Under the cover of stars and a cold snap, two East Van teenage soccer players met at Trout Lake to clear snow off a small rectangle of ice and create a makeshift rink.
They carried buckets of water from a tap near the concession stand and used a shovel provided by the lifeguard to smooth out bumps and pile snowbanks to simulate boards.
Clearing the ice for pond hockey took Anthony Conte and Marco Favaro 90 minutes.
鈥淲e were working by moonlight like bootleggers,鈥� said Conte, 17. 鈥淚t was great.鈥�
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Earlier in the day they鈥檇 witnessed the lifeguards removing warning signs because ice on the lake was now thick enough to safely skate on. The pair didn鈥檛 use any lights but did have a third shovel.
When they returned the next morning during a break in classes at Van Tech secondary where they are in Grade 12, there had already been skaters on their little rink. Without clearing the snow, they said it鈥檚 almost impossible to skate through the drifts above the ice.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be the first time for a lot of people. It hasn鈥檛 been open for 20 years,鈥� said Conte.
With ice more than five centimetres thick for the first time since 1996, the Park Board declared Trout Lake safe for skating on Jan. 5. The permission continues on a day-by-day basis and is specific to Trout Lake though other people skated on ponds at Vanier Park and Granville Island.
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Ice Patrol staff just sent this photo of . Thickness good, quality poor with layer of slush on top. We will update noon WEDNESDAY.
鈥� 麻豆传媒映画Park Board (@ParkBoard)
The announcement brought hundreds of people to John Henry Park to walk and skate on the frozen surface.
Myrnal Hawes laboured in hockey skates to push her grandson and a three-wheeled buggy over the uncleared ice of Trout Lake.
鈥淭his is what they use for everything --- jogging, walking, trails, mountains and now ice,鈥� she said of the stroller. 鈥淚t keeps me up, too!鈥�
Because the frozen lake was open for safe skating, the occasion marked one of the family鈥檚 first forays from their home near the UBC Point Grey campus to John Hendry Park.
鈥淚t鈥檚 wonderful. Look at today --- look at the sun and look at the mountains. It鈥檚 just glorious,鈥� said Hawes, who was with her husband, daughter-in-law and three grandsons. 鈥淭his is a lake in 麻豆传媒映画you can swim at and we usually go to the beach but we are going to check this out in summer.鈥�
Sunna Mogensen spun in half circles and pirouettes, trying for larger figure skating tricks despite the clumpy snow.
The Icelandic woman said she didn鈥檛 pack for winter weather since arriving in 麻豆传媒映画last March to study visual effects at the nearby Lost Boys Studio.
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of funny how it鈥檚 a little bit of snow and everyone is going crazy,鈥� she said.听
Now an irregular rectangle that had become larger at one end as people haphazardly cleared away snow, the rink was growing in size as more people shaped it to suit their shinny needs. On the far side from where the boys from Van Tech unlaced their skates, another man had brought large equipment bags with children鈥檚 goaltending equipment. He put out a call for others to bring nets.
He wore a grey beard and a camouflage ball cap with a maple leaf and, although he wouldn鈥檛 give his name, praised the people who created the rink and, with it, the space for Vancouverites to play at outdoor winter fun not typically seen in the coastal rainforest.
He said he didn鈥檛 know who was responsible for the work, but pushed a heavy steel shovel to clear away snow and gave credit to those he imagined as anonymous patriots. He recommended this reporter, 鈥淛ust say it was the 鈥榦ld Canadians鈥� that did it.鈥�
鈥淭his might be the first time for some kids to get on ice like this,鈥� said the man who grew up in Northern Ontario. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a spontaneous thing. Who is the person who is going to come out and do this? Where is the early bird who will come do it tomorrow?鈥�
The vanguard who made the rink were across the ice from where he sat, a foursome of teenage boys cracking inside jokes and comparing their skating skills to . ("Just call me Wayne," said one of the soccer players. 鈥淚 got a mean slapper, though,鈥� said Oscar Youssef.)
About the dozens of skaters who were drawn to the cleared ice to play concurrent games of stick-n-puck and shinny on the rink they made, Favaro said, 鈥淚t feels great.鈥�
鈥淵eah,鈥� added Conte, 鈥渋t feels great to be Canadian.鈥澨�
Just like the guy wearing the maple leaf hat said.听
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