Skiers brave -20 C temperatures for first runs of the season in Ottawa-Gatineau area

Skiers were forced to brave cold temperatures for their first runs of the season on local ski hills. CTV’s Kimberley Johnson reports on the chilly start.

The winter weather is here and Ottawa is seeing a stretch of unusually cold weather for this time of year, yet some in the capital region braved the cold to get on the slopes Friday.

Environment Canada says the weather is colder than usual this time of year, and ski officials say it could be the coldest first day of the ski season they’ve seen so far. However, the cold weather didn’t stop ambitious skiers and snowboarders like Marcus Hines, who spoke to CTV News from the hill at Camp Fortune.

“I came here as soon as it opened,” he explains. “I set my alarm for 8:00, got all my gear on at 8:10 and got out there.”

Hines says this is his second season snowboarding and while the season is off to a cold start, he says its all worth it.

“It’s brutal on the face,” Hines laughs. “The lower part of my mouth, I can’t feel it anymore. The goggles are definitely a necessity today.”

Temperatures dipped below -21 C Friday morning, marking the first dip below -20 C of the season and the coldest temperature in the capital since March 3.

“I feel like Jack Frost,” Hines said.

Camp Fortune general manager Erin Boucher says there are two runs open at Camp Fortune, including one chair lift service, and the beginner-level ‘Magic Carpet.’ Boucher says hundreds of people took to the slopes for the hill’s first day of the season.

“We figure this is the coldest opening, that we can remember,” she says.

Boucher says this weather is important for snowmaking on the hills.

“Obviously we do have the natural snow, but snowmaking is important to get a firm base on all the runs,” she says. “We’ve been able to make quite a bit of snow. We are still making snow in terms of cold weather, getting the season open. We love it.”

Environment Canada says after 2-4 cm of snowfall this Saturday, the colder, below seasonal temperatures, will return on Monday, but Meteorologist Trudy Kidd says what’s being seen isn’t record breaking.

“The days that were below seasonal, (are) significantly colder than normal, but we’re not actually going to be near record breaking temperatures,” she explains. “Monday, for example, when we’re at -11, that’s a ten degree departure from normal. But the record is actually quite cold. It’s -20 and it was set in 1906.”

Other hills like Mont Cascades and Sommet Saint Sauveur are also open.

Sommet Edelwiess, Mount Pakenham, Mont Ste. Marie and Ski Vorlage are all expected to open this weekend.

Calabogie Ski Mountain aims to be up and running by Dec. 15.

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