Loppet kicks off spring skiing
Dozens turn out for popular event
Sarah Ladik
Northern News Services
Thursday, April 14, 2016
INUVIK
The 49th annual Top of the World Loppet kicked off the spring skiing season, with skiers of all ages filling the trails for the event.
Diane Wilson, left, Jay Frandsen and Kendall McDonald push off at the start of the 10-kilometre Top of the World Loppet April 10. - photo courtesy of Fraser Pearce
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"It's happened enough years in a row that we have a system, and a good group of volunteers who come out to make it happen," said organizer Fraser Pearce. "It takes a good month of planning, and then a crazy week before, but we pull it off."
About 65 people turned out for the event April 10, a number Pearce said was fairly typical.
There were races and categories for all ages and abilities and prizes awarded for the top athletes in each.
"You want to catch everybody at every age," said fellow organizer Bobbi Scott. "You don't just create athletes at 25 or 30 years old, you start them young. The more you have out at a young age, the more adults you got later on the trails."
Beyond the races themselves, there were games for small children and a barbecue for all participants and their families. Scott noted the split nature of the season - starting in the fall, breaking in the really cold weather, and picking up again in the spring - and said the loppet was a good way to kick off the new season.
"It feels good to be wrapping it up," she said of the event itself. "But there's still lots of good skiing ahead. We're still grooming the trails, we're active out there."
Scott said the season was cut short by the rapidly warming weather last year. While nothing is guaranteed for this year, she said it looks like it's shaping up to be a good spring for those looking to head to the trails. The people who took part in the loppet certainly thought so.
While Pearce said they could do without the wind, he called the Inuvik Ski Club event a success.
"I think the strength of the loppet is that it's really low key," he said. "It's friendly, but also competitive, and mostly about just having a fun day on the trails, not about getting first or second or third."
