Extreme cold in Saskatoon is the latest hurdle for the team behind Optimist Hill, which has only managed to open one day since Christmas.
In December, temperatures were often too warm to make snow for the hill, which offers skiing, snowboarding, tubing and tobogganing. More recently, it’s been too cold to make snow or even open.
“We apologize to the people in the community. We really wanted to be open, but it’s just way too cold,” said Rob Letts, project chair of Optimist Hill.
The hill typically closes when temperatures are around -25 C. Wind gusting to 40 or 50 km/h can also result in a closure due to concerns about flying objects, Letts said.
The organization’s new goal is to open Friday and stay that way for 10 straight days, making up for lost time and revenue.
“We obviously, being a non-profit, have to make sure that we are having adequate people on the hill to make it financially viable to be open,” Lett said.
The hope is to have the hill’s terrain park open by this weekend, he added.
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The Meewasin skating rink has faced similar struggles lately. It closes anytime temperatures or the wind chill reach the -30 mark.
“I think we’re more used to seeing these really, really long cold snaps in February,” said Meewasin Valley Authority CEO Andrew Lafond.
“So it’s earlier than we anticipated and it’s unfortunate that it happened over the Christmas holidays, too.”
It’s been a busier stretch for Mar’s Mini Golf, which moved to its current indoor location on 1st Avenue in December.
“Our summer slogan is ‘rain or shine, it’s glow golf time,’ and in the winter I like to say ‘cold and snow, come to Mar’s and glow,’” said Marlene Bashutsky, owner of Mar’s Mini Golf.
City amenities like the Clarence Downey Speed Skating Oval remained open Wednesday. The BHP Enchanted Forest won’t have a final walkthrough event this year due to COVID-19 protocols and the cold.
Environment and Climate Change Canada issued an extreme cold warning for Saskatoon Wednesday morning.
Like the majority of Western Canada, Saskatoon is contending with a blast of artic air carrying wind chill values as cold as -50.
When it feels like -40 to -47, exposed skin can freeze in five to 10 minutes. When it feels like -48 to -54, exposed skin can freeze in two to five minutes, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada.
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