By Steve Hubrecht
Nordic skiers and ice skaters got an early Christmas present when both the Lake Windermere Whiteway and the Lake Lillian Whiteway opened up late last week.
While conditions often conspire to see the Lake Lillian Whiteway up and running before the Lake Windermere Whiteway, it’s uncommon that both are ready so early in the season.
Whiteway maintainer Brad Kitching was out on both Whiteways mid last week, and by Friday, December 9 both were open for nordic skiing and skating.
“I think that’s at least a week, if not 10 days earlier than normal,” Kitching told the Pioneer.
Kitching outlined that there is a good 12 to 13 inches of ice on the Lake Windermere, more than enough to support the Toby Creek Nordic Ski Club’s grooming equipment.
Kitching set ski tracks on both Lake Lillian and Lake Windermere. Unfortunately, two days of strong wind over the weekend wiped out the ski tracks on Lake Windermere.
“It (the wind) really sandblasted the whole lake. But that is what is making it really good for skating right now,” explained Kitching. “A lot of people are saying it’s an ‘eight out of 10’ in terms of skating. The ice on the east side of the lake seems to be better than on the west side, and right now I’d say the James Chabot loop is the best of all the loops.”
As the Pioneer went to press earlier this week, the wind has not affected Lake Lillian at all, and the skiing there was superb, with tracks set for both classic and skate skiing styles.
