Lac La Biche, Alberta, February 26, 2014
by Raymond Wintonyk
It’s been a difficult season for the organizers of the Lac La Biche Winter Festival of Speed. At the start of the year, the ice on Lac La Biche was in such poor condition, that it was thought impossible to stage the event this year. It took a huge scramble to find an alternate lake in the vicinity with satisfactory ice conditions that could be accessed. The change was announced, and preparations commenced. And then the weather changed.
After a two week meltdown with unprecedented warm weather, the arctic air re-asserted itself — in no uncertain terms. It became apparent within just a few days that racing could be staged on the main lake as usual, just beside the town of Lac La Biche. The plans were changed, and the preparations moved. But that arctic weather kept its teeth in the town. Even for a Winter Festival, and Ice Racing, it can get just too cold to be practical.
With temperatures projected to be below -20ºC on March 1 & 2, organizer Ken Staples announced the postponement until the following weekend. Just a week’s notice to shift an event of this size is hardly a simple undertaking, but according to Mr. Staples, most of the participants will be still in attendance, and the Festival will go off as planned. The weather for March 8 & 9 will be quite a bit better, with temperatures hovering just above the zero mark.
The Northern Alberta Sports Car Club will have cars on the racetrack at 11:15 am on Saturday, and 9:40 am on Sunday. The website of the LLB Winter Festival of Speed is: http://www.classicwheels.org/festival.htm. And, just to fill in the time before we get back to racing, here’s a link to a CLASSIC Ice Racing video. It’s a bit older, & before HDTV, but it’s Lac La Biche Ice Racing at it’s finest!