P.E.I. snow enthusiasts embracing winter sports

While some Islanders are worried they'll be experiencing another winter like the last two, others are embracing it.

For some that means a visit to Brookvale Winter Activity Park to enjoy some skiing.

The provincial park opened its cross-country ski trails on Tuesday after the weekend snowstorm.Tesa Court and her daughter took advantage of the opening.

When asked if she loved winter, Court saidshe has learned toover the years of living on the East coast.

"You don't really have a choice. if you want to get outside, you have to kind of love it," said Court.

"We took every opportunity last year to get out into the snow during those big storms, doing some snowshoeing, and skiing and stuff. You've got to embrace it if you're here."

P.E.I. Snowmobile Association president Dale Hickox says more people are getting excited about snowmobiling on the province's groomed trail system.

"The excitement generated this year is at record levels. Everybody is talking about it, our trail permit sales seems to be climbing quite a bit. We've had requests for more passes from all our distributors, so that's an encouraging sign for us," said Hickox.

Sales increasing

Not only are the sales of trail permit passes increasing, so are the sales of snowmobiles.

Toymaster Motor Sports owner Gary Dunning said sales have doubled over the past two years because of the amount of snow the Island received.

"It looks like the makings of a year like last year, so it's definitely introduced more people into it. And we're seeing a lot of new people, new buyers that don't own snowmobiles coming into it this year."

While there hasn't been enough snow to open the downhill slopes at Brookvale, there's been enough to raise the anticipation level.

"People are always excited whenever there's snow around. And whenever they've had a good season, it gets them pumped for the next season," saidErin Curley,assistant superintendent at Brookvale Winter Activity Park.

But even snow enthusiasts like Hickox saylast year's record-setting winter was a little much. He adds he'll take all the snow, just not the storms.

"The difficulty in it was it was a very tough year for our volunteers and our equipment, getting the trails in the kind of shape all our membership would like to see them at," said Hickox.

"It was a continuous battle right to the end of March to do that."

But he adds days with weather like the Island had onTuesday would make for the perfect winter.