The Loppet organizing committee, chaired by Kevin Sutton, President of the

Duck Mountain Nordic Club, is happy to report another successful loppet is in the

books. Temperatures cooperated with balmy conditions ranging from -6 in the

morning to +2 in the afternoon. Although the trails were getting a bit soft this

certainly was more pleasant than the -28 temperature we had last year. With

roughly the same number of skiers as last year, this suggests that temperature is

not a limiting factor. Ski distances ranged from 3Km to 40Km, with a hotdog and

marshmallow roast at Jackrabbit Junction. Skiers ranged in age from a young 80

year old to a younger 4 year old! Of interest is there were 16 skiers aged 70 and

older and 42 skiers in their 60’s. Just goes to show that cross-country skiing really

is for everyone, and you are never too old to give it a try. Skiers came from as far

away as Edmonton and Medicine Hat to the west, Winnipeg to the east, Estevan,

Regina (bus load), Flin Flon to the north and places in between. It is often said we

have the best groomed and most challenging cross-country ski trails in the

province, and arguably beyond, along with a playful amount of terrain for the

beginners. This is reflected on loppet day with the distances people are willing to

travel to ski here and their positive comments.

 

The organizing committee would like to thank those businesses and volunteers

for their support, without which the loppet would not happen. A big shout out to

Sas-Kam Sportsman, Legacy Co-op, McMunn and Yates, the Broda Group and d’s

Signs for their financial support in helping make the loppet a possibility. Several

businesses also provided draw prizes which made the event even more exciting. A

huge thank you to Madge Lake Developments, Duck Mountain Motel, Petro

Canada, Duck Mountain Coffee Roasting Company, Madge Lake Golf Resort,

Waves Ice Cream and Mini Golf, Bayer, Eb’s Source for Adventure (Saskatoon),

Fresh Air Experience (Regina) and Kathie Galye. We were also happy to have Duck

Mountain Ambulance and the Sask Ski Patrollers on hand in the event of any

mishaps. Thankfully, there services were not required. After skiing, the loppeters

were treated to a fantastic meal hosted by Iron Grill Steak House. Iron Grill went

out of there way to make sure there was a variety of food for everyone’s palate,

and no one left hungry. Rave reviews! Speaking of food, even the birds got their

fill with birdseed donated by Fedoruk Seeds.

 

We would be remis if we didn’t mention the volunteers that made this day

happen:

• Registrars and more: Barb MacLean & Les Schmidt
• Graphics/IT: Teesha Klochko-Ries
• Shelter Volunteers: Kathie & Wayne Galye, Georgette & Ken Helmkay, Don Finne,
• Brad Weber, Ed Guenther, Randy Trofimenkoff, Murray Davies, Rick Aikman
• Superstar Administrator ETC!!: Cheryl Brooke

 

The only glitch in an otherwise fantastic day happened as Kevin was alerted

Friday afternoon that several snowmobiles had accessed one of the ski trails via

the highway and destroyed the grooming on about 5-6Km of the trail. Much to his

chagrin, Kevin went out to reset the classic trail. Unfortunately, nothing could be

done for the groomed skate-ski lane as that requires the Park’s big grooming

machine. The Duck Mountain Nordic Club would like to remind people that

snowmobiles are not allowed on the cross-country ski trails or south of Highway

#57.

 

Even though early skiing was a bit “iffy” the trails have had quite a bit of traffic.

We’ve had a few significant snow falls which could carry us quite nicely to the end

of March. The Club would like to encourage people to purchase a membership as

grant money is tied to membership numbers. This will allow us to continue to

work on improvements to the trails and shelters, which are used all year long by

many different users. Memberships can be purchased online at Zone4.ca and

search for Duck Mountain Nordic Club 2023-24 membership. We can’t do it

without you.