'Fingers crossed' Winnipeg river skating trail can be salvaged

Winnipeg's river trail took beating this year due to mild weather and is currently closed, covered in slush and pools of water but it might not be done yet.

"Fingers crossed. I think that we might be able to get a few more days out of it, yet. Time will tell," said Chelsea Thomson, spokeswoman for the Forks North PortagePartnership.

"It's never up to us, it's up to the weather. We will see."

All the warming huts and Christmas trees that lined the trail were removed as temperatures soared last week and the earliest-ever closure of the trail appearedinevitable.

"We had to do what made sense in preparation for a possible close," Thomson said.

But now, with colder temperatures expected by week's end, some skating time could be salvaged yet. Under that soupy surface, the ice base is still pretty thick, she said.

"We're hoping that we can firm things up and maybe get a couple more days or even a week or twostillout of this," she said.

"The worst thing that could happen is that we would close the trail and then it gets cold."

The forecast calls for temperatures between6 C and 9 C for the weekend and into next week with overnight lows 12C to17 C. The normal temperature for this time of year is a high of6 C and an overnight low of16 C.

We're hoping that we can firm things up and maybe get a couple more days or even a week or twostillout of this.- Chelsea Thomson

The earliest the trail has ever closed for the season was in 2013, when it shut down on Feb. 27. Typically it lasts through the first week of March.Last year, it wrapped up on March 6 and in 2015 it was March 9.

If the forecast holds true, the canopy skating rink could be easily rebuiltas could the popular Crokicurlsurface, Thomson said.

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Unfortunately, the on-land trails melted and were closed for the season last week. They won't be remade.

Since the start of last week, daytime temperatures in Winnipeg have ranged from 2 C to 5 C.

"We're hoping that we can have some seasonally-regular February temperatures and sort of make the most of the last few weeks of winter," Thomson said.

"But the one sure thing I can tell you is, there's no such thing as a sure thing when it comes to the Red River Mutual Trail."

Challenging year

The weather serves up challenges every winter for The Forks as crews tryto maintain the trails and rinks but this one has been particularly tough, Thomson said.

"I've been with The Forks for just over 10 years now and this probably is one of the most unique winters that I've ever experienced," she said.

The trail opened this year on Jan. 9 but closed temporarily less than two weeks later when unseasonably mild weather, along with rain,left puddles along the course.

• Warm weather closes river skating trail, Forks rinks

A return to colder weather allowed the trail to be repaired and reopened on Jan. 27.

• The Forks skating trail reopens as weather chills

It briefly closed again on Feb. 6 after a snowfall covered cracks and created a risk of "epic face plants." It reopened about four hours later.

• 'Keep your head up': River trail reopens but risk of 'epic face plants' still real

River skating trail takes beating from warm weather

8 years ago

Duration 0:40

Winnipeg's river trail took beating this year due to mild weather and is currently closed, covered in slush and pools of water but it might not be done yet.

It closed again, for the most recent time, on Feb. 17.

The folks at The Forks first thoughtthe skating trailwould open as early as New Year's Eve "and then of course, warm temperatures came and a large mass of snowfall came and that delayed us for weeks," Thomson said.

"And then when we did open, we had to close again a few times. Open and close, open and close. There wereall kinds of challenges."

If the trail does open again, it'll bebare bonesno trees and no warming huts.

"With the exception of probably a few benches, it would be an ice skating surface only that's left," Thomson said.

Some of the huts are still up on land, in the plaza area, though.

"So, for those people that didn't get a chance to see them actually on the river, they can walk around The Forks site and see a few of them. We haven't taken them completely away," Thomson said.