Tee House, #6 Green and Ice Skating

The Tee House construction continues to progress with the services to be installed by directional drilling in the near future. By services I mean the sewage, water, power, natural gas and communication connections. Windows are scheduled to be installed soon as well. The picture below is from December 19. The picture is a mirror image though due to my lack of computer skills

We will be clearing the snow off the ice on #10 in the early January. It is in rough shape at present so we will have to flood the surface for a week or so before it can be "tested" for skating. The ice was still unsafe to be on as off the past week. The predicted cold weather over Christmas season should create safe conditions.

We have been monitoring the air temperatures under the large bubble wrap and ice shield covering the 6th green. Temperatures have been fairly constant at -1.4 to -1.2 C. Probably the same as every other area on the course. The 20 or so inches of snow cover acts as a very good insulator to hold in heat radiating from below the surface. We have been blowing in fresh air under the cover approximately every 10 days (just to be sure). The following video shows the snow rising and cracking along the air tubes and rising a few feet on the front half of the green. When the blowers are shut off the forced air diffuses laterally under the ice shield as the weight of the snow cover pushes the tarp back down.The next time out I will peek under the edge of the cover where we are blowing the air in and see whats up under there. So far so good.

Wishing all of you Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Wade, Eric, Dave, Ian and Maureen

On The Course In December

Yes there is actually something going on out on the course. As follows:

• The ski trails are being groomed as conditions warrant. We are getting positive feedback so unless we hear otherwise the trail will remain as set. I think we're learning. I'm going to hit the track myself  to see if I can get around without collapsing.

• ArborCare Tree Service will be pruning  select elm and poplar trees over the next week. Unfortunately the lift truck will interfere with some small sections of the ski trail. We will reset the track after they have completed their work. In the meantime please avoid the truck and the workers by skiing around the site if necessary. Sorry for the inconvenience but winter is the only time we can deal with the elm trees as per City bylaws.

• The Tee House construction is well under way now that the concrete floor has been laid down. I will post progress pictures beginning today.

• The greens were cleared of the initial snowfall as previously mentioned and as of now they are covered with approximately 16 inches of good snow cover. Keep snowing and stay cool is the hope for the next few months. The 6th green (covered with bubble wrap and an ice shield) is being monitored for CO levels and temperature. Our twice weekly checks show the temperature staying at -1.4 C. Good for now.

• A few members have inquired about skating on the pond at #10. We plan on trying to clear and then flood a section in January. The ice should be thick enough by then. I will follow the City Of Edmonton's lead on this one. I'm on ice a lot but inside where its fairly predictable. Its been awhile since any of us have prepared outdoor ice so it will be a work in progress. Learning for next winter we hope.

All for now,

Wade