Canada's 'Ice War'

Winnipeg and Ottawa are facing off over which city has the world's longest -- and best -- ice trail.

1 minute read

January 9, 2009, 1:00 PM PST

By Michael Dudley


"The [Winnipeg] River Trail has become more than a skating surface; it's an act of national defiance.

Last year, it ran 8.54 kilometres along the Assiniboine and Red rivers, eclipsing Ottawa's famed Rideau Canal and earning the city a Guinness record for the world's longest naturally frozen skating trail.

When the entire trail opens this month, [it will] measure 9.32 kilometres, smashing last year's record and putting [Ottawa's] Rideau Canal's paltry 7.8 kilometres to shame.

[However] compared with the Rideau Canal - with its floodlights, warm-up shacks and huts selling Beaver Tail pastries - the River Trail is relatively sparse. The Winnipeg surface narrows to the width of a car in spots and is hand-shovelled by eight university students. Last year, several weary skaters had to flag down cabs after becoming worn out by the trail's length."

Thursday, January 8, 2009 in The Globe and Mail

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