Nice Weather eh?

Woohoo. Check the weather today. We have snow, snow, snow. And we're gonna get more. Great news for the skiiers, sledders and kids-at-heart. In the past 24 hours, there has been 24 centimetres of snow in Timmins. That's almost 10 inches. And the forecast calls for snow every day this week. A great way to follow the weekend, where hundreds of people enjoyed the Timmins sports weekend at the lake. The school kids loved it.

Pond Hockey!

It doesn't get any better than this. Was out this morning at Gillies Lake where they're celebrating winter sports festival in Timmins. Hundreds of youngsters were enjoying the day and the weather was outstanding. I got a real kick of seeing the kids playing pond hockey. I guess it ages me, but when I was a kid it was something everyone did. You skated on the outdoor rink behind the school, or you went down to the lake, where the ice was thick and solid. I was six years old, skating on the ice of Crescent Lake in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, saying "I'm Gordie Howe, I'm Gordie Howe...."

Weather Warning : (

The weather is crazy! Sure it's great for ice fishing. You can sit out there on your lawn chair and enjoy some cream soda ( yes, that's what is in the bottle!) while you're fishing. But it's not gonna be so good for the snowmobilers for a few days. I can handle the temperature hovering at zero in January. But when the forecast calls for temperatures of plus four and five, then something is just not right eh.
Hang in there, February is on the way.

Good Radio Bad Radio

I don't live in Kirkland Lake or New Liskeard, but I do enjoy their local radio stations. After years of working in broadcasting, I have to admit that CJKL 101.5 and CJTT 104.5 are two of the best local radio stations I've ever come across. I don't know how they've managed to survive with all these big media corporations hovering around, but they have. It's so enjoyable when I am driving along Highway 11 to tune in and find out what's going on. They have great announcers and great music. And it's not something that was canned in Toronto and shipped out via satellite to a repeater station. When something is good, you gotta tell people about it.

Conquer the Canadian Wilderness

Lots of excitement in the North these days. Planning is well underway for the National Adventure Racing Championships to be held in Timmins May 28th to June 3rd. An open house is to be held at the McIntyre Auditorium in Timmins at 5 PM on Thursday Feb, 2, 2006, to spell out the details. The race event itself will include sprint and expedition endurance races over the course of five days. This is serious stuff. There are $70,000 in prizes. To get the full details, check out the website: http://www.canadianarachampionship.com/en.php. You may want to help out as a volunteer, especially if you like racing, camping and spending time in the bush.

Happy Trails.

What a great weekend. The weather was almost TOO nice. It was mild and yes, there was a bit of sun. We had snow on both Saturday and Sunday. And people were out everywhere; sledding, skiing, walking their dogs and hiking on the trails. If there is one thing we have lots of in Northeastern Ontario, it's space. And with all that space, you get lots of trails through the the forests. We call it "the bush". Everyday I manage to spend a bit of time in the bush...thanks to the fact our office backs onto a nice tract of parkland. Woohoo.

More Skating & other cool stuff!

My friend Frank Roch from Tourism Timmins dropped by the office today to remind me that everyone and anyone is invited to go skating on the lake on January 27-29 for the Timmins Winter Sports Festival! There's gonna be skating, speed skating, boot hockey, pond hockey and even snowshoe races. Sounds like a fun time. See ya there!

Skating. Cool.

I noticed a cool thing again today. Winter days can be great when the sun in shining and the temperature is just a few degrees below zero. And you're skating! It's hard to beat eh. There is a nice skating oval out on Gillies Lake in Timmins. Most days, there are only a few hearty souls out on the ice. It can get kinda windy at the south end of the lake. But when the sun shines, everyone wants to strap on the blades and go. Some guys bring a stick. I think that's a guy thing. Most guys don't be able to seem to skate well, unless they have a stick. Go figure eh.

Cold Weather!

Under the heading "Did You Know?" Yes, we have cold weather in James Bay Frontier. How cold? Cold enough for the world's two biggest auto makers to do research and development here. General Motors has it's cold weather testing centre in Kapuskasing, ON. It has been in operation there now for nearly forty years! And down the road a bit, Toyota set up its first ever cold weather testing plant outside of Japan, in Timmins, ON. So the next time your GM or Toyota vehicle starts up and runs well in cold weather, you'll know where the work was done! Cool, eh.

Snowboarding!

Okay, i figure if I write it down, I will be held accountable. I am indeed gonna learn snowboarding ... uh... this winter. I am sure I will find time to at least try it. I dropped by the ski hill in Timmins recently and was amazed how popular this sport is growing. Skiing seems to be as popular as ever, but snowboarding seems to be the downhill sport of choice for the younger crowd. Interestingly, the popularity of downhill seems to be easily matched by X-country skiiers. Local clubs are barely able to keep up with the demand. Don't ever let anyone tell you there's not enough to do in James Bay Frontier and Northern Ontario in the winter!

Snow! Snow! Snow! : )

Yes! The newest snow fall has just begun. Timmins is in the midst of a winter storm warming, stretching from Sault Ste. Marie to Moosonee! We sure need it. As mentioned before, we have not had the usual big snow storms we are accustomed to. It meant that many trails in the region were in less-than-great shape. But the snow is coming down... almost sideways right now. What a great thing to see. If you're a sledder, woohoo. If you're a driver, slow down and take it easy.

Cobalt Rocks!

Visited Cobalt today. The organizing committee for a new summer event was meeting with other tourist groups. There's going to be a major rock and mineral show in Cobalt on July 29th and 30th. Given that this town was home to some on the most famous silver mines in North America, it seems a natural place for rockhounds. The committee is excited and promises to put on a great weekend. Check back here often and be sure to check out the website: www.cobaltrocks.com

Snowmo Info Here

If you’re an avid sledder looking for more information on this region, we have some excellent organizations. There is the Temiskaming Abitibi Trail Association at 1-888-828-2766, and the Northern Corridor du Nord at 1-877-287-2457.
Check their websites:
http://www.tata-bestsnowmobiling.com/

http://www.nt.net/corridor/

Saturday Snow!

The weather is cooperating. About time eh. It snowed last night and the temperature in Timmins dropped to about minus 16 Celcius. That’s good. After all, winter is winter. It’s supposed to be cold and snowy. Sure lots of people grumble about it. But that’s one of the nice things about living in Northern Ontario. We have cold. We have snow. And for the most part, it’s pretty easy to adjust to it. Snowmobilers seemed to have found their niche. No matter how cold it gets, you can always find a sledder cruising along and not minding the cold at all. Of course, those guys have become experts in their own right at how to stay warm. How else could you get guys riding for six, eight or even ten hours a day with the wind chill whipping at them the whole time? I was out earlier taking photos in the bush and the wind was blustery all morning. But the sun is shining and the local sledders were out enjoying the day.

Why Come Here?

It's a good question eh. Well the best answer is that James Bay Frontier covers the most northeastern region of Ontario. As such we have the boreal forest sitting in the midst of the vast Canadian Shield. Trees and rocks. Rock and trees. That's what we have. And this time of year, it's all covered by fresh, clean snow. Add to that the fact that the communities in Northern Ontario are snowmobile friendly. The hotels, restaurants and other businesses know that the winter adventure riders are great for tourism. It has taken a bit of time, but the hard core sledders know that places like Temiskaming Shores, Elk Lake, Gowganda and Shining Tree are all excellent destinations. Move a bit further north and you will arrive in Kirkland Lake, Matheson, Iroquois Falls, Cochrane, and Timmins. A bit further north and you will run into such towns as Kapuskasing and Hearst, legendary for having some of the best trails in Canada. Into extreme riding? Then you want to challenge yourself and ride through the Abitibi Canyon, all the way to Moosonee and Moose Factory and James Bay, the southern tip of the Arctic Ocean!
You can even do loop tours to such places at Foleyet, Chapleau, Gogama, Matachewan, Larder Lake, Virginiatown. You wanna ride? You wanna do it right? You wanna treat yourself? Then come on up to the Arctic Watershed and ride James Bay Frontier.
Oh and one other thing... as I left the office today in Timmins, there was SNOW...big fat chunky flakes of snow coming down. Woohoo!

James Bay Frontier

James Bay Frontier

Yes, we still have plenty of snow despite the fact the weather has been mild. As expected the southernmost parts of the James Bay Frontier are waiting for their usual big winter snowfall to happen in the next two weeks, followed by a nice deep freeze. The trails are maintained by the excellent volunteers at the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs (OFSC) . The JBF is such a huge area that it covers two distinct OFSC districts. The southern district is known as OFSC District 14. Not all the trails are open there. The trails are open in the more northern regions of the frontier in the area known os OFSC District 15.
I was out in the bush on the weekend and noticed that while there is already 18 to 24 inches of fallen snow in most areas, that doesn't mean there is two feet of snow packed down on the trails. But let's be positive. The good snow is on the way. The other concern is the status of the numerous lakes and rivers in this area. Once again, the lakes and rivers are indeed frozen over for the most part in District 15, but not fully so in District 14. By all means feel free to contact us at info@jamesbayfrontier.com for a quick and easy update. Here's a helpful toll free phone number for trail conditions: 1-888-828-2766.

Snowmobiling

It's the second week of January and the snow is slowly arriving in Northeastern Ontario as urgently requested by so many of the avid sledders in this part of the world. Here in the James Bay Frontier we are used to having the longest snowmobile season in Ontario... that's why we are well known as Ontario's Snowmobile Paradise. If you were planning to visit this region, now is certainly the time. If you need an update on trail conditions you can check out the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs website or drop in on the Temiskaming Abitibi Trail Association folks. If you need more info, be sure to drop me a line at info@jamesbayfrontier.com. Later dudes, Len.