River Trail

An Ever-Changing ACU River Trail

clare — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:13:47 +0000

Unfortunately, we will not be able to go further west past Hugo Street this year. For those River Trailers that live in the area west of Hugo, I know the ice looks beautiful to skate on, but the ice-auger tells a different story. When the Assiniboine River opened up in January, it flooded most of the Assiniboine River in the Wolseley area. A thin layer of ice formed and then it snowed. So, now we have four layers on the river:

1. Snow layer
2. Thin ice layer
3. River water layer
4. Thick ice layer

Unfortunately, the snow is insulating the river water, and preventing it from freezing through. The thin ice layer is only 4 inches thick, and we need at least 14 inches to get our snow clearing equipment on the ice. If it hasn’t frozen yet, it won’t for the rest of the season. So, that’s it, (sigh…) all that work for nothing.We have, however, gotten to expand on the Red River this year and included a Riverview connection to the ACU River Trail. So, while one spot couldn’t be ventured to this year, a new area got to be introduced.

Lesson learned: the ACU River Trail will be different from one year to the next.

Community Pulls Together for the Assiniboine Credit Union River Trail (ACURT)

clare — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:09:21 +0000

Some of you may be wondering where the “Love Shack” at The Historic Port went this year. Unfortunately the Love Shack didn’t make it off the river in time last season. The water levels were rising at 2 inches per hour and the crane needed to move it to higher ground was in Portage la Prairie. The Love Shack unfortunately didn’t do so well as a boat. As the river thawed it was pulverized by floating ice until barely anything was left.

Fortunately, Danny Shur, creator of STRIKE! The Musical, came to the rescue with a replica street car used as a prop from his play. He has generously lent it to The Forks for the season to be used as a shelter. Three cheers for Danny !

Photo of the Street Car being transported to the ACURT. Assembling the streetcar was the largest puzzle I’ve ever worked on!

Another generous Winnipegger to the rescue, Mac Mills of Axiom Construction is donating his time and machine to help clear the ACURT.

The 17^th Service Battalion collected even more Christmas trees this year and dropped them off at The Forks to help decorate the ACURT.

Assiniboine Credit Union River Trail (ACURT) Off To a Frazil Start this Year

clare — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:00:24 +0000

Welcome back to the Assiniboine Credit Union River Trail Blog. Here are some photos and updates of the ACURT we’ve taken since we started up back in December.

At the beginning of the season the ice was thin and unpredictable. Pictured above is myself wearing a life jacket, and towing a canoe as insurance while doing our preliminary tests. Unfortunately the ice froze very chunky-like from The Forks to Assiniboine Park. Slabs of ice were piled on top of each other making a chaotic ice surface. We could barely walk on this ice, never mind making it smooth enough for skaters.

Seeing as we couldn’t actually knock every chunk by hand, our plan of attack would be to grow the ice thick enough to hold the Bobcat that Winnipeg Environment rented us and hopefully plow through the frazil ice.

We put the pumps on sleds and started making our way down the River. We would auger a hole through the ice and pump 4-6 inches of river water at a time. Overnight we would let it freeze and put another layer on the next day.

The work was grueling. Towing these 200lbs pumps on the sleds over the rough ice made for an EXCELLENT work-out, ACURT boot camp! It gave us a new appreciation for the Inuit sled dogs. After several layers we grew the ice from 4 inches to 16 inches, thick enough now for the 7000lbs Bobcat. Fortunately the Bobcat was able to plow through the frazil ice, but not without an amazing amount of diesel fuel. Man these machines are THIRSTY when you work them hard.Skaters didn’t waste any time getting on the trail, Dana Carsh, pictured below here was using the trail within the first 5 minutes of it being plowed. No exaggeration, we were turning around to make another pass and Dana was right behind us! Way to go Dana, you got first tracks!

The Warming Hut: An Art + Architecture Exposition on Ice

clare — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 15:16:35 +0000

The Forks, Winnipeg – This year the humble warming hut will be elevated to a whole new level with an inaugural art and architecture exposition on Assiniboine Credit Union River Trail.

The Warming Hut: An Art +Architecture Exposition on Ice has just completed its preliminary design phase. Five teams, each consisting of prominent architects and landscape architects paired with an artist, have been given a mere nine thousand dollars to create and construct their individual warming huts. The event has attracted the attention of some of the city’s best architects and artists, as well as a few of the world’s best.

“This event is really intended to showcase art and architecture in a setting that is otherwise reserved for the mundane and practical,” says Peter Hargraves of Sputnik Architecture, one of the organizers of the event. “It’s an intentional exploration of human experiences. In the same way we feel cold and warmth these huts are meant evoke feelings and create dialogue.”

The idea came from a group of young architects and artists who were fascinated by the idea of creating an exhibition on ice. He took that idea to Manitoba Homecoming 2010 who provided the spark to ignite the exposition.

“This new event is a perfect fit for Manitoba Homecoming 2010 and we’re really excited to be a part of it,” says Kevin Walters, Executive Director, Manitoba Homecoming 2010. “Showcasing our local talent keeps with our theme of featuring all that is great about Manitoba. This is just one more reason to come home in 2010. This is a first for Manitoba and a first for Canada. It will be something to see.”

The huts are as varied as the architects and artists who are creating them.

“This exposition is going to be like nothing the city has ever seen. There are orbs of light, seven million dots, crumpled structures and fir boughs,” says Paul Jordan, Chief Operating Officer, The Forks. “This has never been done anywhere else in Canada and it really is an honour to have it taking place at The Forks.”

Pre-fabrication work is to begin on January 25 at The Forks. The area around the Canopy will house the structures as they are finished from January 28 – 30. The public is welcome to view the pieces as they are being completed by their teams. Once complete each piece will be pulled down on to Assinboine Credit Union River Trail where they will stay for the duration of the winter.

It is intended that this event will continue and grow in to next year and become a signature event during Saison Voyageur, the celebration of Winnipeg in winter.

“We see this becoming an annual event that eventually morphs into a competition, not an exposition,” says Jordan. “This should attract the best architects in the world because it allows them to play in a medium that many of them don’t normally, ice.”

An event is being planned for January 28, 2010 to showcase nearly completed huts at The Forks.

The Warming Hut: An Exposition of Art +Architecture on Ice is made possible through the generous support of Manitoba Homecoming 2010, The Winnipeg Foundation, The Manitoba Association of Architects and The Forks.

Background information and plans for each hut are included with this release.

-30-

For further information contact:
Clare MacKay Karen Ilchena
Manager, Marketing and Communications Publicist,
The Forks North Portage Manitoba Homecoming 2010
Phone: 987-4360 Phone: 781-5944

Last Skater

clare — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 15:07:59 +0000

River Trailer, David Greenwood shut the trail down with the last skate of the season. Greenwood has a whopping 42 skating days under his blades this winter.

River Trailers Worth Mention!

clare — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 19:35:29 +0000

I wanted to devote this Blog entry to some River Trail heroes; those notable River Trailers who have gone the extra mile to make this public space enjoyable for all!

The Zubrack Family

The Zubracks live in St. James close to Assiniboine Park. Every meter we’ve taken towards the park has been met with cheers and encouragement. Michelle and Nick both worked on the trail during the construction phase and Cheryl has come running out from her house on numerous occasions with sandwiches and snacks to keep the night crews powered up on their late-night flooding runs. Thanks Zubracks!

Bob

Bob’s apartment in Osborn Village overlooks the Assiniboine River where he keeps a close watch on this section of trail. On his daily River Trail walk Bob, will pick-up any litter and set wind-blown trees back upright. This is a huge help to us! Way-to-go Bob, thanks!

Sipi The Wonder Dog

In addition to keeping moral high on the crew, Sipi LOVES to pick-up garbage. Here he is taking some litter to a garbage can.

Good Boy Sipi! Good Boy!

Now these are the only ones I know about, I’m sure many other heroes are out there as the ACU River Trail has a way of brining out the best in people. So thanks to all from the River Trail crew!

~Dave Pancoe, River Trail Operations Manager

“Why can’t you open the full trail again? Just scrape it with the Zamboni!”

clare — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:49:58 +0000

The Assiniboine Credit Union River Trail closed from Hugo to Assiniboine Park last week and the river trail crew has been pulled over by citizens inquiring; “Why can’t you open the trail again, just scrape it with the zamboni”!

Ahhh, if it were only that easy…

We feel we owe all of you concerned River Trailers out there an explanation as to what is happening from Hugo to Assiniboine Park. Even though the river may look solid in parts from Hugo to Assiniboine it is very dangerous along the river bank, especially the North shore through Wolseley. The open water sections are flowing swiftly and some parts have a thin layer of ice not thick enough to bring our equipment.

In addition to the weak ice, the river is expected to rise 6 inches as the Province recently released water from the control station. This additional water is expected to arrive at the city limits on Sunday February 22. We’ve been advised that the ice conditions from Hugo to The Forks are expected to hold during this rise in water levels, but probably not for the rest of the trail.

We certainly empathize with your disappointment as a lot of work went in to building the trail and we love to see people using it. So please continue using the trail from the Forks to Hugo!

Here are a couple of photos to share from the rainy week we had:

Soggy River Trail in front of Historic Port at the Forks

Hardcore River Trailer, Dariah Redmond skating through the rain.

With the soggy conditions, and marginal ice River Trail workers traded their heavy insulated layers for Life-jacket, rain-pants and rubber boots!

A Dirty Job and We Don’t Want to Do It

clare — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 22:01:11 +0000

The Assiniboine Credit Union River Trail is one of the best places to enjoy time with a K9 companion.Unfortunately the warm temperatures and rain left more than rough skating conditions on the River Trail. Many “presents” previously hidden under a thin layer of snow are now visible, exposing the irresponsible nature of some dog owners.
Dog poo showing-up everywhere since the warm weather has melted the top layer of snow.

Dog owners, PLEASE pick up your dog’s poo. C’mon it’s gross, Dog poo everywhere! The River Trail is no different from the rest of Winnipeg, you’re supposed to pick up after your dog.

Dog walkers on the River Trail doing the right thing.

Garbage cans have been placed the entire length of the trail, so their really is no excuse to not pick-up your dog’s poo.

Dave Pancoe, River Trail Operations Manager

The Longest Soul Rhythm Hip Hop Pied Piper Skate Dance Party Parade in The World

clare — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 21:49:57 +0000

Tutu-wearing ape leads parade to celebrate completion of River TrailOn February 1,2009, Assiniboine Credit Union River Trail users skated along to the hip-hop beats of DJ Hunnicut and Co-op. Winnipeg Harbour Patrol leading the parade in their ATVs.

A motley mix of River Trail equipment, cyclists, skaters, the zamboni, and a trailer towing the DJs and speakers made up the parade.

In the spirit of healthy living, “Bananas the Ape”, Winnipeg’s favourite primate was handing-out energy-boosting bananas to skaters and walkers.

Banana’s the tutu-wearing ape sharing his favourite food.

The procession travelled the entire 9.34km to Assiniboine Park where they were met by a llama, a reindeer, hot chocolate and snacks.

~Dave Pancoe, River Trail Operations Manager

Zamboni makes historic ice scrapping to Assiniboine Park.

clare — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 21:11:21 +0000

Sunday January 25, 2009
On a frosty Sunday afternoon against strong westerly winds, the Zamboni made a historic pass on the trail section between Omand’s Creek and Assiniboine Park.

Area residents gathered throwing flowers, and spraying champagne as the zamboni shaved the lumpy sections smooth for skaters. Bourkevale Community Club members marveled at the zamboni operator’s skill and the ice-scrapping efficiency of the machine.

Upon arrival at Assiniboine Park, Zamboni operator Michael Jordan, dismounted from the pilot seat, set foot on the smooth, icy surface and exclaimed:” One small step for Winnipeg…one giant leap for the River Trail.”

When asked if along the journey he was ever scared, Michael Jordan answered:”I didn’t have time to be scared or anything, just very cccold. We have a job to do, a mission to accomplish and we’ve been training to do it. I never doubted we would get here.”

~Dave Pancoe, River Trail Operations Manager