Race weekend is Feb. 24/25, with classic races Saturday and free technique Sunday.

Everyone is welcome and registration is now open on Zone4. There will be cookie medals for all participants!

This will also be a fun event for spectators. Complimentary light refreshments and hot chocolate will be served in the chalet Saturday, as well as marshmallows for the fire. Specialty coffee will also be sold courtesy of Coffeelicious from 12:30 to 3:30. 

On Sunday, One of a Thai will serve up a Sunday lunch ($14-$16 a plate). from 11:30 to 3. Complimentary fruit, cookies and hot chocolate will also be on offer in the chalet. 

In case of cold weather cancellations (cutoff is -20 C for midget and older; -15 C for Bantam and younger), ski trails are still open and food is still on. 

Full details here: 2018 YK Ski Race Notice

Registration has been extended for our next set of adult beginner ski lessons. 

• Beginner – Wednesdays, Feb. 14, 21, 28 and March 7, 7-9 pm with Rob Matthews. $80, plus a $40 trail use fee for non-members. 
• Beginner classic/skate – Thursdays, Feb.  8, 15, 22, March 1, 7-9 pm with Kevin Durkee. $80, plus a $40 trail use fee for non-members.
• Beginner – Sundays, Feb. 18, 25, March 4, 11, 1:30-3:30 with Rob Matthews. $80, plus a $40 trail use fee for non-members.

Sign up on Zone4. 

We’ve added four more Sunday lunches to our events calendar. These are a great way to enjoy the trails, the newly renovated chalet (there’s a nice toddler play area downstairs) and the company of our wonderful members!

Jan. 28 – Sunday Lunch at the Ski Club 11:30-2 featuring Coffeelicious
Feb. 4 – Sunday Lunch at the Ski Club 11:30-2 featuring One of a Thai
Feb. 18 – Sunday Lunch at the Ski Club 11:30-2 featuring Flavour Trader
Feb 25 — Sunday Lunch at the Ski Club 11:30-3 featuring One of a Thai

Cash only, please! 

As the Yellowknife Ski Club prepares to mark its 50th anniversary, it’s worth going back to this excellent profile of the club’s beginnings by Jenny Whitaker in the Dec. 2012 issue of Edge Yk. 

Western Canadian Championships, 1993: David Gilday at left, John Stephenson and John Argue in front of the old trail map. The location of the old clubhouse is marked in the lower right hand corner. Today, the Kids Corner Childcare Centre on Haener Drive sits on the spot.

“The Yellowknife Ski Club blazes the trail for how to run a super volunteer organization that just keeps on growing,” it begins. 

Read the full article on Edge YK: Up, Up and Away

Sunday, Jan. 21 is World Snow Day. As usual, that means a big celebration at the YK Ski Club. This year we’re also marking our 50th anniversary. That’s five decades of skiing in Yellowknife! 

The chalet will be open to the public from 10 to 5. Free pancakes will be served from 10 to 2 with hot drinks continuing into the afternoon. 

And get this: we’ll be offering free ski and snowshoe rentals (courtesy of Overlander Sports) from 10 to 4 as well as free mini lessons. 

We’ll need a few volunteers to help make this happen. If you can pitch in, please sign up here or contact kerrywheler@gmail.com.

This is a great chance to meet some fun folks, or introduce some you already know to the wonderful world of skiing! 

Due to popular demand, we’ve introduced a new series of beginner adult ski lessons, starting Saturday, Jan. 6 — just in time for those New Year’s resolutions!

Sign up on Zone4.ca. 

Four series/times are available.

• Saturdays, Jan. 6, 13, 20, 27, 1:30-3:30 pm with Karen Johnson, $80.
• Sundays, Jan. 7, 14, 21, 28, 1:30-3:30 pm with Rob Matthews, $80.
• Wednesdays, Jan. 10, 17, 24, 31, 7-9 pm with Rob Matthews, $80.
• Tues. Jan 9, Thurs. Jan 11, Tues. Jan 23, Thurs. Jan 25, 7-9 pm with Kevin Durkee, $80.

Non-members must also pay a trail use fee for 4 days, $40. 

And big thanks to Steve Reitsma, our programs director, for organizing this!

Cross Country NWT has named its roster for the 2018 Arctic Winter Games after territorial trials last weekend in Fort Smith. 

The full list includes 19 skiers and one alternate. All but four of the kids on this list are part of the amazing Yellowknife Ski Club!

The biathletes are Ruby Pigott and Spencer Littlefair for ski and Effie Lockhart for snowshoe … three more Yellowknifers!

The games take place in the South Slave region from March 18 to 24. Biathlon will be in Hay River and skiing will be in Fort Smith.

The downstairs of the chalet is beginning to take shape with new cubbies, new carpeting and gorgeous new windows.

You can still donate to this rather large project (and there’s still time for legacy sponsorships) directly through Zone4.

New board member, past board member

The energetic Steve Reitsma has joined our board as programs director, leading all of our programs as well as reviving adult ski lessons — details to come. 

Kevin Durkee has resigned as volunteers director in order to focus on volunteering as a coach, leaving an opening for someone who’d like to take on this role. 

We are also seeking volunteers to take on the roles of vice-president, director of fundraising and director of facilities. 
 

Wanted: Loppet coordinator

And one more thing: we still need a coordinator for the 2018 Yellowknife Gold Loppet on April 8.

This is our flagship event: a fun, sociable, long-distance cross-country ski for all ages and abilities that draws about 300 people a year and continues to be one of the most amazing mass skiing events North of 60. 

We already have a long list of volunteers and event supports, but lack an overall coordinator. If you’re interested, even just a little, please contact Chris Joseph (ykskiclubpresident@gmail.com) or Kerry Wheler (kerrywheler@gmail.com).

And if that sounds like a bit much, but you’d still like to help out, we’re also looking for volunteers for World Snow Day (Jan. 21) and for the Yellowknife Ski Races committee (Feb. 24/25). Contact Kerry Wheler (above).