”
Unlike alpine ski operations, Hardwood Ski and Bike doesn’t make its own snow. It relies solely on Mother Nature to provide enough snow to keep trails open.
“Even if we could make snow, we would be having challenges because it’s too mild,” Houben said. “Everyone is in the same boat right now.”
Hardwood Ski and Bike has managed to stay open as there is still a base of snow on trails, and people are skiing.
“We are fortunate to keep some snow,” he said. “I know pretty much every other Nordic facility in the region is closed.”
Houben says Hardwood Ski and Bike will continue to adapt if the forecast stays mild.
“We do a pretty good job managing the snow we get,” he said. “That’s probably why we stay open.”
This weekend represents what is normally the opening weekend for ski programs at Hardwood Ski and Bike. Usually, the facility attracts 1,000 people a day. On Saturday, Houben expected only 100 to 200 people on the trails.
“We’ve had to postpone some of our programs,” he said. “We don’t want the more inexperienced people and the kids coming out until the conditions are a little more ideal.”
Daily updates on trail conditions at Hardwood Ski and Bike can be found here.
Daphne Doble made the trip from Toronto on Saturday afternoon to do some Nordic skiing with her husband and two young children.
“As a family, we’ve been skiing ever since we’ve had kids,” she said. “It’s a very family-friendly activity.”
She and her husband grew up Nordic skiing with their families, and they are excited about continuing that tradition with their kids.
Despite the lack of snow, Doble says the ski season has been “lovely” so far.
“This is our second time out,” she said. “We hope we get more snow so they can do more trails and our kids can start their lessons, but other than that, it’s been good.”
While the trails are a little uneven right now, Doble says there is enough snow to ski.
“There is more snow in the forecast,” she said. “We will get more, for sure.”
Trevor Charles and his son, Mason, from Barrie, were also spending Saturday at Hardwood Ski and Bike. They have been skiing together for eight years.
“It’s a good outdoor winter exercise,” Trevor said.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Mason added.
Unfortunately, from Trevor’s perspective, the ski season has been a “disaster” so far.
“They do pretty well with the snow they do get here at Hardwood, and we’ve had some good conditions,” he said. “The weather generally has not been too good.”
Despite the less-than-ideal weather, they have been out more than 10 times this season.
“I think, eventually, it’s got to cool off,” Trevor said. “It’s winter in Canada, so presumably.”
