Red River Mutual Trail reopens, closes hours later

Well, that was fast.

Just six hours after reopening Saturday, the Red River Mutual Trail is now closed for the season.

"I don't have all the facts in front of me, but I feel safe to say this is probably the shortest open and close date ever," saidForks spokesperson Chelsea Thomson.

The trail closed last weekend after days of record temperatures, including 5.6 C on Feb. 18.

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Thomson said crews worked hard to get the ice back up to fair condition and re-open the trail Saturday morning.

Stay off rivers

But later Saturday afternoon, the province issued a statement warning of high water on its way from the U.S. Theexpected eight to 10 foot rise in river levels could weaken and destabilize the ice, hydrological officials said.

So before 6 p.m. the trail was closed for good.

"We've faced a lot of challenges, the least of which is mild weather and early spring conditions," Thomson said of the trail's peculiar opening pattern. "Really whathappenedthis year was unlike any year,where we opened and closed,openedand closed.We had some really bad puddle dates, and had to turn to poor conditions quite a few times. This is unlike any other year we've ever seen."

Last year the trail was late opening, so Thomson said they began analyzingdata to get a better sense of when the trail opens and closes. Usually, skaters are on the ice by late December or early January; the trail most often closes between late February and early March.

This year, the trail was already temporarily closed inlate January before reopening in earlyFebruary. The warming huts were removed from the ice last week as a safety precaution.

"We want to do our best to make surewe get as much out of winter as we possibly can,and that's why we were so excited to get the trail open this morning. But unfortunatelywe always have to err on the side of safety," Thomson said.

Canopy still open, Crokicurl to return

The earliest the trail has ever closed for the season was in 2013, when it shut down on Feb. 27.Typically it lasts through the first week of March.Last year, it wrapped up on March 6 and in 2015 it was March 9.

The canopy ice rink is still open, and Thomson hopes it will stay frozen for another week. Crews are also repairing the Crokicurl rink for one last shot at winter.

"That being said, it's now time for us to assess and figure out how we move forward next year. Who knows if this mild season is our new reality?" Thomson said.

• For the latest canopy rink skating conditions, click here.