The balmy weather this December provides irony for those who love winter sports. The weather is perfect and makes us crave the outdoors, but conditions are less than ideal on outdoor rinks and ski trails.
Nonetheless, a quick visit to a few local outdoor rinks Tuesday morning showed there is ice for hockey and leisure skating. Different lengths of knife-like cuts in the snow near the Vital Grandin rink, for example, prove families were out skating through the holiday weekend.
"Our crews have been trying very hard to keep up the outdoor rinks and were out Boxing Day. We have 27 sheets of ice and that includes 12 hockey rinks and 14 social rinks plus Lacombe Lake," said Rick Bosma, team-operations foreman for the City of St. Albert.
Bosma said that his crews even supplied firewood for the fire pit at the new skating rink in Lions Park.
"What's nice about the new Lions Park rink is there is rubber matting where you put your skates on," he said.
Lacombe Lake has been open since Dec. 14 and crews have been working to get the new rink in North Ridge operational.
"North Ridge rink is just up and running and we're trying to flood it, but it's difficult with no snow," Bosma explained, adding that the bit of snow we had in late November and early December helped crews to get a base going at the more established rinks.
"When it's plus five it's impossible, but if we have a base of snow we can use the cold water from the hose to try to work the snow and melt it into the corners. Then hopefully it freezes at night," he said.
For obvious reasons rink-maintenance crews call the perennially bumpy spot on most rinks, the sunny side-ice.
"It's pretty hard to smooth out the sunny-side ice unless it gets cold," Bosma said.
Lights are kept on at the outdoor rinks from 4:30 to 10 p.m.
There is no skating on the Sturgeon River.
"It's tough on the river because some years the river freezes right to the ground and there is no place to use a hose, so you'd have to truck in water," Bosma said.
For more information about skating in St. Albert on outdoor and indoor rinks, visit www.stalbert.ca/arenas-outdoor rinks.
Cross-country skiing
One hard-working skier was spotted near Kingswood Park on Boxing Day evening. Perhaps the cooler night temperatures helped, but he was slogging through a lot of grass and a little snow.
Skiers and snowshoe-enthusiasts are hoping for more white stuff and if we get it, visit www.stalbert.ca/riverlot-56 for information about the trails from Kingswood Drive on into Riverlot 56.
Rabbit Hill
Rabbit Hill was reporting a base of 45 centimetres of snow Tuesday. Through the Christmas holiday period, a Rabbit Hill bus departs from the transit centre on Gate Avenue at 8:30 a.m. and returns at 5:30 p.m. A return bus ticket costs $10. Rabbit Hill lift passes are $37 for adults; $14 for students and $12 for children 6 to 12 years old.
Rabbit Hill is located at 25512 Township Road 510D Nisku. For more information visit www.rabbithill.com or phone 780-955-2440.
Servus Credit Union Place
For drop-in and current information about events at Servus Place visit www.servusplace.ca/index.php/2011-05-27-23-34-27/drop-in-schedule.
Activities are planned for every age group. There is basketball for youths age 16 and older from 9 to 10:30 p.m. Wednesdays, but throughout the day, anyone can drop in to shoot hoops at the basketball court.
Day camps are planned for Jan. 4 through 6.
Public skating is Saturdays from 12:30 to 2 p.m., drop-in floor hockey is Friday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
If it's too icy to walk or jog outside, there's the Servus Place indoor track.
Swim in the leisure pool. There are two lanes open for lane swimmers.
Daily admission rates are $9.50 for adults and $6.25 for youth 13 to 17 years of age.
St. Albert Public Library
Make Your Own Country on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2-3 p.m. at the library. Children in grades 1 to 6 are invited to start their own country and then govern it with their own laws. They can decide the topography and the geography and then sing about it in a new national anthem.
"They get to decide what their country looks like. They can choose to make it an island or maybe put it on top of a mountain. If it's an island they could have pirate treasures or there could be rivers and volcanoes," said library assistant Drew Thomas.
The youngsters will decide what kind of government they want and while it is imaginary, there is a possible learning component as well, Thomas said.
"They might make it a monarchy or a democracy or maybe something sillier like a soccer-ocracy, where maybe only soccer players can live. It gives them something to think about," Thomas said.
Pre-registration is required at the children's desk (780-459-1532).
Thomas anticipated that children aged four to six, would enjoy attending one of the Fancy Nancy parties scheduled for Friday, Jan. 6 or Saturday, Jan. 7, from 2 to 2:45 p.m.
"Fancy Nancy is a character in a very popular children's book right now. The children get to put on fancy frocks and fluffy feathered boas and eat some delectable treats," he said.
Registration for either Fancy Nancy Party begins Thursday, Dec. 29. For more information phone 780-459-1532.
