Category Archives: Conditions

Greetings.

The good news is that cross-country ski trails are still allowed to operate under the Province-wide Covid-19 lockdown. However, we are required to provide a Covid-19 Safety Plan for the Massie Hills Trails, which I have attached as a PDF and appended below.

We also have the first of our ski club trail exchanges starting on Saturday. The full list is below. I would encourage anyone wishing to ski at another club to first check their website for their Covid-19 protocols.

Ski Club Exchanges for 2021

Sauble Beach Ski Club                     January 16 to Jan 23

Bruce Ski Club                                   January 24 to Jan 30

Glenelg Ski Club                               January 31 to February 6

Beaver Valley Ski Club                    February 7 to February 13

beavervalleynordicskiclub.ca

Footnotes:

* As the Glenelg Ski Club does not obtain their insurance through Cross Country Canada, members of other ski clubs must sign and drop off a waiver at the at the main parking lot (Hamilton Lane & Concession 8) the waiver is available on their website here: http://www.glenelgnordicskiclub.org/?page_id=34

The new OSCCSC zipper pull tags arrived today. They will be mailed out tomorrow to new members who do not already have an OSCCSC button.

COVID-19 SAFETY PLAN

January 13, 2021

Background:

The Owen Sound Cross Country Ski Club Inc. (OSCCSC) is a non-profit organization maintaining approximately 9.6 kilometres of cross-country ski trails (Massie Hills Trails) on property owned by the Grey Sauble Conservation Authority and Grey County. The trails are also used to a lesser extent for snowshoeing.

The Massie Hills Trails are located at 497250 6^th Concession South (east entrance) and 083634 Sideroad 6 (north entrance) in the municipality of Meaford, Ontario.

OSCCSC volunteers groom and track-set the trail as conditions require and rent two portable toilets from Wilton Sanitation, one located at each of the east and north trail entrances.

Club insurance is provided by Marsh Canada Limited through the Canadian Snowsports Association. Grey Sauble Conservation and Grey County are additional insured parties under the policy.

Skiers and snowshoers are required to join the OSCCSC or pay day-use fees and thereby acknowledge the particulars of the Informed Consent and Assumption of Risk Agreement, updated July 2020.

The OSCCSC does not provide any group training or group activities and does not have any buildings on the property other than the rented portable toilets.

Province-wide Lockdown as of January 12, 2021:

This document has been prepared as a requirement of the Ontario government Covid-19 lockdown announced on January 12, 2021.

Outdoor recreational amenities, including cross country ski trails, are permitted to open, subject to conditions.

Relevant conditions include the preparation of a Covid-19 Safety Plan and that washrooms that are accessible to the public are cleaned and disinfected as frequently as is necessary to maintain a sanitary condition.

Social Distancing and Use of Masks:

OSCCSC members are required to practice social distancing at all times and to wear a mask when social distancing is not possible.

Any person who enters or uses the Massie Hills Trails must maintain a physical distance of at least two metres from other persons using the trails (excluding members of the same household).

This includes the roadside parking areas at the east and north entrances to the trail system and while on the trails themselves.

Trails users are asked to wear a mask that can be pulled up over the nose and mouth when passing other trail users.

Portable Toilets:

The portable toilets at either entrance to the trails have been equipped with additional hand sanitizer and paper towels so that users can wipe off any surfaces that they will be touching or have touched. The user can dispose of the paper towel in the portable toilet. Users are asked to use the minimum amount of paper towel necessary.

Ski Club Executive members will be inspecting the portable toilets on a weekly basis to ensure that there are adequate supplies of paper towel and hand sanitizer.

A record of inspections will be maintained by the Club Executive.

Signage:

Signage requesting trail users to maintain social distancing of two metres is posted at either entrance to the trails.

Thanks,

Chris

Greetings.

The freezing drizzle has left the Massie Hill trails too icy to be safely used.

We will update you once we have had enough fresh snow to groom and track-set the trails.

If you have registered and not yet received your buttons, please be patient. Due to this year’s surge in memberships we have run out of buttons and have ordered new zipper pull tags. We will mail these out as soon as they arrive.

Thanks,

Chris

Greetings.

The Massie Hills trails were groomed this morning and are fairly fast.

Thanks,

Chris

Greetings.

The Massie Hills trails have been groomed and track-set this morning. Conditions are anticipated to be a bit sticky as the temperature hovers around zero.

Enjoy!

Thanks,

Chris

Happy New Year!

The Massie Hills trails have been groomed and track-set this morning and are in good shape with a few wet areas.

We have had a few inquiries about snow shoeing on the Massie Hills trails. Snow shoeing is permitted but we ask that snow shoers stay off the track-set portion of the trails. Our trail groomers are leaving a wider distance between the two sets of ski tracks, wherever possible, to accommodate both uses.

Both skiers and snow shoers are required to pay Day-Use fees or become members of the Owen Sound Cross Country Ski Club.

Thanks,

Chris