INUVIK
There was considerable interest in the snowshoe races at the Muskrat Jamboree over the weekend, with some high-level athletes strapping in and setting out.
Ryan Brooks of Inuvik was one of the people to take part in the snowshoe races at the Muskrat Jamboree April 7. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo
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Those locals included Inuvik Boot Lake MLA Alfred Moses, who was used to a different kind of running – both in the literal sense and the campaign one.
"There was quite a few of us that started the race," Moses said. "I'm pretty sure I finished sixth – it was pretty well a sprint and I'm more of an endurance runner."
Considering he has a notable background in fitness, including dancing, that shows how tough the race was. Moses even won the jamboree jiving contest April 5, demonstrating his command of fancy footwork.
"It was fun though, except for the cold burning my lungs. The young guys from Fort McPherson took the top two places. The boys are in good shape."
Moses was joined by Annah Hanthorn and Ruth Hanthorn, two rising stars on the national nordic skiing circuit. The sisters said they only snowshoe "once or twice a year" but their overall athletic prowess made them early favourites.
"We don't know how to snowshoe very well," said Annah. "We just like to take part."
They were sporting some lady-sized Canadian-made Faber traditional beaver-tail snowshoes and wick harnesses that were a far cry from the competitive circuit.
"We only snowshoe at the jamborees once or twice a year," said Annah.
"And maybe for fun," added Ruth. "It's a lot like running, but it's hard going in the deep snow."
Snowshoeing has fallen off as a sport in Inuvik, where it's somewhat rare to see anyone sporting the traditional devices. Due to the extremely powdery conditions, most snowshoeing is done on trails broken by snowmobiles, rather than snowshoers breaking trails themselves.
One elder, who didn't want to be identified, said the only time you see local residents out on the shoes is at the jamboree races.
Another novice racer was new Inuvik resident Ryan Brooks. He was sporting a pair of aluminum-frame snowshoes from Cabela's as his weapon of choice.
"I just want to win," he said. "I just saw the race (advertised) and since I had snowshoes I thought I'd give it a shot and see if I can at least place."
Brooks said he's done "quite a bit of snowshoeing" this winter. He usually heads out of town to make some tracks.
"I'm trying to get out to enjoy myself. I usually go anywhere there's a trail. I've broken some trails but usually I follow a broken trail."
Brooks said he expected to find more people who snowshoed locally than he has.
"It's not as popular as I thought it would be but I'm hoping to find more people to snowshoe with," he said.
Official race results were not available by press deadline.
