October 24, 2015 (Canmore, AB) – The fourth-annual WinSport Frozen Thunder Classic is set to go on Oct. 26 as Canada’s best cross-country skiers including Lenny Valjas, Ivan Babikov, Jesse Cockney, Graeme Killick, and Emily Nishikawa, will battle for the first sprint title of the season before heading off to Europe for the World Cup season. Later that day is the 2016 National Ski Team Presentation and Fundraiser at Murrieta’s in Canmore, AB.

This year’s Frozen Thunder loop is substantially shorter than last year, mostly due to the warm winter we had last year as organizers were not able to make nearly as much snow. A GPS of the track (red loop) measures 985m with the start/finish in the biathlon range and 12m of climbing.

The loop is to the west of the biathlon range and is also missing the biggest climb from last year. There’s a short out-and-back 200m section behind the biathlon range that has yet to be groomed which will add a bit more distance to the course.

The ground seems close to being frozen however conditions were still quite soft on Oct. 23, mostly due to recent warm temperatures and the track has only been recently groomed. The forecast is for cooler temperatures this weekend – lows of -4 and highs of +5 – should help conditions an make for great skiing.

Modeled after snow preservation projects in Europe the innovative Frozen Thunder project was originally piloted in 2009 with 400-metres of trail and has expanded each year to realize a 1km+ loop. The Canmore Nordic Centre now touts itself as the first to open its trails on the continent each year.