WATCH: A grassroots movement is urging Edmtonians to take this winter in stride and add skiing to your commute. Kendra Slugoski reports.
EDMONTON – Whether we like it or not, Edmonton is a winter city. So instead of grumbling about the snow — and the havoc it can wreak on our commute to work — some have gotten creative.
“Winters in Edmonton are pretty long so you have to find some way to enjoy it,” said outdoor enthusiast Dave Kenny.
When Edmonton was hit by roughly 30 centimetres of snow last week, Kenny strapped on his skis and cruised along the fresh powder to work. The cross-country commute took him about an hour-and-a-half on Friday, in part due to some obstacles in his way.
“There was a lot of people trying to get their cars out of the alleys and they were stuck. And I would have to stop skiing and push their cars out of the alley,” he said.
“A lot of people were cheering me on and saying, ‘that’s the way to go, wish I had a pair of skiis!’ So that’s encouraging.”
Kenny added that with the proper layers, he can’t even feel the cold, regardless of how low the temperature drops. He isn’t the only trail-blazer when it comes to this form of transportation.
The ski2LRT movement is encouraging more Edmontonians to leave their cars at home and ski to the Century Park LRT station, where a ski rack will be installed by the end of December. The community leagues surrounding Century Park helped pay for the ski rack, and two local home hardware stores donated supplies to dig the holes.
It’s a Make Something Edmonton initiative that seems to have gained a foothold in the city.
Shauna Rae, the co-founder of ski2LRT, says the Edmonton Nordic Ski Club’s beginner classes saw an almost 300 per cent increase in enrolment last year.
“I think a lot of Edmontonians want to be active commuters and active people in the winter, said Rae. “We’re trying to stay positive and leverage what we have, which is snow and space in this city.”
READ MORE: City encourages Edmontonians to embrace winter
If you’d like to find out more about the Ski2LRT initiative, the group is hosting a “BrewSki” ski-in at the Brewsters in Century Park.
You can find the various ski routes approaching Century Park LRT on this Google Map. Do you have a favourite place to cross-country ski in Edmonton? Share it with us in the comments section below!
With files from Kendra Slugoski, Global News
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