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XC trails closed, Loppet postponed

With the Lost Lake Cross Country Ski Trails closed until snow conditions improve, the Whistler Nordics Loppet scheduled for Jan. 29 is being postponed indefinitely.

"If (the snow) comes back with a vengeance, we’ll reassess it. Of course we’ll need the full amount of snow so we can run the groomer and include the golf course… although we may run it on a smaller loop if that’s all we have to work with," said Whistler Nordics president Tom Barratt.

The Loppet is part of the Coast Cup series, along with the Pemberton event that was also cancelled this week.

A week of heavy rains and warm temperatures have wreaked havoc on the cross-country trails after several busy weeks following Christmas. The snowpack was too thin to be machine groomed, but the cold weather created some optimal conditions on the trails that were open.

According to Roger Weetman, RMOW manager of program services and community liaison, there is still a chance the trails could reopen.

"If it gets colder we have 20 truckloads of snow waiting that could be put on our trails," he said. "We’re not writing off the season just yet. If it gets colder, and we get a snowfall, we should be able to get the most used parts of our trail network open."

The main priority is the loop around Lost Lake, which will receive the snow from Meadow Park arena once temperatures drop.