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Our winter wonderland
Monday, July 7th, 2008 by GetawayBC.com
The name for the community comes from Git-a-maat, the Tsimshian description of the Haisla and meaning “People of the Snow”.
And the city’s symbol is an aluminum snowflake.
So you won’t be surprised to find that, yes, we do have real winters here.
And the arrival of the white stuff is welcomed by countless Kitimatians.
Picture this: it’s a crisp, blue sky day and the snow is gently packed and fast.
A pair of cross country skiers round the corner and silently glide down a slope, following a trail that weaves through a tall stand of evergreens.
Up ahead a moose appears from the bush, ambles across the trail and disappears into the trees.
Welcome to Onion Lake ski trails, home of the Snow Valley Nordic Ski Club.
In less than two decades the club – with the assistance of local government, businesses and the Forest Service – has carved out more than 25 kilometres of groomed trails on the plateau above the Kitimat Valley.
Laid out by a professional, the trails run over a variety of terrains, ensuring that there is something to suit skiers of all skill levels.
For beginners there are Troll, Jackrabbit and Beaver. Clearwater. Lone Wolf and Moose Highway draw the intermediate skier while experts pit themselves against Atna and the Devil’s Elbow.
If travelling Moose Highway, pause at one of the viewpoints to take in the panorama of Lakelse Lake and the mountains beyond.
And the trails are reserved exclusively for skiers – snowmobiles are prohibited.
While Onion Lake draws locals simply looking for an enjoyable day on the trails, it also attracts skiers from across the region.
And next year they will come from across the province as Onion Lake hosts the cross-country ski events of the BC Winter Games.
And with the club having installed lighting on some of the trails, night skiing has become increasingly popular.
We mentioned snowmobilers earlier, and that takes us to another enthusiastic winter sports group – the Kitimat Snowmobile Club.
A few years back the club played a major role in installing a new bridge over Skidoo Creek to ensure continued access to Robinson Ridge, a favoured destination.
It has a management agreement with the Forest Service under which the club assumes responsibility for year-round maintenance from the bridge to the cabin it has built atop the ridge.
The club has a similar arrangement for the Clague (pronounced Clack) Mountain trail – it has another cabin there.
The public is invited to use both cabins, but people are asked to please leave them as they found them.
Haven’t caught your fancy yet?
How about snowboarding? When snowbound, the golf course is a favourite destination for boarders.
And if they are looking for more challenging conditions, they head for Shames Mountain, the regional ski hill located west of Terrace.
Amazingly, the heli-skiing potential of our local mountains (photo below) was only “discovered” two years ago and that business has, if you’ll pardon the pun, really taken off.