(Destination Battlefords)

By Josh Ryan

Freezing Trails

Cross-country skiers urged to remain indoors amidst cold snap

Jan 25, 2021 | 5:00 PM

After weeks of abnormally nice weather conditions, cross-country skiers will have to join the rest of Saskatchewan in staying inside.

Following an extreme drop in temperature this weekend, Environment Canada has issued an alert for an extreme cold warning in the majority of central and north Saskatchewan, which is expected to remain in place through to Tuesday evening. Several areas may experience extreme wind chills of -40 C or colder.

In an interview with battlefordsNOW, Doug Sylvester, head coach of Biathlon Saskatchewan, said it would be dangerous for anyone to go skiing right now and anyone who is out should remain near a parking lot where their vehicle is located. While the sport/activity does require colder weather than others, extreme cold still provides many risks, especially when temperatures drop to where they are now.

“There’s always a danger at these temperatures of getting frostbite on the tops of your lungs,” Sylvester said. “I would recommend not skiing -30 C below or colder.”

Even when nature warms up to around -20 C, there’s still some risks for anyone exercising outside. Sylvester said it’s important that anyone who skis during those temperatures to make sure they aren’t ‘working too hard,’ even if they are training for competition

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“With athletes, you don’t want to be pushing them at lower temperatures,” he said. “I wear a large fleece buff, where you can only see my eyes, that helps keep me from freezing my lungs and risking permanent damage.”

Skiing when it’s this level of cold also presents less than ideal settings on the snow trail. Sylvester said the snow crystals are sharp and grabby at desired conditions.

“When you ski, you want to have it a little bit warmer, so that when your ski presses on the snow, it melts, forms a little layer of water and you slide on that,” he said. “When it gets colder, you don’t slide very easily.”

Wind chills, such as the extremes seen this week, are less of a factor for most cross-country skiers, as most trails are in amongst tree’s, but still present another factor to consider before heading outside. Once conditions improve, Sylvester recommends wearing a fleece buff, gloves instead of mitts and using classic skis instead of skate skis.

“Skate skiing you don’t want grip, unlike classic skiing,” he said. “When it’s cold, you can still classic ski and when it gets down past -20 C, only the strongest skiers can classic ski at all.”

Numbers rising

Sylvester said he’s noticed a huge uptick in people trying out cross-country skiing this season. Many stores selling sporting goods/equipment are out of ski stock and won’t be able to replenish till next year.

“My son said to me the other day, ‘it’s the first time Cross-country is the cool thing to do,’” Sylvester said.

He thinks that in addition to the pandemic, people are giving the slopes a try based on its physical benefits, specifically being a non-impact activity.

“It’s not as jarring as running and because you’re using your arms and legs, it’s kind of the best sort of aerobic exercise you can get,” Sylvester said.

That influx is making it even more important that people learn good technique and take proper safety measures before skiing. Sylvester credited municipalities for keeping trails in good condition during a very warm December.

“It’s been a really good year for skiing,” he said.

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josh.ryan@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JoshRyanSports