Christmas is fast approaching, though it might be hard to tell with the lack of snow in southern Saskatchewan.
For many, the holiday season is a time to get outside with family while skating, skiing or snowboarding.
But for Ryan Whippler, he is losing hope for skating on Wascana Lake this winter.
“I might be the only person in the province that’s looking forward to cold weather every day,” he said.
Whippler is part of the provincial capital commission, who is responsible for the ice rink at Wascana Lake.
“I keep looking for those temperatures, but we need considerably colder weather to get the rink on Wascana built this year. We haven’t tested recently, but as of last week we still have open water.”
He doesn’t expect conditions to improve until the new year.
For those looking to dust off the skis, you might have more luck. Fort Qu’Appelle’s Mission Ridge is eying an opening date on Dec. 15.
“The one thing we know is it always gets cold in Saskatchewan, so the good news is we don’t need snow, we just need some cold temperatures to finish up our snow making,” Anders Svenson, the Mission Ridge business manager said.
Mission Ridge will be able to open the hill with their artificially made snow, which is more dense and melts under warmer temperatures than regular snow.
Svenson said while they’re able to make snow at minus seven or eight degrees, it costs more money and is harder on the machines.
“We’re probably three days of good temperatures from being able to get a few runs open and mother nature will determine whether we get those three days before the 15th,” Svenson said.
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