For many last weekend, there was the Yellowknives Dene First Nation’s Spring Carnival in Dettah for family fun.
But there was another event which brought out a crowd: the Yellowknife Ski Club’s Gold Loppet on Sunday.
This year, the event saw 425 people sign up to enjoy cross-country skiing on Vee Lake, just outside of the city. The course featured three different distances for people to try: 4 km, 15 km, and 25 km.
Though there were more participants last year, around 470, the 425 participants this year marked a significant improvement compared to the past.
“Usually, we see over 300 participants and this is really a significant increase in interest,” said Alyssa Titus, the event’s coordinator.
The loppet has a long tradition that started with a different name in 1978. Originally called the Yellowknife Ski Marathon, it began as a two-day event out to Prelude Lake where participants stayed overnight on the lake. The current format of the event began in 1991.
Titus, who has been coordinating the event since 2019, said Vee Lake is a perfect spot for such an event because of the connection of multiple lakes in the area that provide a perfect sight during skiing.
While there was a significant challenge with communication due to poor cellular signals in past years, which caused a bit of a headache for tracking skiers, the team brought in three StarLink units to each of the checkpoints this year so they could transfer data using satellite internet access.
Titus also noted the warmer temperatures and irregular snowfall this year posed another challenge during the preparation phase. Three volunteers from the club had been cleaning and maintaining the track for over a month.
Once skiers had finished, they had the option of heading back to the ski club’s chalet for the traditional chili lunch.
Alex Lothian, the kitchen coordinator of the event, said his team of around 20 members of the club’s high performance program had been preparing food since 8:30 a.m. that morning in the kitchen at Sir John Franklin High School.
In addition to the warm chili, buns, fruit, and hot chocolate were also prepared for the participants.
“We’ve been using the snow to cool the chili over the last week (and) we’ve thawed it out and warmed it up, just like the weather,” said Lothian.
Titus said she was just happy to see everyone having a good time on what she called one of the best days of the year.
“Being able to see all the smiling faces on the skiers is really rewarding for us as the organization team,” she said. “It shows how much people enjoy this event.