November temperatures have finally settled in over Calgary and that little but of snow that fell Tuesday morning has many excited about winter.
Winsport began making snow but had to stop after a few hours when the temperature rose.
It needs a constant temperature of -2 or lower and a long spell of cold weather to freeze the ground.
“You know other than farmers I think we probably watch the weather forecast more than anybody else,” says Dale Oviat with Winsport. “We had an early spring last year which forced us to close a little early. We were hoping for an early winter this year but not so much.”
The cooler temperatures and little bit of snow has been encouraging for businesses as people are coming in to get new gear for skiing and snowboarding.
“There’s a lot more people getting excited about winter,” says Ken Dowdoe with Mission Snow and Skate. “A lot more people looking at the snow reports. The dusting of snow has some people fired up.”
However, the snow on the ground also means it’s time to drag out the shovel but endless shoveling is not how most people want to spend the winter months.
The Mowsnowpro is a new app, similar to Uber, but instead of a ride when you call you get help with your snowy driveway and it’s contract free.
“Last winter when it stopped snowing in January and people were still paying a monthly contract I think a lot of people were unhappy,” says Mowsnowpros founder Aidan Klingbeil. “We found a lot of customers that would rather go time by time.”
Klingbeil says customers can set their own bid price but he suggests a price range of $15.00 to $35.00 or $40.00 depending on the size of your driveway and sidewalks.
“If there is a heavy snow and you want someone there quicker, you up your bid price,” he says.
The City of Calgary is starting its winter road regime now salting and sanding priority one and two routes as the weather requires.
The city will have more on this year’s program when it meets with the media Wednesday afternoon.
