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With warm weather across Saskatchewan, people might be gearing up to enjoy their favourite outdoor activities, but organizations are reminding people to make sure safety is a top priority.
As the mercury rises, snow and ice start to melt, making ice fishing or snowmobiling unsafe in parts of the province.
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Leah Switzer is the executive director of the Saskatchewan Snowmobile Association (SSA). She said a lot of the group’s clubs throughout the province are seeing poor ice conditions, especially in the north or areas that got a high amount of snow after the cold snap in December.
“That snow really insulated the ice, and it’s preventing it from creating a good thickness,” she said.
“They’re seeing a lot of slush conditions, which is scary and dangerous.”
The SSA encourages snowmobilers to use their interactive map that shows all the trails throughout the province and their status.
She said the North Battleford, Meadow Lake, Christopher Lake and Candle Lake areas are all reporting thin ice with slushy conditions.
When areas experience poor conditions, the trails close.
When it comes to snowmobiling, Switzer said six to eight inches is ideal for a snowmobile.
“But goes a lot heavier when our grooming equipment needs to go on it,” she explained.
“So we’re needing, like, a minimum of 20 inches of ice to put those big groomers on it and groom that trail for you.”
Listen to Switzer on the Greg Morgan Morning Show:
Ice shacks remain on the lake
Brad Zerr is the owner of Hooked Up Angling at Regina Beach, which offers rentals for fishing equipment and ice shacks.
It also offers an overnight “ice castle,” where people can camp on the ice.
Hooked Up Angling at Last Mountain lake offer fishing rentals during the winter and summer months. It also offers an “Ice Castle” rental where people can camp on the ice overnight. (Hooked Up Angling Facebook)
He said conditions at Last Mountain Lake aren’t a concern to ice fishers right now.
“The warmer weather with the snow blanket doesn’t really affect the ice or the ice conditions that much,” he explained. “It just slows the amount of ice that it’s making.”
Despite a mild November, Zerr said it hasn’t impacted his business.
“This is a typical year,” he said, noting that they usually have the shacks out on the ice around December 15.
A handful of children took part in a snowmobile safety course in Canora in 2024. (Saskatchewan Snowmobile Association website)
Snowmobile safety week kicks off in Saskatchewan
Snowmobile Safety Week runs Sunday through Jan. 17 across Saskatchewan, and the SSA is reminding riders to put safety first on the trails.
Switzer said safety is one of the association’s biggest initiatives.
One of the group’s safety initiatives is a snowmobile safety course, which is required for anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 1989, even if they have a valid driver’s licence.
It offers both online and in-person classroom opportunities across the province.
Switzer shares a few simple, but important tips for drivers gearing up for another season of snowmobiling.
“Know your conditions, know where you’re going, make sure that you let someone know where you’re heading out, never ride alone and also never ride impaired,” she said.
She also reminds people that drivers must register their snowmobiles, which costs $150.
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