A Saskatoon dad gave his daughter an exciting birthday gift that will eventually disappear when the weather warms.

Blair McDaid has constructed a backyard luge track for his seven-year-old daughter Ophelia.

The icy track starts at the top of a wooden platform, and continues in a loop along three sides of his yard. Riders use a plastic toboggan to navigate the course.

"It's snow, it's ice," said McDaid. "The initial base track is built out of leaves to get the initial curve, and that's how the whole thing started."

McDaid built the luge track last month and said the track needs daily maintenance to keep it icy. It's been a lot of work to build it and keep it running.

"At the end of the Christmas holidays, I thought, 'Geez, I haven't done anything at all over the holidays,'" he said. "And then I walked into the backyard, and there was a luge there. So, sometimes these things just happen."

With this month's unseasonably warm weather, McDaid is hoping for some cooler temperatures to save his track. He also admits to considering special measures to preserve the luge track.

"I do have this irrational vision of finding some old construction tarps and spend time covering it and uncovering it, but I may find better things to do," he said.