Huron Meadows has Ski Trail Ambitions

Wed, Dec  27, 2006 - By Hugh Pritchard

I am a close neighbour of Huron Meadows Metropark. In fact, my house is bordered on three sides by the park, so I am very much interested in the quality of the trails and skiing in the park. But I have just realised that all the effort I have put into clearing sticks from the trails since the spring was wasted, as the park maintenance team has done a huge amount of work on the trails in the last few weeks.

As it happens, Adam Haberkorn’s job title as the park’s Golf Course Superintendent hides his more important ‘secret title’ of Ski Trails Superintendent and an ambition to provide the best ski trails in the area, so he is a natural friend to all skiers. Adam also has a hotline to the folks at NOAA who arrange the weather, so he was confident of having December free of snow to work on the trails.

I joined Adam’s team for a couple of days working on the trails, and they have done a lot: clearing the invasive Autumn olive scrub from the sides of the trails; filling the gullies left by water running down the trails; cutting drains to prevent further water erosion; putting down gravel to fill the holes and level the trails; putting down woodchips to cover the roots and gravel (those who skied the 2006 Noquemanon know that with woodchips underneath, you can ski on almost no snow at all without damaging your skis).

Adam has plans to expand the trail network next year by adding a couple of stretches in the woods south of Hammel Road; he has already added stretches in the flatter scrub and trees at the northeast corner of the golf course, by Ricket Road.

There is even a substantial ‘secret section’ of the park south of the river: difficult to access because of its lack of a parking-lot, it is much less frequented than the northern part, and has a remote feel and big hills on its trails. The skiing in there would be sensational. Now, if only we could build a bridge over the river, to take that groomer across…

The park will soon by taking delivery of a new Tidd-Tech Tenderizer groomer, which will permit grooming of both classic and skate trails (classic in the woods, as in the past, classic and skate on the golf course where there is more room). So if you have not been to Huron Meadows in the last couple of weeks, take a run around the trails and see what has been done.

All we need now is some snow.