And with that, the on-snow business at the Yellowknife Ski Club is over for another season.
The club hosted its last event for the season called the Nordic Cross on Saturday with around 50 competitors taking part. It was a fun event with no times or placings kept and the trails were turned into a giant obstacle course. Some of the items keeping participants on their toes included a slalom, bridges, transitioning from front to back, and a giant rope where skiers had to not get caught up in.
“Most of our programming wrapped up last week (and) this is a fun, end-of-the-season event,” said Brett Wheler, who coaches the club’s Track Attack program.
Despite some puddles and ice on the course, Wheler said that the conditions were an opportunity for participants to practice what they had learned during the season and put them into action.
“This is something that you don’t usually do in a race, and you learn from that,” he said.
Devin Lyall, one of the skiers at the event, described the condition of the track that day as “super fun”.
“This is going to be really fast with all the ice,” he said before racing. “As long as we can stay upright, it will be a fun course.”
Lyall, who used to be a downhill skier, had never tried cross-country skiing at all until he came to Yellowknife 22 years ago and was immediately attracted by it.
Mike Argue, the event’s co-ordinator, said it was a chance to bring the fun elements all the way through the end of the season.
Cookie medals were awarded to all of the skiers who attended, he added.
While there are no more official events happening at the club this season, people are still allowed to ski on the trails long as there is snow.