NCC closes icy Gatineau Park ski trails; works to construct ice on Canal

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The Nationwide Capital Fee is battling inconsistent ice circumstances throughout the area this weekend. There’s not sufficient ice for skating on the Rideau Canal, however an excessive amount of for snowboarding in Gatineau Park. 

Within the metropolis’s core, NCC staff are experimenting with totally different methods to construct ice on the Canal in hopes of making a season of skating throughout an unseasonably delicate winter. However within the hills north of the Ottawa River, the quantity of ice on the cross-country ski trails in Gatineau Park has pressured the closure of your complete community for security causes. 

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“The cross-country ski path community is briefly closed as a consequence of very icy circumstances,” the NCC mentioned on X (previously Twitter) Friday. “Upkeep work will resume with the subsequent accumulation of snow.

“Snow dances inspired,” the NCC added. 

Formally, the crown company stays optimistic about the opportunity of a Canal-skating season, even after the frustration of final yr. The 2022-23 season marked the primary time in its 53-year historical past the ice failed to attain the thickness required for skating. 

“Preparations for the 54th season of the Rideau Canal Skateway are at present underway, with the assistance of our contractors and companions, and we sit up for the upcoming season,” mentioned mentioned NCC spokesperson Sofia Benjelloun in an e-mail.  

She famous that “varied approaches” are being examined in partnership with the civil engineering division from Carleton College.

The four-year partnership, which began throughout the 2021-22 season, is designed to “establish methods to adapt our operations to the impacts of local weather change,” Benjelloun wrote. “Over a four-year interval, information shall be collected, and a wide range of pilot initiatives shall be explored. The goal is to check potential approaches, comparable to early ice flooding, that might assist construct ice sooner and guarantee an earlier begin to the season. We are going to analyze the info and the outcomes of our pilot initiatives and stay dedicated to making use of what we be taught going ahead.”

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In the meantime, skaters are profiting from good ice circumstances on town’s 4 free, outside, refrigerated ice surfaces: The Rink of Desires at Ottawa Metropolis Corridor, the Centrepointe rink at Ben Franklin Place, the Lansdowne Park skating courtroom and the coated Jim Tubman Chevrolet Rink at Canterbury Recreation complicated, 2185 Arch St.

Additionally slated to open without spending a dime skating on Jan. 13 is the rink at Rideau Corridor. Reservations will not be required, and hours are prolonged. Go to https://www.gg.ca/en/visit-us/rideau-hall/what-see-and-do/rideau-hall-skating-rink for particulars. 

Venturing on rivers, lakes and ponds within the area is just not suggested. In contrast to the Metropolis of Halifax, which measures ice thickness on 70 our bodies of water in its area, the Metropolis of Ottawa doesn’t gauge ice security. As a substitute, “The Metropolis asks that residents keep away from going onto any frozen lakes or rivers as they don’t seem to be maintained, and ice security can’t be assured,” mentioned Tracey McGarry, director of complexes, aquatics and specialty companies. 

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