Snowmobile enthusiasts were thrilled to see Monday’s forecast included 10 to 15 centimetres of snow, but what they did not like to see is the freezing rain that came right after the snowfall.
Freezing rain today along with a forecast of plus temperatures going into the weekend will likely mean the North Bay area snowmobile trails will not fully open until February.
Shawn Flindall, Director of Marketing and Communications with the North Bay Snowmobile Club says some trails have opened in the Bonfield and Mattawa area but he believes the trails will need another decent snowfall without freezing rain, to get things open in the entire region.
“There is this little circle in Ontario that we just have not gotten the breaks this year, we haven’t gotten the snow and when we did get the snow it ended up going away because of the rain. It has been a very frustrating and challenging year,” said Flindall about the area that includes North Bay, down to the South Shore, West Nipissing and north all the way up to New Liskeard.
The sad part is that the poor conditions mean keen sledders are rolling right through North Bay and heading north.
“You cannot get a room north of Kirkland Lake it is that booked up,” said Flindall.
“If you watch Highway 11 it is trucks and trailers, trucks and trailers, but none of them are stopping in North Bay unfortunately and none of them are spending their money here either.”
He says snowmobile enthusiasts are spending all their money in Kirkland Lake, Iroquois Falls, Cochrane and Kapuskasing.
“It really is a big hit economically for our area. It is a big deal to Northern Ontario in general but certainly for lots of businesses around North Bay and Sturgeon Falls and area,” he said.
Flindall says the local club is trying to stay optimistic realizing that the season still could have two decent months of snowmobiling in February and March.
“It would be highly unlikely it will be like this until March and we realize that eventually, the cards will line up at some point,” he said.
“At this point, it is just a frustrating yo-yo of rain-snow, rain-snow, rain-snow and it is not working to our advantage by any means.”
