It has been an unseasonably warm fall, but winter is going to settle in whether we like it or not. So why not enjoy it with some outdoor activity? This column, which will appear sporadically through the winter season, will be about skiing (specifically cross country skiing), how to get the most out of it …
Winter has finally come. At the Whitehorse Cross Country Ski Club, this is cause for great celebration (we were getting tired from all that snow dancing!). The wax room, which has been a bit quiet lately, is starting to bustle, once again becoming a hive of activity. If you haven’t already done it, now is …
As we move into the spring, our ski calendar fills up with loppets. The word loppet (as with many ski terms) is Norwegian, but the definition is the same the world over. A loppet is a long, mass participation event geared towards the casual skier rather than the hard core racer. It’s skied on a …
February is Challenge month at the Whitehorse Cross Country Ski Club – the Air North Challenge that is. Air North, the Yukon’s Airline, has teamed up with the ski club to present a fun way for club members and casual skiers alike to explore our trail system and learn a bit of club history at …
Having more or less skipped over summer in Whitehorse this year, let’s get on with winter! At the Whitehorse Cross Country Ski Club, early season skiers (aka the hard core) are already out on the trails. As the snow slowly accumulates, the seasoned skier knows that just because the streets downtown are bare, it doesn’t …
As we head into spring and summer, the Whitehorse Cross Country Ski Cub starts winding down – sort of. In April, as the snow melts downtown, the average Whitehorse citizen, sun- and heat-starved, gets the idea that skiing is toast for the year. Well, not quite. With the ground well frozen and with all the …
Cross country skiing can be conducted at breakneck speed or at a social pace. As with most social activities, there is etiquette involved.
As the swans start arriving and the sun starts melting our snow, some skiers start abandoning the ski trails. It’s often not due to a lack of good skiing, but because of the changing waxing conditions. Spring skiing brings out a dreaded word in the Whitehorse skier’s lexicon: klister. For some strange reason, skiers used …
Skis have been around for centuries, long predating the wheel. The earliest skis found have been dated at approximately 6,000 B.C., about 2,500 years before someone decided that wheels were a good idea. Theorists have postulated the snowshoe as an ancestor to the ski, perhaps another thousand years or so older again, and a widespread …
while uphills differentiate cross country skiers from their alpine cousins, the downhills are what keeps everyone in same family. Skiing down hills on cross country skis can often be intimidating for the novice, even for those with some alpine ski experience. But if you think of it as your reward after conquering the uphills, you’ll …
We’ve had wonderfully warm weather lately, at least for February in Whitehorse. And with warm weather comes wonderful glide on the ski trails. If you’ve been out skiing in these glorious conditions (shame on anyone who hasn’t been outside!), you will have noticed all the skaters out on the trails, gliding elegantly along. Tempting, isn’t …
