The Yorkton Cross Country Ski Club opened a new season shortly before Christmas. The club, which operates a groomed trail system at the Deer park Municipal Golf Course, held it's official opening with a ribbon cutting ceremony and a chance to ski with the mayor Sunday afternoon. Club president Merlin Toth says, "Even with the relatively low snow conditions we have out here, we have some pretty good trails right now, a little thin in some spots but generally very good."
Trails vary from the top section which is called the pond loop which is about 600m long to the 4.5 km longest trail which circles the golf course.
Trails begin at the Deer Park clubhouse, crosses the open area past the maintenance shed, through some trees, and follow the boundary of the course.
The club has been operating for about 20 years, Toth believes. It was fairly active and has slowed a little over the last few years. Current members would like to see the club become more active and to get more people out on cross country skis.
A new snowmobile has been purchased by the club and the purchase of new trail grooming equipment is planned for next year, reports Toth.
The ski club grooms trails weekly. "Some-times in the open areas if there has been a lot of snowfall and a lot of blowing, the trails will drift in but we try to keep them in as good condition as possible," Toth states.
With the decline in interest several years ago, local retailers didn't carry cross country ski equipment as there wasn't a very limited demand for it. The recent resurgence in interest has prompted local sports stores and those with sporting goods departments to carry cross country ski equipment.
Equipment has advanced a lot, says Toth. It depends on what a person wants to buy and wants to get out of the sport, he adds. "There are still people skiing out there on those old wooden skis and they ski very well," Toth insists.
He owns four pairs of skis, one of them a waxless pair which he prefers in sloppy conditions in the spring when Toth suggests waxing is simply impossible. Otherwise he likes his waxable skis. "You can make them behave any way you want," he claims.
He admits there aren't many skis made of wood anymore. Some may have wood or honeycomb cores encased in fibreglass. Now some are even made of carbon fibre.
In addition to regular cross country skis, Toth reports, back country or off trail skis, which are shorter and wider than regular cross country skis, allow skiers to have a bit more control of their skis when travelling off trails or possibly over icy terrain.
People should dress for cross country skiing Toth suggests. Skiers should have absorbent layers next to their skin with wicking layers all the way out. "You want to avoid cotton," he recommends. "Cotton t-shirts aren't good because they absorb the moisture and they stay damp." Skiers can buy good wicking material clothing for reasonable prices right here in Yorkton, Toth points out.
It's the same thing with jeans, Toth says. "You don't want to wear a pair of jeans out skiing because if they get wet, they're going to stay wet and they're quite restrictive."
Currently, in addition to wicking outerwear, polypropelene fleeces and wind pants are suitable skiing garb. Wool is making a comeback as well. "There's a lot of Marino wool being advertised," Toth notes.
The annual membership fee for the Yorkton Cross Country Ski Club is $20 per person or $50 per family, Toth reports. A portion of the membership, $10, is submitted to Cross Country Saskatchewan and Cross Country Canada. The local club is affiliated with those organizations and through them is able to access insurance programs, equipment grant programs coaching programs and their high performance programs, he explains. "We see lots of benefits through affiliation with these umbrella organizations," Toth adds.
Cross country skiing offers participants several important benefits. First and foremost skiing provides a fitness benefit. It's a great way to get outdoors to enjoy winter scenery. It also offers camaraderie to those who come out to meet other club members.
The club holds night skis every Tuesday evening starting at 7 p.m., Toth notes. "Strap on a head lantern and come on out and we'll ski through the night. If we happen to have a full moon out we'll sometimes turn off the head lanterns and ski under the full moon," he says.
The Yorkton Cross Country Ski Club also offers afternoon skis on Wednesdays, at 2 p.m.
Skiers can also come up individually anytime. The trails are open 24 hours seven days a week, says Toth.
If anyone is interested in trail conditions they can call Toth at 782-0180 or they can email him at [email protected]. They can also go to the Yorkton Leisure Services website and click on the left side on the cross country ski trails. "We try to get the latest ski trail conditions on that website," Toth announces.
