This season, the Yorkton Cross Country Ski Club members didn’t get on the trails until Dec. 5, when the groomers finally had enough snow to set trails on. Ken Gedak and Bob Purton, the club groomers, packed and set just under seven kilometres of classic and approximately five kilometres of skate trails. The three loops range in difficulty with the West #1 Trail being the most level terrain.
Loops two and three provided a little more hilly terrain with some challenging uphill slopes and some great long runs going down. The golf course is one of the prettiest around in the summer and even more so in the winter. It also gives a great workout and stunning vistas when the sun is out on the expertly set trails.
The clubhouse was open on Sunday afternoons for ski rentals and provided a spot to warm up. The rental shop was busy all season long with many new people giving skiing a try.
The club hopes that by having good quality equipment, waxed correctly, that all renters have a good experience.
The club was very glad to have a large group of newcomers to Canada come out to give this winter sport a try. There were a lot of smiles and heavy breathing coming back into the clubhouse. Many will be coming back again to give it a few more tries.
The club also hosted skate ski lessons, which is a much faster, smoother way to ski. It’s not easy to master but once you do, it’s great!
The club membership grew again this year and the number of skiers registered in our guest book was up again this year. There were many elementary schools that came out and enjoyed the groomed trails that YCCSC set at Deer Park. Even with the bitter cold of January and the very mild temps of Febuary, there were still some great ski days even with the minimal snow cover.
Thanks to the groomers Ken and Bob for keeping the trails in such great shape. Thanks to the City of Yorkton for making the clubhouse available to us and thanks to the members that support the club.
