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Kevin Robinson never imagined cross-country skiing would become a popular sport in Saskatchewan.
The owner of Eb’s Source for Adventure has seen his company thrive like never before thanks to a global pandemic and accompanying provincial restrictions that have many people staying home looking for a way to stay active.
“Who knew cross-country skiing would become cool?” Robinson said during another busy day at work Thursday.
Usually, Robinson and his staff switch the store over from summer inventory to winter inventory after the first snowfall of the year, but demand forced his hand this year after requests for equipment began in August when temperatures were hovering around 25 C.
“It has been just crazy,” he said of the demand for skis. “August, September and October were record ski sales. Now we’re essentially out.”
As many retail locations advertise their online stores or curbside pickup options, Eb’s was forced to pull its products offline as global demand quickly outpaced the manufacturer’s ability to send product.
It’s not just local demand either. Robinson said a person would be hard-pressed to find a store in the country with cross-country skis still in stock.
Gail Motsi, the president of the Saskatoon Nordic Ski Club, said all those sales are translating to increased membership.
“Personally, I feel like there’s been a tsunami or something for cross-country skiing this year,” she said.
Normally the club has anywhere from 650 to 700 members. This year, more than 900 people have already signed up to be a member, the most in the club’s history.
“The lessons that we offer for adults and children, they’re all sold out,” she said. “We’ve pretty well reached our capacity for what we can offer.”
The added benefit for the area was the 50 centimetres of snow that arrived on Nov. 8, creating conditions for skiing a month earlier than usual.
Snowshoeing has also seen a similar surge in popularity. As of Thursday, Robinson said he was down to his final pair in the store, and he wasn’t sure when more stock would arrive.
These trends of little to no availability could last for some time.
Jeff Currie, owner of OuttaBounds, said alpine skiing and snowboarding demand is closely trailing cross-country skiing’s popularity as people look to stay active outdoors rather than fly to a hot climate for a winter vacation.
“People are looking at ways to stay mentally sane, physically fit and hopefully do it in a safe manner,” Currie said.
As demand for youth skis and snowboards soar, Currie said stock should be available for the next month, but any timeline beyond that becomes tricky.
“There’s going to be industry shortages next summer, too,” Currie said. “We’re selling a lot of our summer goods already right now.”
Before Saskatchewan reaches the depths of winter, Currie and Robinson said supply shortages could last more than a year. People need to consider that fact if they’re looking to take part in summer or winter outdoor activities, with pre-sales for bikes happening earlier than ever before.
To make matters worse, a fire nearly destroyed one of the largest ski factories in the world in Ukraine in October.
Both Currie and Robinson said they are humbled and thankful to be in an industry experiencing such a sales boom, but understand life with COVID-19 means their doors could be forced to close at any moment.
Until then, having people in Saskatchewan looking for adventure in their immediate area is an occasion worth celebrating.
“I’m hopeful that people’s increased activity in the outdoors and doing stuff locally becomes habit-forming,” Robinson said.
