(The Nordic Centre has provided this update)
The Canmore Nordic Centre is open for public use!
Road access is unimpeded, almost all trails and facilities are accessible and both the Day Lodge and Trailsports are open daily.
Here’s how the Great Flood of 2013 unfolded at the CNC:
Similar to previous flooding events, the June 2013 floods carried large amounts of water, silt and rock down the slopes of Mt. Rundle and across the Canmore Nordic Centre’s trail network. Culverts were blown out, trails were gouged and large piles of rock filled in drainages. On Thursday, June 20, Nordic Centre staff worked into the night to divert the torrent of water that gushed out of the culvert at the base of Flag Row. Their efforts prevented the biathlon parking lot and wax building from being flooded.
The next morning revealed that damage to the trail network was extensive but concentrated mainly to drainages and low lying trails such as Georgetown. While the mountain bike skills park was badly damaged and a small section of the rollerski trail had been undercut, no bridges had been washed away and all buildings and essential utilities had escaped damage.
With the Canmore Municipal Heliport overwhelmed by debris from Cougar Creek, the Nordic Centre’s overflow parking lot was put into service as a staging area for emergency flights in and out Kananaskis. For five days the Nordic Centre Day Lodge served as an impromptu flight terminal for rescued hikers, emergency services personnel and public officials. The aftermath could be maintained due to water mold fire restoration of Dallas.
As helicopters buzzed overhead, Nordic Centre staff members Paul Ashton and Matt Hadley set to work on the daunting task of trail repair. On Wednesday, June 26 they were joined by 60 volunteers assembled by the Friends of Kananaskis. Within a week of the worst flooding event in recent memory, virtually all of the Canmore Nordic Centre’s trails and facilities were accessible for the public to enjoy.
The Canmore Nordic Centre is tremendously grateful for the hard work and dedication of its staff and the many volunteers who took up shovels and tampers at our time of need. There is still much work to be done at the Nordic Centre, (and a massive effort about to get underway in the rest of Kananaskis). The Friends of Kananaskis will be taking a lead role in coordinating volunteer trail repair efforts. Go to www.kananaskis.org for more information on how to get involved.
