THUNDER BAY — Conditions for cross-country skiing in the Thunder Bay area could hardly be more starkly different from what they were last year at this time.
"The whole of last season was just a big old struggle," said Dave Suttie, general manager of the Kamview Nordic Centre, but now "conditions here are super-choice."
In an interview Tuesday, he said over half the trail network at Kamview is open for skate and classic skiing, and those trails are in mid-winter shape.
Suttie believes the rest of the trails should be ready for use by the end of the week.
"We probably got close to 30 centimetres of snow on top of what little bit we had here. Even with that rain and snow event we had [last week] it wasn't the greatest thing, but it was still a plus. Snow, rain and a little bit of ice that helps things bond to the ground a lot better."
It's the completely reversal of the situation last winter at this time.
"There was no snow here last year. I think the first significant snowfall we had was on Dec. 31st. I opened up then and it was very, very minimal," Suttie said.
"To have this much open before Christmas, and more snow in the forecast, and weather patterns changing, is just a huge plus for us. Huge."
At the Lappe Ski Centre, owner Tuija Puiras said "We're very happy. We're right back in business and doing well. Last year was a non-winter for us."
Puiras said about 90 per cent of the trail system is now open.
She called it a promising start compared with a year ago "when it was still raining at winter time. And now people can enjoy the holidays, especially the ones who like the outdoors."
The city's two downhill ski areas, which have snow-making machines, were both open prior to the most recent snowfall.
But snowmobilers who enjoy using the trails managed by Thunder Bay Adventure Trails will still have to wait awhile.
Spokesperson Adrian Tessier said although winter is off to a good start compared with last year, but areas such as Shebandowan didn't receive near the amount of snow that fell in the city.
"There's areas out there that need about 18 inches before we can start [grooming] because it's really rocky and rough terrain. There's good areas and bad areas on the same trail. If it's much less than 18 inches we end up damaging equipment."
Grooming normally starts the week after Christmas, but there was so little snow last winter, the club was unable to open any trails.
Tessier recalled that "on Christmas Day I was raking leaves on my lawn. We never got our groomers out. We never groomed one inch of trail."
TBAT's network begins at Kakabeka Falls and goes both west and south from there.
