Ice, ice, maybe? Canal keeners anxiously await good news

The Rideau Canal Skateway will open in xdays and stay open for ydays in 2020, but no one can solve for the unknown.

The National Capital Commission, which won'topen the popular attractionuntil the ice is at least 30 centimetres thick, can only urge eagerskaters to remain patient.

Aynsley Morris, who's also known as "The Canalvangelist" andadmits to standing on the Corktown Footbridge to cheer on the flooding crew down below, is having a hard time holding off.

"I just can't wait to be on it," Morris said. "Of course I'm anxiously waiting for the canal to open, but it doesn't look promising for this week."

No big chill

Environment Canada is calling for a high of 5 C on Friday appalling news for canal keener Stephanie Small.

"So terrible. I can't believe I used to always hate winter, and I would have loved this warm weather. But now that I love skating on the canal I actually want it to be minus 10," Small said.

"It's how I stay sane and happy in the winter."

Small said she's skated every day the canal has been open for the past threeseasons.

"Every time I went out I felt better when I came back, and it just made the winter fly by."

Crews resumed flooding on Sunday, the NCCsaid.They had started to work on the icebefore Christmas, but mild temperatures set them back.

The NCC says it needs to be 10 C or colder to make quality ice.Spokesperson Cdric Pelletierwouldn't revealhow thick the ice is nowbecause it's not a consistentthickness along the length of the canal, he said.

'It's going to get cold again'

Morris remains optimistic.

"This is Ottawa. It's going to get cold again," she noted hopefully.

Last year was a particularly good season, starting Dec. 30 and offering 59 skating days within a 71-day window. The two previous seasons were shorter at just 25 and 35 skating days.

The latest opening day was Feb.2, back in 2002. The shortest season on recordwas in 2016, with just 18 days of skatingspread over 34 days.

Morris worries about a general trend toward a shorter skating season, even though that's not really supported by the statistics yet.

If you've ever wondered about the equipment required to whip the canal into shape, here's a list provided by the NCC.

• Eight augers.
• Sixteen pumps.
• Thirteentractors, some equipped withsnow blowers and others with sweepers.
• Four pickup trucks with plows andtrailers.
• One "Froster" a custom vehicle that looks like a Zamboni pulling an enormous squeegee.
• FiveATVs for flooding.
• Two moreATVs for snow removal
• One snowmobile.
• Twentyshovels for the stairs.